Does anyone in the TdF use a Brooks saddle?
Comments
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BelgianBeerGeek wrote:
I have had my B17 for about 2 years now and its still uncomfortable. I am perservering with it to the point where it's now a battle of wills. I hope to break it in sometime this decade.Chris James wrote:Brakeless wrote:I have a B17 which I use for Long Audaxes as it's the most comfy saddle by far if you're on it for a long time.It did take a bit of breaking in but I'd liken it to new leather shoes, a bit odd and slightly uncomfortable to start but once broken in - super comfy. I use a Fizik day to day which is fine for rides up to 200km. The downside to the Brooks is the weight and you do have to proof it reguarly which is why it doesn't stay on my bike permanently.
Me too. I have a B17N on my winter bike / light tourer and an Arione on my summer bike. Both are great for what I use them for. The brooks is basically comfy forever, whereas I get restless on the Arione eventually.
Give up
Like any other saddle, they suit some people, they don't others.
I am not a great believer in the breaking in, they do mold to your arse yes, but if the saddle isn't comfy from an early stage (with a bit of adjusting fore/aft, up/down etc.), then it won't magically become so. Especially after two years.0 -
madasahattersley wrote:Nice, I like the "stalker" touch mfin. Good work.
I wrote the above post long before I posted it (I have very little in the way of internet access here) and since getting used to it I've found it to be more comfortable than all the other saddles I've used. Capish?
Or have you still got more insolent attempts at cheap laughs to add?
:roll:
Don't be daft, nothing stalker about it, I often browse the 'Your Road Bikes' section and spotted and remembered the saddle being on that new bike and what you'd said about it only the day before, I found the discrepancy a bit odd, and maybe this reply back a bit odd too (but others above have picked up on that immediately). Someone has said you're only 18 (?), so in that case, even the use of the word 'LOADS' I would have read with a pinch of salt.0 -
marcusjb wrote:BelgianBeerGeek wrote:
I have had my B17 for about 2 years now and its still uncomfortable. I am perservering with it to the point where it's now a battle of wills. I hope to break it in sometime this decade.Chris James wrote:Brakeless wrote:I have a B17 which I use for Long Audaxes as it's the most comfy saddle by far if you're on it for a long time.It did take a bit of breaking in but I'd liken it to new leather shoes, a bit odd and slightly uncomfortable to start but once broken in - super comfy. I use a Fizik day to day which is fine for rides up to 200km. The downside to the Brooks is the weight and you do have to proof it reguarly which is why it doesn't stay on my bike permanently.
Me too. I have a B17N on my winter bike / light tourer and an Arione on my summer bike. Both are great for what I use them for. The brooks is basically comfy forever, whereas I get restless on the Arione eventually.
Give up
Like any other saddle, they suit some people, they don't others.
I am not a great believer in the breaking in, they do mold to your ars* yes, but if the saddle isn't comfy from an early stage (with a bit of adjusting fore/aft, up/down etc.), then it won't magically become so. Especially after two years.
I'd agree. My B17 was armchair comfy right out of the box. The only thing that's changing with the miles is the colour0 -
Lots of pro riders out there who ride on Brooks saddles.
I've seen a few occasions where they slip em under their butts then swap em for the 'standard' sponsored saddle at the end of the race before they're submerged by the media.0 -
madasahattersley wrote:mfin wrote:madasahattersley wrote:Nice, I like the "stalker" touch mfin. Good work.
I wrote the above post long before I posted it (I have very little in the way of internet access here) and since getting used to it I've found it to be more comfortable than all the other saddles I've used. Capish?
Or have you still got more insolent attempts at cheap laughs to add?
:roll:
Don't be daft, nothing stalker about it, I often browse the 'Your Road Bikes' section and spotted and remembered the saddle being on that new bike and what you'd said about it only the day before, I found the discrepancy a bit odd, and maybe this reply back a bit odd too (but others above have picked up on that immediately). Someone has said you're only 18 (?), so in that case, even the use of the word 'LOADS' I would have read with a pinch of salt.
Don't know why I bother sometimes. Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you know any more about bikes, and I find it unbelievably rude when people are so condescending. I'm spitting my dummy out.
FTFY0 -
madasahattersley wrote:mfin wrote:madasahattersley wrote:Nice, I like the "stalker" touch mfin. Good work.
I wrote the above post long before I posted it (I have very little in the way of internet access here) and since getting used to it I've found it to be more comfortable than all the other saddles I've used. Capish?
Or have you still got more insolent attempts at cheap laughs to add?
:roll:
Don't be daft, nothing stalker about it, I often browse the 'Your Road Bikes' section and spotted and remembered the saddle being on that new bike and what you'd said about it only the day before, I found the discrepancy a bit odd, and maybe this reply back a bit odd too (but others above have picked up on that immediately). Someone has said you're only 18 (?), so in that case, even the use of the word 'LOADS' I would have read with a pinch of salt.
Don't know why I bother sometimes. Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you know any more about bikes, and I find it unbelievably rude when people are so condescending. I'm out.
I wasn't being condescending about your age, and I certainly wasn't being rude. It's common sense that the chance of you having ridden 'LOADS' of saddles for any great amount of time on each is not that high, that's all I meant in the end of my last post. Perhaps it was your (most likely) exaggerated phrasing that's the odd thing, I dunno. Don't worry about it.0 -
"I have had my B17 for about 2 years now and its still uncomfortable. I am perservering with it to the point where it's now a battle of wills. I hope to break it in sometime this decade."
