Cycling UK Forum

I would like some advice on buying a brooks saddle for my touring bike. I have been looking at the B17 standard,which seems to be within my budget. Are they as good as they're cracked up to be? There seems to be a big price difference from this model up to the next one. What is the difference? My bike is a ridgeback panorama(great bike) but I find the seat a bit soft, and I would like something a little bit firmer.

fred armour

Fred Armour wrote:I would like some advice on buying a brooks saddle for my touring bike. I have been looking at the B17 standard,which seems to be within my budget. Are they as good as they're cracked up to be? There seems to be a big price difference from this model up to the next one. What is the difference? My bike is a ridgeback panorama(great bike) but I find the seat a bit soft, and I would like something a little bit firmer.

fred armour

First got a B17 in 1962. I will not change. My bum's happy about it.

You have to get the width that works for you.

B17: wide
Swift or Swallow: narrow
Team Professional: in between

A Team Pro is right for me - anything wider would chafe and I rode a Swift for thousands of miles without ever finding it comfortable.

Which Brooks would people say is around the same width as a San Marco Rolls?

I recently fitted my "already worn in" B17 to my new Panorama. It's improved an already great bike.

The B17 has cro-mo rails and therefore weighs a bit. The more expensive saddles probably have titanium rails (the Swift certainly does), which saves weight, but at much greater cost. If you can afford it, then go for the more expensive option, but personally, I'd recommend the B17.

I've had 3 B17's and a Team Pro. I didn't notice much difference. Team pro doesn't have saddlebag loops (at least mine didn't). B17 does.

Fred Armour wrote:... My bike is a ridgeback panorama(great bike) but I find the seat a bit soft, and I would like something a little bit firmer ...

So is mine and so did I. I replaced the original squidgy saddle with a B17 in mid-February. I seem to be saddle-sensitive and the hardness of the Brooks was painful for a while, but its shape suited my shape (no chafing) so I persisted with it. It has now softened where the sit bones rest and is fairly comfy, but not as comfy as it will be in another three months. My guess is that there's a degree of 'pot luck' on the softness of the leather per saddle, and to what degree this suits the individual. If you can inspect (and press) a few at the point of sale, all the better.

I'd go for it, and if you don't like it after 1000 miles, at least you'll be a qualified contributor to Brooks Saddle threads!

The B17 is brilliant, but we know very little about you, and even less about your behind.
I would go for a B17 wide, and if you don't like it, sell it. A Brooks holds its value, someone on here will buy it.
If you don't get on with the Brooks, I recently bought a Specialized Body Geometry and I think it's also a nice saddle.

robwa10 wrote:Which Brooks would people say is around the same width as a San Marco Rolls?

If the Rolls is about 150mm wide, then of the regular Brooks range the B17N and Swift are both 155mm, I think, from memory. But fit is also dependant on what angle your sit bones meet the saddle. The Swift IME is not a flat saddle, unlike the B17 standard (at least when new). There is a definite slope where the bones sit, ideal for the stretched out position, though I'm happy to use it with a more upright position as well. In fact I don't think there is a straight line on my Swift at all, which only enhances it's aesthetic charm.

There's a common theory that the honey ones break in more quickly than the black ones - I bought two Team Pros (one honey, one black) at about the same time, and I'd agree with that.

Two things of note with a brooks

one ..try and find a seat width that you've had before that you always felt was the right size and then try to find the matching size in the brooks

two.. brooks seats being mostly leather are like a pair of dm boots in that to get the best most comfortable boots you need to break them in. as the seats become even more modern that break in period seems to be getting less and less but make no mistake after the break in period your bum will love you and so will your seat

I Liked the first B17 that I bought five years ago so much that I have fitted B17s to my other four road/touring/audax bikes. All four B17s have been comfortable from day one.

I would like to thank everyone for their very useful replies. I will probably go for the B17,and see how that goes
thanks again

fred

your local specialized dealer can measure your sit bones so you can get the right size saddle btw.