Saddles

craggs said:

Getting back into cycling after a long lay off,the saddle on my road bike is a bit extreme in the
comfort stakes any suggestions on a better saddle ( ie split ,gel, etc )any feedback would be much
appreciated.🙁

Brookes!

"Marc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

craggs said:

Getting back into cycling after a long lay off,the saddle on my road bike is a bit extreme in
the comfort stakes any suggestions on a better saddle ( ie split ,gel, etc )any feedback would
be much appreciated.🙁

Brookes!

...if you've got a 'Brooks' shaped backside! I've been trying to break mine in for over a year, on
and off...almost a tin of Proofide, and it's still not conforming to my shape...but I spent so much
on it, I'm not giving up!

I recommend a trip to your LBS, give them your credit card and first born child, and borrow a number
of saddles from them, and give them all a good test ride; choose the one that feels best for you.

And no, I didn't do this when buying my Brooks! Do as I say, not as I
do...... :-P

Regards,

Pete.

Marc <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

craggs <[email hidden]> wrote:

Brookes!

I had a Brooks B17 many years ago (like 1956 on, before advice was available from the web etc.), and
I never managed to break it in for my backside, over several years of ownership and use. I can
certainly remember seeing how distorted these leather saddles became when they were "broken in", but
it never happened to mine!

--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

My Rolls San Marco is extremely comfortable and has been for several years now. Needed little breaking in and has worn well. I also have a Flite Titanium which is not quite as comfy as the Rolls after about 5 hours . I have not used any of the more modern split/holed or gel saddles I am afraid.

"Malcolm Stewart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a Brooks B17 many years ago (like 1956 on, before advice was available from the web etc.),
and I never managed to break it in for my backside, over several years of ownership and use. I
can certainly remember seeing how distorted these leather saddles became when they were "broken
in", but it

never

Quoted message said:

happened to mine!

--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

Oh dear. I`ve just ordered one. I have tried the ones with the cut-outs and haven`t really found
them very comfortable, so this is a bit of a last resort.

Maureen

"Maureen" <maureendotdoigatbtinternetdotcom> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Malcolm Stewart" <[email hidden]> wrote in

message

Quoted message said:

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a Brooks B17 many years ago (like 1956 on, before advice was

available

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

from the web etc.), and I never managed to break it in for my backside,

over

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

several years of ownership and use. I can certainly remember seeing how distorted these leather
saddles became when they were "broken in", but

it

Quoted message said:

never

Quoted message said:

happened to mine!

--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

Oh dear. I`ve just ordered one. I have tried the ones with the cut-outs

and

Quoted message said:

haven`t really found them very comfortable, so this is a bit of a last

resort.

Quoted message said:

Maureen

Brooks, 'nuff said....swear by 'em. It stands to reason. Plastic won't let your ar$e breathe,
whereas leather will.....and once you've learnt to breathe through it, then you can learn to talk
through it too ;-) But seriously, until gel / plastic / etc becomes 'intelligent' (nanotechnology
etc), and molds itself perfectly to your form, it isn't even on the same playing field as leather.
I had one 'as a lad' on an old BSA Sportsman that I used day in, day out to school, never had any
problems, never used any proofide or maintained it in any way. My wife bought me one in March as a
birthday present and it was instantly more comfortable than the plastic one that came with the
bike. I then rode 920 miles in a fortnight on it, end to end, and broke it in. It is now so
comfortable, I don't even notice I'm on a saddle. However I can only vouch for them for the male
anatomy and also acknowldege that there are folks that they don't seem to work too well for....for
some reason..... Dave.

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brooks, 'nuff said....swear by 'em. It stands to reason. Plastic won't let your ar$e breathe,
whereas leather will.....and once you've learnt to breathe through it, then you can learn to talk
through it too ;-) But seriously, until gel / plastic / etc becomes 'intelligent' (nanotechnology
etc), and molds itself perfectly to your form, it isn't even on the same playing field as leather.
I had one 'as a lad' on an old BSA Sportsman that I used day in, day out to school, never had any
problems, never used any proofide or maintained it in any way. My wife bought me one in March as a
birthday present and it was instantly more comfortable than the plastic one that came with the
bike. I then rode 920 miles in a fortnight on it, end to end, and broke it in. It is now so
comfortable, I don't even notice I'm on a saddle. However I can only vouch for them for the male
anatomy and also acknowldege that there are folks that they don't seem to work too well for....for
some reason..... Dave.

