Brooks saddle, a newbie question.

[Lance Dopestrong]

Brooks saddles are either comfortable from the start, or they become comfortable once your arriss hardens up to them. It's a very unfashionable view, but I believe it's your backside that breaks in and not the saddle.

As for your question, it looks ok to me but keep an eye on it.

[robing]

One daft thing I did was putting the bike upside down to fix a puncture and unfortunately have scratched the saddle a bit

It'll polish out if you keep riding it, like one of mine did when I parked the bike against a barbed wire fence and the pannier slipped off the post it was resting against.

With a synthetic saddle, you can rip the covering and expose the foam underneath, writing the saddle off.

I hope so, that's good to know. Thanks.

[robing]

One daft thing I did was putting the bike upside down to fix a puncture and unfortunately have scratched the saddle a bit

It'll polish out if you keep riding it, like one of mine did when I parked the bike against a barbed wire fence and the pannier slipped off the post it was resting against.

With a synthetic saddle, you can rip the covering and expose the foam underneath, writing the saddle off.

It did Polish out thanks
One thing I've found is that they say you're not supposed to get them wet so I tried religiously to do this by covering the saddle. But I think it did more harm than good as it got quite damp beneath the covering and got tide marks. They have faded now. Anyway, I'm on tour now and it's got really wet and seems absolutely fine.
Really love the saddle though, got the B17 narrow.

[MarcusT]

I fitted my new Brooks saddle, the one with the black rivets mentioned elsewhere here, and two things surprised me.
First, it was comfortable, I had expected a longish breaking in period though my test ride was only twenty miles.
And secondly it was very slippery.
I have tilted the nose up slightly to see if that helps, but won’t be able to try it out until tomorrow.
Is this normal for a new Brooks saddle, I have no experience with them.
I also thought they were supposed to be flat on the top, but mine slightly sags as can be seen in the picture below. I most definitely don’t want to tighten the adjuster, but should I?

Yes, they are slippery and a slight tilt upward is necessary.
I was not aware of this until I spent several hours on the road with my hex wrench in hand and continually adjusting the saddle so I would not slide forward while riding no hands (the test I used).
I have about 5,000 km on the Brooks and it is still quite slippery, but have never exposed it to rain.

[geocycle]

I have just bought a second brooks, a Ti B17. It’s been very comfortable since new and has needed little breaking in. Part of this must be because I’m so used to Brooks now. But, the leather is also much thinner than the 15 year old B17. I’m not convinced it will last as long and will probably need more adjustments.

[yostumpy]

Regarding slipperyness, yes Brooks B17's are compared to the Spa Nidd. I found a small fingernail's scrape of proofide deposited on each sit bone area, before a ride, and rubbed in slightly in a small area, would be sufficient to reduce slipperyness. Interestingly, once riding , and hot and a bit sweaty, the moisture reduces slippage. It's worse in dry cold cold weather , in which case I sometimes drop a few drops of water from my bottle ( or spit) on the saddle and rub it around a bit, then jump on, to mimick natural moisture . Sold my B17 in the end due to the slipperyness, and bought the Nidd.

[pjclinch]

"Slippery" is a Feature, Not a Bug: if it's smooth and slippy there's less chance of chafing.

You choose, you lose...

[andrew_s]

One thing I've found is that they say you're not supposed to get them wet so I tried religiously to do this by covering the saddle. But I think it did more harm than good as it got quite damp beneath the covering and got tide marks. They have faded now. Anyway, I'm on tour now and it's got really wet and seems absolutely fine.

Not get them wet means not thoroughly soaked right through.
A bit of dampness does no harm, beyond making the surface a bit dull (until polished back up with your backside).

When riding, you keep the rain off, so all that's necessary is the plastic bag when parked. The odd shower doesn't matter, but the bike parked outside in all night rain with the saddle uncovered would be too much, probably.

[robing]

One thing I've found is that they say you're not supposed to get them wet so I tried religiously to do this by covering the saddle. But I think it did more harm than good as it got quite damp beneath the covering and got tide marks. They have faded now. Anyway, I'm on tour now and it's got really wet and seems absolutely fine.

Not get them wet means not thoroughly soaked right through.
A bit of dampness does no harm, beyond making the surface a bit dull (until polished back up with your backside).

When riding, you keep the rain off, so all that's necessary is the plastic bag when parked. The odd shower doesn't matter, but the bike parked outside in all night rain with the saddle uncovered would be too much, probably.

Thats what I would have thought. I try and keep it dry with my backside or under cover. But a couple of times this tour it has got really wet while camping etc and doesn't seem to have done it much harm. Previously I used a bag to cover it and this let some moisture in under the bag which seemed to do more harm.

[geocycle]

One thing I've found is that they say you're not supposed to get them wet so I tried religiously to do this by covering the saddle. But I think it did more harm than good as it got quite damp beneath the covering and got tide marks. They have faded now. Anyway, I'm on tour now and it's got really wet and seems absolutely fine.

Not get them wet means not thoroughly soaked right through.
A bit of dampness does no harm, beyond making the surface a bit dull (until polished back up with your backside).

When riding, you keep the rain off, so all that's necessary is the plastic bag when parked. The odd shower doesn't matter, but the bike parked outside in all night rain with the saddle uncovered would be too much, probably.

+1. I've never ridden with a cover on but have used a plastic bag when leaving it outside with a risk of rain. Mine used to live in a damp shed and actually went mouldy at one point when I'd been away for a few months. It recovered well! Also important not to dry it too quickly, no more than a towel over and it doesn't need heat.

[rmurphy195]

If its alreadyb comfy, as others have said don't chagne it!

I keep mine slightly nose up.

I tried a gel saddle once, with a non-sli[p surface and founf it very uncomfortaqble after half an hour on a hot day, I kept sticking to it whaqreas with the Brroks I could move about a bit more and get some ventilation down below without my shorts sticking to the saddle!

[drossall]

Brooks saddle covers are available.

[colin54]

These covers from Clas Ohlson are a good fit on a Brooks and cheap (3.99), they are backed with a sort of white rubbery waterproof coating, I sometimes ride with mine on even in the dry, excellent in my opinion, they make the saddle less slippy. I don't mind either way.

https://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Asaklitt- ... er/31-5061

[profpointy]

duplicat

[profpointy]

Re: breaking in. Most of mine were comfy from the off -2 x B17s and a team Pro, the latter very very comfy, but a Swift took me a while. My conclusion is that I have a Brooksian buttock (word was substituted and clearly the wrong word, albeit related - this is a bit silly if discussing saddles) and hence they suit me, but evidently don't suit everyone. I don't believe in lotions ans potions to break them in but have put proof-hide on sporadically

Re getting wet: they get wet, then they dry out, just like shoes. However if you park a bike outside for 6 months the saddle may go mouldy. That saddle broke some 10 years later so I may have reduced its life. It was a metal bit that broke not the leather

Re: tightening up the nut. I've never done this. Admittedly I've not done the mileage many on here have but ten or twenty thousand miles some of them maybe.