Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
ljamesbee
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Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by ljamesbee »

Was thinking of a bike related gift to get a female friend of mine for an upcoming occasion. She's a fairly sporty person and keen cyclist - not so into overly girly stuff. I could think of plenty of girly bike gifts and a bunch of uber-practical things. I thought maybe a brooks saddle would be a good gift. Any other gift suggestions?

Since it's a surprise, it will have to be bought without having a proper fitting done. Do any female riders have any advice on the best one to go for, for an average rider? Or anyone's spouses/girlfriends? The saddle will likely go on a racing/touring bike which has a non aggressive geometry.

I've narrowed it down to:

B17 S - ladies version of B17
B17 S Imperial - Ladies version of B17, but with cutout
Team Pro S/FInesse titanium - Ladies version of Team pro. The finesse titanum is brooks' lightest saddle (I think)

The springy models are something I'm fairly sure she would not like.

Thanks for any advice you can offer. :)
tatanab
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by tatanab »

Far superior, in my view and experience, are Gilles Berthoud saddles. Similar price. The female version is Marie Blanque http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... _-_Leather If you want a leather saddle then consider these and read some reviews such as http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2011/0 ... thing.html I have binned almost all of my modern Brooks saddles and now own 5 (YES FIVE) Berthoud Aspin saddles so evidently they suit me. However, I am not female so cannot report first hand on the female saddles.
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531colin
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by 531colin »

Buy a woman a saddle only if you want yourself and a pain in the bum to be forever linked in her mind.
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pjclinch
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by pjclinch »

Saddles are personal, so anything bought without trying will be pot luck. I know women who've found my Brooks saddles very comfortable, and others (wife included) who despise them.

I'd be inclined to present her with a voucher for one saddle of her choice.

Pete.
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ljamesbee
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by ljamesbee »

Thanks for the advice on the Berthoud saddles. Will look into those.

531colin wrote:Buy a woman a saddle only if you want yourself and a pain in the bum to be forever linked in her mind.


:lol:. I'm already a pain so no change there :wink:

pjclinch wrote:Saddles are personal, so anything bought without trying will be pot luck. I know women who've found my Brooks saddles very comfortable, and others (wife included) who despise them.

I'd be inclined to present her with a voucher for one saddle of her choice.

Pete.


Good idea on the voucher idea, but I'd prefer to give an actual gift - she'll tell me if she doesn't like it or if it's awful so no risk there.
greyingbeard
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by greyingbeard »

How can anyone advise ? Only her bottom will know. Perhaps you could inspect her closely on some pretext, if you know her well enough 8)
eileithyia
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by eileithyia »

Saddles are far too personal, get a voucher if you are insistent on buying her a saddle, but otherwise...... stylish Rapha clothing... they have had a sale on recently....
There are a variety of gift ideas if you visit Totalwomenscycling gift site....
http://totalwomenscycling.com/lifestyle ... vzeEHXi.97
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
ljamesbee
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by ljamesbee »

eileithyia wrote:Saddles are far too personal, get a voucher if you are insistent on buying her a saddle, but otherwise...... stylish Rapha clothing... they have had a sale on recently....
There are a variety of gift ideas if you visit Totalwomenscycling gift site....
http://totalwomenscycling.com/lifestyle ... vzeEHXi.97


Thanks for the link. Some nice ideas there :D
ljamesbee
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by ljamesbee »

greyingbeard wrote:How can anyone advise ? Only her bottom will know. Perhaps you could inspect her closely on some pretext, if you know her well enough 8)


:lol:

eileithyia wrote:Saddles are far too personal, get a voucher if you are insistent on buying her a saddle


Had a bit of a look at other options, but am going to go with a saddle plus gift receipt. I know she needs/was looking for one. Voucher is definitely a good idea in general for something like this, but it's not a voucher giving relationship. She'd be like 'thanks grandma', as would I if the roles were reversed.

Anyone have experience using any of the brooks ones I mentioned?
LollyKat
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by LollyKat »

Thirty years ago I (female) used to find the B17 pretty comfortable but for anything over 50 miles would think wistfully of a cut-out. The Imperial wasn't available at the time. I also tried a Finesse. It was lovely and light but too short for me, so that I was either sitting over the metal cantle at the back or on the metal nose piece at the front - ouch! I personally would never use a short saddle again, but there are others, both men and women, who swear by them.

I was interested in the Imperial when it appeared but saw several that had sagged badly after relatively little use - I think Brooks is using thinner leather than they used to. I then discovered the Pearl Rivet which gets good reviews, and which looked as if it would suit me. Being a bit short of cash at the time I bought a Spa Nidd and tried to copy the cut-out with a drill and a Stanley knife. Result - saddle soreness is finally a thing of the past :D .

Saddles are very personal things and I have spent a small fortune finding the right one.
Brucey
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by Brucey »

Good work! The pearl rivet also has the sides joined underneath the cutout; I would suppose that the same joining effect could be achieved by lacing?

Image

Some of my lady cycling friends I know have suffered terribly; everyone's built differently, ladies particularly, it seems, so what works for some mightn't work for others. Perhaps you should offer anatomically adjusted saddles for others?

cheers
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531colin
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by 531colin »

LollyKat wrote:Thirty years ago I (female) used to find the B17 pretty comfortable but for anything over 50 miles would think wistfully of a cut-out. ................... Being a bit short of cash at the time I bought a Spa Nidd and tried to copy the cut-out with a drill and a Stanley knife. Result - saddle soreness is finally a thing of the past :D .

Saddles are very personal things and I have spent a small fortune finding the right one.


I think we need a picture of this saddle.

I also think we need a "compilation thread" about women's saddles
Vorpal
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by Vorpal »

Saddles... In general, I'm with other posters. Saddles are too personal to make a good gift. That said, if you know her well and are convinced that your friend needs a new saddle and wants to try something new, a Brooks is probably not a bad choice. You should select one that suits her riding / bike style, rather than on recommendations here. If she has a sporty bike / riding position, the only choice is the Finesse. If she is looking for a new touring / leisure riding saddle, have a look at http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2009/10/ ... ystem.html

Be prepared to have her try it for awhile and reject it or replace it.

531colin wrote:I also think we need a "compilation thread" about women's saddles

I have a partial index saved on my computer. I'll get around to adding to it and posting it one of these days. :shock:

Contributions are welcome.
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pete75
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by pete75 »

Vorpal wrote:That said, if you know her well and are convinced that your friend needs a new saddle and wants to try something new, a Brooks is probably not a bad choice.


I'd second that if only because a Brooks saddle loses very little value when nearly new so if unsuitable a sale on here or Ebay would recover most of the cost especially if you purchase from somewhere in Germany like Bike discount http://www.bike-discount.de/en/shop/brooks-1499. Their prices seem a fair bit lower than the UK, for example a women's B17 Imperial , the one with seemingly desirable cut out, is 79 euros inc post - about 58 quid.
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LollyKat
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Re: Best brooks saddle for female riders/gift suggestions

Post by LollyKat »

Brucey wrote:Good work! The pearl rivet also has the sides joined underneath the cutout; I would suppose that the same joining effect could be achieved by lacing?

Yes - the Nidd comes with laces so it was very easy to adjust to suit.

Vorpal wrote: If she has a sporty bike / riding position, the only choice is the Finesse. .

Aaargh - not necessarily!! Leaning forward even only slightly can put the most sensitive parts right on the unyielding metal nose plate, as I found to my cost. :shock:
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