Thanks for that Dave. I hope you`re right. I`ve recently treated myself to a Trek 5200WSD and have
hardly been out on it as I even find around 15 miles starts hurting!!!!

Maureen

Maureen said:

"Malcolm Stewart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a Brooks B17 many years ago (like 1956 on, before advice was available from the web etc.),
and I never managed to break it in for my backside, over several years of ownership and use. I
can certainly remember seeing how distorted these leather saddles became when they were "broken
in", but it

never

Quoted message said:

happened to mine!

--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

Oh dear. I`ve just ordered one. I have tried the ones with the cut-outs and haven`t really found
them very comfortable, so this is a bit of a last resort.

Maureen

FWIW I love my selle italia octavia I have. Ladies version. Gel padding in three places, but not
excessively so, still slim and a bit shorter than blokes but has been mistaken for blokes saddle and
commented on as being quite firm (which was exactly what I was looking for). 32 miles on it and only
slight ache from sit-bones. Previous, 10 miles on true blokes saddle (san marco rolls classic) left
me bruised and battered and shifting to try and stop the hurt.

Velvet

Maureen said:

Oh dear. I`ve just ordered one. I have tried the ones with the cut-outs and haven`t really found
them very comfortable, so this is a bit of a last resort.

I, on the other hand, have had nothing but good experiences with B17s and, come to think of it, the
Pro I had on the tourer in the dim and distant past. I had a Brooks Colt for a while, though, and
that /was/ a pain in the ar5e :-(

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

"Dave Larrington" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I, on the other hand, have had nothing but good experiences with B17s and, come to think of it,
the Pro I had on the tourer in the dim and distant past

I've had a Flyer (?B17 with springs) for 4 months and am having good experiences (though I am
surprised how asymmetric the dimples are - is it me or the leather ?).

Can I ask seasoned users for guidance as to when to tighten a Brooks ? Is it obvious when it needs
it ? Is it obvious how much it needs to be tightened ? Do people find they need half a turn every
three years or does it need lots in the first year and then you never touch it ? Or does it just
depend how often you get it soaked in the rain ?

Regards, Tim

Do you have to wear padded shorts in the saddle of racers? What about jeans?

"craggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Getting back into cycling after a long lay off,the saddle on my road bike is a bit extreme in the
comfort stakes any suggestions on a better saddle ( ie split ,gel, etc )any feedback would be much
appreciated.🙁

--

Quoted message said:

--------------------------<

Posted via cyclingforums.com cyclingforums.comcyclingforums.comOpen ↗

(Tim Henderson) said:

Can I ask seasoned users for guidance as to when to tighten a Brooks ?

From Sheldons site:

Most leather saddles have a tension-adjusting nut located under the nose of the saddle. Fortunately,
this nut usually requires a special wrench, so most people leave it alone. In almost every case that
I know of where someone has tried to adjust the tension with this nut, the saddle has been ruined.
My advice is to leave it alone

Pete

"Peter Connolly" <[email hidden]> wrote:

| "Marc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
| "]news:[email hidden]...
| > craggs <[email hidden]> wrote:
...
| > Brookes!
|
| ...if you've got a 'Brooks' shaped backside! I've been trying to break mine in for over a year, on
| and off...almost a tin of Proofide, and it's still not conforming to my shape...but I spent so
| much on it, I'm not giving up!

I had a B17 that didn't break in over about 9 months but now a Conquest that's doing nicely over
about 2 months with one application of Proofide so far. The main difference I know about is that on
the B17 I mostly wore jeans whereas now it's mostly Rohans and the like. I wonder whether the
thinner fabric allows your, er, shape through better, and maybe there's a better transmission of,
er, heat'n'moisture. No jpegs.

--
Patrick Herring, Sheffield, UK anweald.co.ukanweald.co.ukOpen ↗

"The Oracle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do you have to wear padded shorts in the saddle of racers? What about jeans?

