Brooks Saddle - It's Official

markdavidhill

………………….. they are not the most comfortable saddles. It's a myth.

xcMuttley

Not at first, give it time and you will think differently. Saying that, id buy most saddles before a Brooks...

badseed

I've done 20,000 miles on it thank you.

southdownswolf

Never had a more comfortable saddle than my B17 on my tourer, only done about 3000miles on it, but extremely comfortable.

marcusjb

Everyone's arse is different. Even within the Brooks range, you have a massive variation in widths etc. available.

I would perch on nothing else whilst riding, but I wouldn't say that they are the most comfortable saddle for anyone else other than myself.

ugo.santalucia

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle. Leather is a better material in that it will keep your skin drier than plastic coatings, gels and foams. Leather will in time change shape to adapt around your own shape (you need time or a good soaker for that). Ultimately, you need a also a decent chamois, which I find is a lot more effective than saddles in preventing all the above.

Brookes saddles last as an average 4 times longer than other saddles and tend to improve rather than degrade, so they are the cheapest out there.
I have been happy with other saddles, Fizik, Selle Italia and San Marco, but they tend to wear out much quicker

marcusjb

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.

I ride 200+ mile days back to back. I don't suffer from saddle sores, any soreness - occasional chafing in very wet conditions.

I am very comfy on my saddle.

I am obsessed with comfort yes - there's quite enough suffering without bits of the bike making you hurt more.

Monty Dog

Tried one once - rode a few hundred miles on a B17 but maybe I'm not heavy enough to have many any difference. The 'hump' down the centre was the killer

gsej

I tried a B17 Imperial and a B17. Put over 500 miles on each. The imperial sagged quite dramatically (it had been treated properly and never rained on). The regular B17 kept its shape much more - no noticeable breaking in. I found it hard to ride more than 50 miles at a time on either as it just got too painful - saddle sores, chafed thighs etc. I don't doubt that they are great for some people, but not for me. After trying many saddles I've now got a San Marco Rolls on each of my bikes. Did I mention how slippery the B17s are? I occasionally like to adjust my position when I ride, but I like to choose when it happens.

handful

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm on something like my 6th saddle in the last 3 years and still spend most of my time shuffling around after around 30 miles. A sportive is a killer for me and not because of my fitness. I'm actually just about to get a Brooks C17 Cambium on trial as they look like a potential solution for me and hopefully won't join my growing pile of saddles for sale if I do elect to buy one. I find it really frustrating that lots of friends just seem to be able to get on with whatever saddle they sit on but I have suffered big time, after 25-30 miles or an hour on the turbo and it's torturous.

List of recent saddles...Fizik Aliente, Antares, Prologo Scratch Pro, Romin, Toupe, Phenom and yes I did get myself measured on the BG foam pad.

Father Faff

I find having decent bib shorts/longs with top quality padding definitely helps. I have a reasonably comfy Selle Italia but I'm thinking of getting properly measured (sit bones) and perhaps trying a few different shapes of saddle. I tried a Scott Addict 10 2014 today which had a very comfy saddle but didn't check what sort it was!

ugo.santalucia

handful wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm on something like my 6th saddle in the last 3 years and still spend most of my time shuffling around after around 30 miles. A sportive is a killer for me and not because of my fitness. I'm actually just about to get a Brooks C17 Cambium on trial as they look like a potential solution for me and hopefully won't join my growing pile of saddles for sale if I do elect to buy one. I find it really frustrating that lots of friends just seem to be able to get on with whatever saddle they sit on but I have suffered big time, after 25-30 miles or an hour on the turbo and it's torturous.

List of recent saddles...Fizik Aliente, Antares, Prologo Scratch Pro, Romin, Toupe, Phenom and yes I did get myself measured on the BG foam pad.

What are you disagreeing with? If you have not found a comfortable saddle yet, you are agreeing, not disagreeing

handful

ugo.santalucia wrote:

handful wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm on something like my 6th saddle in the last 3 years and still spend most of my time shuffling around after around 30 miles. A sportive is a killer for me and not because of my fitness. I'm actually just about to get a Brooks C17 Cambium on trial as they look like a potential solution for me and hopefully won't join my growing pile of saddles for sale if I do elect to buy one. I find it really frustrating that lots of friends just seem to be able to get on with whatever saddle they sit on but I have suffered big time, after 25-30 miles or an hour on the turbo and it's torturous.

List of recent saddles...Fizik Aliente, Antares, Prologo Scratch Pro, Romin, Toupe, Phenom and yes I did get my measured on the BG foam pad.

What are you disagreeing with? If you have not found a comfortable saddle yet, you are agreeing, not disagreeing

Im disagreeing that people (including me) are obsessed with comfort, more like trying to find something bearable for long rides. I couldnt contemplate doing a century currently unless I got my fitness to a level where I could stand for the last 30 miles!

ugo.santalucia

handful wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

handful wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm on something like my 6th saddle in the last 3 years and still spend most of my time shuffling around after around 30 miles. A sportive is a killer for me and not because of my fitness. I'm actually just about to get a Brooks C17 Cambium on trial as they look like a potential solution for me and hopefully won't join my growing pile of saddles for sale if I do elect to buy one. I find it really frustrating that lots of friends just seem to be able to get on with whatever saddle they sit on but I have suffered big time, after 25-30 miles or an hour on the turbo and it's torturous.

