Brooks saddles - which one?

the_hundredth_idiot

I've been meaning to get a Brooks saddle for a while and got reminded of that by Rob Penn's recent TV programme where he visited the Brooks factory in Brum. Key question is: which one? They seem to have various different models - some quite reasonably priced and some quite expensive - and I'm not clear what you really get from the more expensive ones nor, for that matter, what the difference is between the various cheaper models.

My riding is a mix of commuting 12 miles a day in London and a few longer rides in the countryside - i.e. no racing at present. My bike is a Condor Fratello so a kind of audax bike - steel framed with mudguards - I think a Brooks will suit it.

Any recommendations which Brooks saddle might suit me best?

Cheers

marcusjb

Welcome to the leather feitsh society!

My best piece of advice is to head up to The Bicycle Workshop in Notting Hill - they have just about everything Brooks have ever made and will offer great advice on choosing the right Brooks for your needs (and your bum width etc.!).

They are a little eccentric, but they do know their stuff.

I have a Brooks B17 Champion Special on my Brompton and a titanium Swift on my road bike.

I've never had any discomfort breaking them in, but wouldn't recommend a hundred mile ride until you've got a few miles on them.

Buy Brooks Proofide when you get the saddle and give it a good dollop top and bottom - there's a lot of stuff out there on how to get them to break in faster (soak them in water, use olive oil, piss on it (actually I made that one up!)) - but I have had no problems with just Proofide.

I am sure people will also write about the agony of a Brooks - and I am sure some people can't get on with them, but I feel it is more liekely that they bought the wrong Brooks saddle for their need/arse width.

Good luck with it!

Make sure you take note of the opening times at Bicycle Workshop - they like to close for lunch and all that old-fashioned nice stuff that we've all forgotten how to do!

EArmstrong

I have a Brooks B17, originally broken in by my father when he did 4Points, but I've ridden it all this year over my commute.

I can't find a single complaint about it. If it were legal and decent, i'd probably ride it naked, its just that damn comfortable. We have some old Brooks Saddles on the bikes where I work (big site, still has fleet bicycles), and they are the sprung kind, and my only observation is that the springs add weight, Keep It Simple IMO, just get a peice of leather suspended on studs, its the way forwards.

mudcovered

EArmstrong wrote:

I have a Brooks B17, originally broken in by my father when he did 4Points, but I've ridden it all this year over my commute.

I can't find a single complaint about it. If it were legal and decent, i'd probably ride it naked, its just that damn comfortable. Keep It Simple IMO, just get a peice of leather suspended on studs, its the way forwards.

While I don't use a Brooks saddle (I use a Selle Italia SLR which is based on the same principles) I do agree with the sentiment. Once you have found the saddle that fits you it is so comfortable that you can ride the bike and be perfectly comfortable without even needing cycling shorts (pretty much anything is fine).

I'd also add that a couple of my work colleagues wouldn't ride using anything other than Brooks Saddle.

Mike

Airmiles

The only "person" who can truly judge is your own undercarriage....though if you are someone who normally prefers a saddle with a central cutout you may want to think twice - or at least start with a B17 or it's cutaway version.

However, a few pointers:

1) They are affectively narrower than the specs would suggest - as the widest part of the saddle is the metal "horseshoe" underneath which, obviously, you don't sit on. e.g a Swift is nominally 152mm or something, but is effectively more like a 138mm in a modern design. So trust your feelings, not the ruler!

2) as with all saddles, your degree of forward lean (handlebar drop, in practice) affects the width you want - upright = wider, forwards = narrower. Again this will vary between individuals depending on flexibility and posture, as well as pelvis size and shape..

3) they vary in flatness and flexibility - flatter ones like the B17 will support your sitbones higher than your perineum and may be more immediately comfortable (but may be wrong in the longer term depending on your handlebar drop)- rounder ones like the Swift, Swallow, Pro will (especially if too narrow - see point 1) may take more getting used to if you are someone who benefits from a cutaway saddle. They will, however, break in eventually (see below) - my Swift is beginning to look remarkably like a Charge Spoon on another bike - which begs a question, however....

Ditto the flexibility is improved by having more cutaway sides e.g. Swallow - though these also tend to be the more expensive ones.

4) Flexibility can also be tweaked with the adjuster - I know some people take a hard (pun intended) line on never touching this, but mine had its adjuster incorrectly set (there was a gap behind the nut) and a small adjustment worked wonders.

5) There is a lot of mis-information flying around about breaking-in taking X, Y or Z miles. The fact is it's again highly variable. Like breaking in a pair of leather walking boots, it takes time, heat, moisture, and pressure. So longish, hot, sweaty rides. For example, just using it for 1500 miles winter commuting barely broke it in at all - two forty-mile rides in June's mini-heatwave made more difference than an entire winter of 20-minute near-freezing rides. Plus, it depends which "bit" you are breaking in FOR - moulding to your sit-bones will be relatively quick as they are hard, moulding to soft tissues will take longer.

Most of the people who evangelise about Brooks seem to focus on sitbone comfort - for which they are very good (if sized correctly) and break-in relatively quickly. For soft-tissue comfort they are less effective until after a much longer break-in period. In fact, prior to June I was seriously going to Ebay the damn thing - and even now I wouldn't contemplate doing over a 50 on it - so it has yet to surpass the SLR it replaced. Ironically its sitbone comfort (the reason I changed) was fantastic from Day 1....

unclemalc

I have a B-17 on the commuter Spesh, which has a 'high' sitting position, and the saddle is great.
I tried it on the Bianchi which is much more 'forward' and it was literally a pain.

A Brooks is a thing of classic beauty and it's fun looking after it, along with the rest of the bike. This is not something that can be said of a 'Spoon' (which I wont hear a word against...) because that's just a cheap (but effective) lump of plastic on rails...

I'd like a 'Swift'

prawny

I've got a B17 Narrow I'm going to sell, let me know if you want it. Didn't work for me, but resale values are good so I thought it was worth a punt.

It's only done about 500 miles as I only ride on my commute I do 40 miles a day every day and it's just too much hard worj for me to break this one in commuting.