You can wear what you like and feel comfortable in. For short local journeys I'll wear whatever I
like. However, for longer trips or fun rides out, I'll use lycra, 'cos it's comfortable and
functional. If it rains or you work up a good sweat, it dries out real quick and is nowhere near as
uncomfortable when wet as cotton based clothing, such as jeans etc. Bought my first ever pair of
padded cycling shorts last week from Aldi. Unfortunately they'd only got a pair of XL and I'm M/L so
I've got the only pair of flared lycra cycling shorts in the country ;-) Tried them out yesterday.
All went well until the spindle on my rear wheel hub broke at the furthest point of the ride from
home!!...bit of an extreme reaction on behalf of the bike I thought, but hey, they were comfortable
upto that point. Just felt a bit daft walking round in flared lycra cycling shorts with no bike :-(
Cheers, Dave.

"Maureen" <maureendotdoigatbtinternetdotcom> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brooks, 'nuff said....swear by 'em. It stands to reason. Plastic won't

let

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

your ar$e breathe, whereas leather will.....and once you've learnt to breathe through it, then
you can learn to talk through it too ;-) But seriously, until gel / plastic / etc becomes
'intelligent' (nanotechnology etc), and molds itself perfectly to your form, it isn't

even

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

on the same playing field as leather. I had one 'as a lad' on an old BSA Sportsman that I used
day in, day out to school, never had any problems, never used any proofide or maintained it in
any way. My wife bought me

one

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in March as a birthday present and it was instantly more comfortable

than

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the plastic one that came with the bike. I then rode 920 miles in a fortnight on it, end to end,
and broke it in. It is now so comfortable,

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

don't even notice I'm on a saddle. However I can only vouch for them for the male anatomy
and also

acknowldege

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that there are folks that they don't seem to work too well for....for

some

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

reason..... Dave.

Thanks for that Dave. I hope you`re right. I`ve recently treated myself

to a

Quoted message said:

Trek 5200WSD and have hardly been out on it as I even find around 15 miles starts hurting!!!!

Maureen

I was the same with the saddle that came with my bike. It had a solid plastic frame which then had
gel padding and finally a plastic covering. Not too bad for the first few miles but eventually I'd
get serious pain where my hip bones/whatever rested on the saddle. The leather saddle is effectively
hung, hammock like off the steel frame, meaning there isn't anything solid be grinding your bones
against with skin and sensitive bits inbetween. Hope it works out, anyway, Cheers, Dave.

Peter Connolly said:

I recommend a trip to your LBS, give them your credit card and first born child, and borrow a
number of saddles from them, and give them all a good test ride; choose the one that feels
best for you.

One of those new fangled online bikeshops does this, although I don't think you need to leave any
children as a deposit. Unfortunately I can't remember the name.

Tim

In space no one can eat ice cream

Quoted message said:

I had a B17 that didn't break in over about 9 months but now a Conquest that's doing nicely over
about 2 months with one application of Proofide so far. The main difference I know about is that
on the B17 I mostly wore jeans whereas now it's mostly Rohans and the like. I wonder whether the
thinner fabric allows your, er, shape through better, and maybe there's a better transmission of,
er, heat'n'moisture. No jpegs.

--
Patrick Herring, Sheffield, UK anweald.co.ukanweald.co.ukOpen ↗

I only cycle in proper padded shorts, and there's no problem of padding (I've got plenty, and so
have the shorts). If I could take a bit of tension out of the saddle, I think it would be easier to
conform to - but the tension adjuster is right at the minimum setting, so all I could do would be to
tighten the leather up, which is exactly the opposite of what I want.

Pete.

"Tim Hall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Connolly said:

I recommend a trip to your LBS, give them your credit card and first born child, and borrow a
number of saddles from them, and give them all a good test ride; choose the one that feels best
for you.

One of those new fangled online bikeshops does this, although I don't think you need to leave any
children as a deposit. Unfortunately I can't remember the name.

Tim

In space no one can eat ice cream

yeahbut..... you could always send the children along as a gesture of goodwill....this would then
give you plenty of time to be testing the saddles out without having to stop to feed/water/quality
time said children!!

In message <[email hidden]>, craggs <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Getting back into cycling after a long lay off,the saddle on my road bike is a bit extreme in the
comfort stakes any suggestions on a better saddle ( ie split ,gel, etc )any feedback would be much
appreciated.🙁

--

Quoted message said:

--------------------------<

Posted via cyclingforums.com cyclingforums.comcyclingforums.comOpen ↗

I'm sure that saddle comfort has as much to do with saddle position as with the design of the
saddle itself. Are you sure that it's not too far back or forward, that it's level and it's at the
right height?
--
Michael MacClancy