A Few Qs re Brooks B17 Imperial

[NRRider]

Looking to give this saddle a try to see if it's the panacea for me as it's been for so many others.
1. This saddle has laces on the sides. Wouldn't those eat into lycra like crazy? I figure they must have thought about this, but what am I missing here?
2. I've read that if your saddle is higher than your bars the B17 is not the right saddle, yet so many people on this forum seem to use the (regular B17 mostly), and I figure not all of them have their bars above their saddles. My saddle's a good 1.5-2" above the bars. Thoughts?
3. Someone wrote that the cutout makes the saddle weaker to the point where it slumped in the middle. Anyone else have that experience or think it's an issue (assume 200lb rider)?
4. I didn't see any other saddles as wide a the Imperial yet recommended for road riding. If you know of any please let me know.
Wallbike sounds like the place to buy unless I can find a killer used deal.
Any other advice here would be much appreciated.

[Smiley]

saw one close up and my 2 cents is DON'T waste your Ferns on that joke of a saddle. If you want buy a used B17 cut a hole in the middle and lace it and you got a Imperial less the price premium

[Louis]

Have you tried a "regular" B17 first? It might work.

I used to think that I need a saddle with a cutout, but have found that I have no numbness problems with a Regal. I think my initial problems years ago that drove me to cutout Selle Italia's were due to an Avocet that had too much gel. Too soft is just as bad as too hard.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you may not need the Imperial. Traditional B17 may be good enough. (Assuming you have not yet tried one.)

Louis

[SoCalSteve]

Looking to give this saddle a try to see if it's the panacea for me as it's been for so many others.

1. This saddle has laces on the sides. Wouldn't those eat into lycra like crazy? I figure they must have thought about this, but what am I missing here?

It doesn't mess with the lycra.

2. I've read that if your saddle is higher than your bars the B17 is not the right saddle, yet so many people on this forum seem to use the (regular B17 mostly), and I figure not all of them have their bars above their saddles. My saddle's a good 1.5-2" above the bars. Thoughts?

I found the closer the saddle to bar drop with a B-17-Imperial, the more comfortable.

3. Someone wrote that the cutout makes the saddle weaker to the point where it slumped in the middle. Anyone else have that experience or think it's an issue (assume 200lb rider)?

It doesnt.

4. I didn't see any other saddles as wide a the Imperial yet recommended for road riding. If you know of any please let me know.

B-17 is the same as an Imperial without the cutout

Wallbike sounds like the place to buy unless I can find a killer used deal.
Any other advice here would be much appreciated.

Advice: Dont waste your time with an Imperial. Go straight to a B-17 and be done with it. Tilt the nose up. Lower the saddle a bit and raise the bars a bit.

Done!

Good luck,

Steve

[Ahneida Ride]

Steve is right.

Also, ride with wrenches and adjust. The sweet spot can be small
and different for different riders.

I have found that small adjustments can have a huge impact on
comfort.

My Thompson setback allows for micro adjustment ...

Oh yea .... you will probably need a set back post if you go with
a Brooks, as the fore and aft adjust ability is less then most saddles.

[sevencyclist]

Have not tried the Imperial, but I have a Ti B17 on my MTB with 1cm drop, Flyer on my commuter with no drop, and a Ti B17 with cutout done by Sella Anatomica on my roadbike with 2cm drop. In my storage I have a broken in regular Brooks B17.

I have settled on these after trying moret than 20 different saddles, including various gel saddles, old Avocet Turbo, SMP 'broken nose' style saddles, WTB, Sella Anatomica with the cutouts, and assorted saddles from the trial program from Competitve Cyclist which included venerable Sella Italia saddles in various configurations, Arionne, Aliente, Regal, and Rolls. I have even broken in a Swift for about one year and sold it, and tried larger Brooks like B67 and returned it to Wallbike.

I found that the shape of B17 seems to fit me the best, and havig the cutout gives slightly more cushioned feeling to the ride. Sella Anatomica glued a layer of leather on the bottom which prevents the saddle from streching quickly, so apparently no need to lace the saddle despite the cutout.

The Imperial seems to doing the same thing with their cutout, although it keeps the saddle from sagging by having the laces instead of the glue on leather. I personally have not tried the laces, so can't tell you whether they will rub your thighs. I do feel having the cutout seems to make it slightly more comfortable, so I will have it done to my future B17s. Hope that helps.

[SoCalSteve]

Have not tried the Imperial, but I have a Ti B17 on my MTB with 1cm drop, Flyer on my commuter with no drop, and a Ti B17 with cutout done by Sella Anatomica on my roadbike with 2cm drop. In my storage I have a broken in regular Brooks B17.

I have settled on these after trying moret than 20 different saddles, including various gel saddles, old Avocet Turbo, SMP 'broken nose' style saddles, WTB, Sella Anatomica with the cutouts, and assorted saddles from the trial program from Competitve Cyclist which included venerable Sella Italia saddles in various configurations, Arionne, Aliente, Regal, and Rolls. I have even broken in a Swift for about one year and sold it, and tried larger Brooks like B67 and returned it to Wallbike.

I found that the shape of B17 seems to fit me the best, and havig the cutout gives slightly more cushioned feeling to the ride. Sella Anatomica glued a layer of leather on the bottom which prevents the saddle from streching quickly, so apparently no need to lace the saddle despite the cutout.

The Imperial seems to doing the same thing with their cutout, although it keeps the saddle from sagging by having the laces instead of the glue on leather. I personally have not tried the laces, so can't tell you whether they will rub your thighs. I do feel having the cutout seems to make it slightly more comfortable, so I will have it done to my future B17s. Hope that helps.

And I have spent many 1,000's of miles riding both cutout and non-cut out B-17's and I cannot tell one bit of difference between the versions...