List of recent saddles...Fizik Aliente, Antares, Prologo Scratch Pro, Romin, Toupe, Phenom and yes I did get my measured on the BG foam pad.

What are you disagreeing with? If you have not found a comfortable saddle yet, you are agreeing, not disagreeing

Im disagreeing that people (including me) are obsessed with comfort, more like trying to find something bearable for long rides. I couldnt contemplate doing a century currently unless I got my fitness to a level where I could stand for the last 30 miles!

It's not the saddle, it's your position on the bike... if you put a lot of weight on the saddle you will always be uncomfortable. If you put more weight on the bars (lowering your stem, having a longer stem etc... ) you will relieve your seating area and put more strain on your back... basically it's about finding the best compromise that allows you to go as far as you want/need to go.... hence the popularity of bike fit... which is not a bad idea in principle, but it has become a profiteering industry.

kingstonian

handful wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm on something like my 6th saddle in the last 3 years and still spend most of my time shuffling around after around 30 miles. A sportive is a killer for me and not because of my fitness. I'm actually just about to get a Brooks C17 Cambium on trial as they look like a potential solution for me and hopefully won't join my growing pile of saddles for sale if I do elect to buy one. I find it really frustrating that lots of friends just seem to be able to get on with whatever saddle they sit on but I have suffered big time, after 25-30 miles or an hour on the turbo and it's torturous.

List of recent saddles...Fizik Aliente, Antares, Prologo Scratch Pro, Romin, Toupe, Phenom and yes I did get myself measured on the BG foam pad.

Would be interested to hear how you get on with the Cambium. Only issue for me is I'd like it in black.

handful

Kingstonian wrote:

handful wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

People are obsessed with comfort... if you want comfort don't ride a bike... a saddle will always be an uncomfortable place to sit.
You need to avoid friction and saddle sores and that's all you can ask a saddle.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm on something like my 6th saddle in the last 3 years and still spend most of my time shuffling around after around 30 miles. A sportive is a killer for me and not because of my fitness. I'm actually just about to get a Brooks C17 Cambium on trial as they look like a potential solution for me and hopefully won't join my growing pile of saddles for sale if I do elect to buy one. I find it really frustrating that lots of friends just seem to be able to get on with whatever saddle they sit on but I have suffered big time, after 25-30 miles or an hour on the turbo and it's torturous.

List of recent saddles...Fizik Aliente, Antares, Prologo Scratch Pro, Romin, Toupe, Phenom and yes I did get myself measured on the BG foam pad.

Would be interested to hear how you get on with the Cambium. Only issue for me is I'd like it in black.

I will report back but it won't be for a bit because I want to be able to give it a good try and haven't been out much with the weather recently. You can get it in black by the way. Or at least slate which is very dark on the top but still the natural rubber underneath. See here. http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/brooks-cambium-c17-saddle-mens-saddle/aid:713224

keef66

My experience has been the opposite. Never got on with the not exactly inexpensive saddle the bike was supplied with. Tried a Spoon which was an improvement but still became uncomfortable beyond 30 miles, plus the oddly placed stitching was eating my shorts / tights.

Remembered riding all day on a Brooks as a youth, so decided to try a B17 special. It has been armchair comfortable out of the box, and I can ride it all day. Everything else might be aching, but my behind is still untroubled.

vs4b

Cambium is lovely and comfy - staight from the box.

I was lucky to get one of tehe first batch of the trials back in the spring, highly recommended!

mroli

I've got the Cambium in slate, it is very good looking and quite dark (but not black). Also comfy for me. I agree with Ugo - quite a lot of saddle issues imho are down to "bad" position on the bike - I could ride a century on pretty much any saddle - indeed, I have been riding London to Brighton on a variety of bikes and a variety of saddles and it is never my arse that hurts the most at the end of it.

ugo.santalucia

mroli wrote:

I've got the Cambium in slate, it is very good looking and quite dark (but not black). Also comfy for me. I agree with Ugo - quite a lot of saddle issues imho are down to "bad" position on the bike - I could ride a century on pretty much any saddle - indeed, I have been riding London to Brighton on a variety of bikes and a variety of saddles and it is never my ars* that hurts the most at the end of it.

I have considered getting a Cambium in slate... I am a bit worried about the top... it will eventually wear out, like all fabric does... is it possible to have it re-coated by Brooks? Also, rubber is nice, but it's not very long lasting... on the other hand it might last 10 or more years not being directly exposed to the sun...

kingrollo

B17 imperial gets the thumbs up from me.

I have hamstring tendonathapy at the insertion point and a labral tear in my hip - Have tried Selle SMP strike, Spoon, Romin - and now the B17 imperial which was easily the most comfy over 25 miles this morning.