Mr_Christopher

So years ago I bought a Brooks Team Pro Classic B17 to put in a single speed road bike. My understanding is the Team Pro is stiffer leather (thicker?) and a bit longer and more narrow. and intended for a more racing style. I rode that bike maybe 6 times, no more than 5 or so miles each trip, so the saddle is not the least bit broken in. I sold that road bike but kept the saddle.

I am now own a 2016 Specialized AWOL which is my everyday bike. The stock saddle isn't bad but I prefer leather. My question is does anyone else use this saddle on their touring bike? I'm trying to figure out should I try to trade it for a regular B17 or go through the pain of breaking in this stiffer leather and if I break it in will the slightly more long/narrow profile be less than ideal for touring/comfort reasons.

Anyone?

manapua_man

Saddles are such a personal thing that I don't really see the point in giving advice most of the time. Personally, I'd just break it in rather than going through the hassle of trying to set up a trade.

Mr_Christopher

I'm inclined to do just that, the only hesitation is I currently have a like new, virtually unused saddle which is more valuable for trade/sale. If I break it in and don't like it, not so much. Then again its only money. And I'm not sure how much difference I'm going to feel between the two:

Team Pro Classic:
LENGTH : 273mm
WIDTH : 160mm
HEIGHT : 67mm
WEIGHT : 540g

Standard B17:
LENGTH : 275mm
WIDTH : 175mm
HEIGHT : 65mm

Darth Lefty 

It should be perfectly comfortable from day one or it's not for you, but still you should give it 10 or 15 thousand miles to break in. You do that in a year, right?

fietsbob

The only Opinion that counts is your Backside's.. go find a Shop with those saddles and Sit on Them.


The SI Turbo and SM Rolls are similar in general shape to the Brooks Team Professional..

But made with a Nylon Base dense Foam padding and a Leather cover .. 80's saddle designs that dont sag when ridden Wet.



I took several Long Tours on my Touring bike with a Brooks team pro.. well 'Proofided'

and under a Plastic Bag, covering it, when raining All Day.




'/,

Mr_Christopher

I do that in a week! Not.

I own several Brooks saddles now, and they have actually been comfortable from day one for me. I've just never broken in a Team Pro. Typical B17s and B66s are comfy to me right out of the box.

Tourist in MSN

Brooks Pro (or Team Pro) and the B17 are different saddles. I am unaware of a "Team Pro Classic B17".

Take another look at your saddle and try to figure out exactly which you have.

I wrote my Brooks break in comments at this link, I am not going to bother copying them over to this thread.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/99...k-my-idea.html

Sharpshin

I have a B17 with about 10,000 miles on it now.

I'd trade in that narrow saddle. Near the end of a long day its nice to slide the ol' tailbones back to the wider part of the saddle for a few minutes.

JMHO,
Mike

Doug64

Good point. I rode this Brooks Pro for about 30 years, and I'm not sure if my butt got broken in or the saddle did. There is an awful lot of miles on this saddle; some of those miles were touring. I'd usually took it off in the winter, and put on a "winter" saddle. One year I put on a Terry as a winter saddle, and never went back to the Brooks. I often told my friends that if I get killed in an accident, the authorities won't have to use dental records for identification. They could just take that Brooks and shove it in the proper place, and they would know it was me

The point of this rambling is that yes, they do take a lot of miles to break in. I just purchased a rooks B17 Imperial, and am quite happy with it after about 200 miles Based on my limited experience, I would sell the Pro and get a more tour friendly B17.

It went with my Peugeot when I sold it.





I posted this in a previous thread; the same one in the above link.

djb

before heading off to work that gave me a chuckle Doug, thanks. Have a good day. It's going to be West Coastish today, ie rain....

cyccommute 

That's been my experience with Brooks as well. I have B17Ns, Pros and Swifts. None of them have needed to be "broken in". And none of them show any significant changes to the saddle even after thousands of miles of riding. One of my Pros has 16,000 miles on it and still has the same shape as out of the box.

Personally, I think this whole "break in a Brooks" thing is a myth and it's more a case of the rider getting broken in by the saddle (i.e. adapting to the saddle) rather than the other way around.

That said, I would make one warning on a Brooks for off-road use...don't. I find them wonderfully comfortable but as an off-road saddle they have a lot of warts. The saddle...even a B17N which is narrower than the Pro...is too wide in the back. This makes getting behind the saddle on downhills difficult.

The saddles are also rather slick for off-road use. You either slide too far back or too far forward. Neither way is optimum when off-roading where even a slight adjustment in rider position can change the dynamics.

Because of these problems, all of my off-road bikes are equipped with plastic saddles...almost all of them are Sella Italia Flites. They aren't as comfortable but they do a better job as a platform for off-road riding.

Yan 

I tour with a Team Pro. Now on my second one after the first one wore out. I find them quite comfortable out of the box. Certainly the shape is good, just very hard. Once broken in it will give better suspension over bumps.

Perform the break in on good roads, or prepare for your ass to be wrecked. Sprinkle a small splash of water on the saddle to speed up the break in, or just ride on a really hot, sweaty day. Don't let the saddle get soaked by rain or it will stretch out prematurely. Drill a couple of small holes in the skirts and tie and bottom together with some chord (shoelace) to help the saddle keep its shape as it ages.

Mr_Christopher

to bring this thread to a close, I installed the Team Pro and it's just fine. Ha ha. Carry on!

djb

there you go.
I second the "ride in really hot sweaty weather" to help break it in. That was my experience with my first one and I think it helped with the leather taking my shape.