Go figure,

Steve

[sevencyclist]

And I have spent many 1,000's of miles riding both cutout and non-cut out B-17's and I cannot tell one bit of difference between the versions...

Go figure,

Steve
I think the shape has a lot to do with the comfort. The cutout does nothing for that.

For me, the main difference is that cutout offers longer time I can stay seated on the saddle on a sustained climb without feeling numbness setting in. Since I race 24 Hours of Adrenalin solo, this was an important part for me. Unfortunately I can't do sustained climb out of the saddle due to wrist issues, so I have to find the most comfortable saddle for that region. For flat road rides or short MTB climbs, I do not seem to have the numbness issus.

I swap the cutout saddle B17 over to the MTB for the races, and move it back road bike for the rest of the time.

[palincss]

2. I've read that if your saddle is higher than your bars the B17 is not the right saddle, yet so many people on this forum seem to use the (regular B17 mostly), and I figure not all of them have their bars above their saddles. My saddle's a good 1.5-2" above the bars. Thoughts?


"Bars above the saddle" is a tremendous overstatement. I have B.17s on almost all my bikes, and not one of them has the bars above the saddle. Most have the saddle at bar height, but two of them have it a bit lower, around 1 cm. I also have a Team Pro on one bike.

[jsfoster]

Advice: Tilt the nose up. Lower the saddle a bit and raise the bars a bit.

A level saddle is best, if you are concerned about your...fitness.

[ChipRI]

on all my bikes. I prefer the B17 Narrow. As far as fore/aft, nose horizontal or tilted up, etc. - I've found that the optimal positions vary slightly on each of my bikes and you'll need to find your sweet spot as well.

The point that many of us seem to agree on is that it's a great saddle and the best solution after lots of trial and error. :banana:

[SoCalSteve]

A level saddle is best, if you are concerned about your...fitness.

With a B-17, tilting the nose up IS level...

Just sayin'

Steve

[NRRider]

Thanks for all the responses. From what I can tell the max drop of those who responded is 1-2cm. I was hoping to hear from folks who use the B17 with a larger drop. I still may give it a a try.

Re the cutout, sounds like the typical forum consensus.... :D

[dave thompson]

Thanks for all the responses. From what I can tell the max drop of those who responded is 1-2cm. I was hoping to hear from folks who use the B17 with a larger drop. I still may give it a a try.

Re the cutout, sounds like the typical forum consensus.... :D
A good alternative to the B-17 when you have a bike with a 'large' saddle-to-bar-drop might be the Team Professional. I'm a big guy and used to run B-17s on my bikes with varying degrees of success until I 'discovered' the Team Pro. If works perfectly for me and now all my bikes are outfitted with that saddle.

[rugbysecondrow]

As an aside, I have noticed that those who use B-17s also seem to like Fizik Arione ( I am one of them).

I love my b-17, but used an arione on my Landshark which I use for Triathlons...for what its worth.

Paul

[NRRider]

A good alternative to the B-17 when you have a bike with a 'large' saddle-to-bar-drop might be the Team Professional. I'm a big guy and used to run B-17s on my bikes with varying degrees of success until I 'discovered' the Team Pro. If works perfectly for me and now all my bikes are outfitted with that saddle.
Good to know. Even though it's 10mm narrower it could work. If others haven't had success with the B17 and a decent s-b drop it may be my first choice.

[NRRider]

As an aside, I have noticed that those who use B-17s also seem to like Fizik Arione ( I am one of them).

I love my b-17, but used an arione on my Landshark which I use for Triathlons...for what its worth.

Paul
Hmmmm. That's actually not what I needed to hear. I had an Arione once and the term "ass hatchet" fit my experience to a tee. Surprised to hear this as the Arione is quite a bit more narrow as I recall. Perhaps it's just that almost everyone (including the Arione owners) likes the B17?

[palincss]

One of my bikes, a 1991 Spectrum Ti, has a Team Pro. It's been on the bike since it was brand new.

Another choice that appears to be halfway between a B.17 and a Team Pro that's getting a lot of good word of mouth is the new Gilles Berthoud saddle. It's not cheap, but it's definitely worth a look.

[Dekonick]

Call Wallbike and get a B-17. Ride it for a few weeks - you will find that having your bars near level isn't as bad as you thought... comfort is everything unless you are paid and sponsored. Why else would you ride? To have your a$$ split in two and the other parts numb to the world? Having a comfortable bike means a good proper fitting... and that should take into account your saddle. Have you started with a good fit first?

[CNY rider]

Hmmmm. That's actually not what I needed to hear. I had an Arione once and the term "ass hatchet" fit my experience to a tee. Surprised to hear this as the Arione is quite a bit more narrow as I recall. Perhaps it's just that almost everyone (including the Arione owners) likes the B17?

Don't sweat this issue.
We put an Arione on a test bike during my fitting and I could tell immediately it wasn't for me.
I now have 2 Team Pros and they are just right.

[NRRider]

Well, I bit the bullet and actually bought 1 each of the B17 and the Team Pro, but bought them from Wiggle. Their prices were just too much better and I figure I can sell them here or on CL if I don't like them.

Actually sprung for the B17 Special (Black), as it just looks so much better to me than the standard.

Thanks for all the help.

Keeping the fingers crossed....

[Louis]

Well, I bit the bullet and actually bought 1 each of the B17 and the Team Pro

Good luck. I would think that you should be able to get at least 75% of the purchase price, depending on what folks happen to be looking for if/when you list one.

I am amazed by how hard to the touch (thumb pressure test) the Swift on my DeRosa feels compared to my "plastic" saddles but how comfortable it feels for my sit-bones. Unfortunately I don't have enough miles on it to give an unqualified thumbs up.