I have both a Brooks B17 and a Brooks Team Pro. All Brooks saddles are not created equal. The Team Pro, once you discount the metal chassis mount is relatively narrow and has a rounded shape at the rear more like the Rolls saddle. The B17 is flatter and wider, so you're going to get a different experience from them. I prefer the B17, but it's actually not about the softness, it's actually quite firm, the B17 just lifts me up a bit more so my bits are less squished. If you ride in a more long, low bent over position, the Team may be the best bet; or if it's the width of the fit giving you problems, chafing on your thighs and preventing you from being able to sit properly on the wider bum area, then maybe a B17 Narrow might be better?
OR, could it just be that you're sitting on the rear of the saddle, that you've got some of your bum bones encroaching on the metal support section (I did that at first, but soon cottoned on)? Brooks saddles generally need a post with a reasonable amount of set-back as these were designed when seat-tubes generally had more shallow angles, which would effectively set them further back. Because of this you can't really compare, position-wise, a current saddle to the Brooks, you'll usually have to shove it back further to avoid the metal chassis.
Jam butties, officially endorsed by the Diddymen Olympic Squad0 -
Or as I prefer to put it: The more we know, the more we know how little we know.Rolf F wrote:0 -
"Or as I prefer to put it: The more we know, the more we know how little we know."
This.
Jam butties, officially endorsed by the Diddymen Olympic Squad0 -
briantrumpet wrote:
Ahh, well, now you are getting into knowledge matrices! (Yours is, of course, top left).
In saddle terms, top right is "I've tested different saddles on different people and I know up to a point what saddles fit what shapes but there's no substitute for trying them out yourself". Top left is "An Arione works for me but I can't say if it will work for you". Bottom right is "I've tried so many saddles over the years that I can't remember which ones work for me" and Bottom left is "The Arione works for me so I can guarantee it works for you".
Bottom left, of course, is pre-eminent in internet forums and how wars are lost!
Faster than a tent.......0 -
"I have had my B17 for about 2 years now and its still uncomfortable. I am perservering with it to the point where it's now a battle of wills. I hope to break it in sometime this decade."
I have both a Brooks B17 and a Brooks Team Pro. All Brooks saddles are not created equal. The Team Pro, once you discount the metal chassis mount is relatively narrow and has a rounded shape at the rear more like the Rolls saddle. The B17 is flatter and wider, so you're going to get a different experience from them. I prefer the B17, but it's actually not about the softness, it's actually quite firm, the B17 just lifts me up a bit more so my bits are less squished. If you ride in a more long, low bent over position, the Team may be the best bet; or if it's the width of the fit giving you problems, chafing on your thighs and preventing you from being able to sit properly on the wider bum area, then maybe a B17 Narrow might be better?
OR, could it just be that you're sitting on the rear of the saddle, that you've got some of your bum bones encroaching on the metal support section (I did that at first, but soon cottoned on)? Brooks saddles generally need a post with a reasonable amount of set-back as these were designed when seat-tubes generally had more shallow angles, which would effectively set them further back. Because of this you can't really compare, position-wise, a current saddle to the Brooks, you'll usually have to shove it back further to avoid the metal chassis.
Thanks for that, the most useful bit of first hand saddle advice i have read on this forum in years He is not the messiah, he is a very naughty boy !!0 -
Cheers topdude. My posts can waffle on for quite a bit, but there's usually a reason if you've the patience to read em
. I orginally used an 80s/90s seat post with a middlng set-back, and had to sit right on the back of the saddle, the ride felt rock hard. I tested my position by feeling around with my hand exactly where I was putting myself and found I was sitting right on top of the 'horse-shoe' chassis bit. I got a cheap generic carbon seatpost with 25mm setback and it made all the difference, you can see on the leather small creases where my bones rest on the saddle. I doubt the post being carbon made much difference in itself as there wasn't that much showing, just less than the traditional 'fist-full' (horizontal top-tube).
If it's the width and the thighs chafing bit, then I've read that some folks 'butcher' them and cut the flaps off, looks good, but I wouldn't know about how well that works. I've also seen one article which shows how the sitbones are actually fairly long, but will narrow as you bend over more; like a rocking-chair base, with rockers that narrow the further forward it rolls, so your bits lift up slightly when your hips roll forward for the lower position (plus, it's assumed you're probably riding harder/faster, lifting yourself up more thru effort). That explains why I was happy on a Turbo saddle when I was younger (pretty much like a Rolls saddle), but I couldn't get on with the Brooks Pro nor my Rolls saddle now I need to sit more upright, they both squish!
I'm actually looking for a new saddle myself. I can't bring myself to stick the Brooks on my Giant bike, sad I know, but to my eyes it would just look wrong :roll: . Stuck between the Selle Italia X1 Flow, Selle Italia Q-Bik Flow, and the Charge Scoop...
Jam butties, officially endorsed by the Diddymen Olympic Squad0 -
Rolf F wrote:briantrumpet wrote:
Ahh, well, now you are getting into knowledge matrices! (Yours is, of course, top left).
In saddle terms, top right is "I've tested different saddles on different people and I know up to a point what saddles fit what shapes but there's no substitute for trying them out yourself". Top left is "An Arione works for me but I can't say if it will work for you". Bottom right is "I've tried so many saddles over the years that I can't remember which ones work for me" and Bottom left is "The Arione works for me so I can guarantee it works for you".
Bottom left, of course, is pre-eminent in internet forums and how wars are lost!
Now that is funny (and accurate) 0
