Brooks Saddle - Position & Fit

[.RJ]

I've never used one of these before, and I'm building up a bike to just use around town & commuting - my question is on saddle placement - perhaps I'm overthinking it because I havent even finished building, but, does changing from a normal road (i.e. specialized chicane) saddle require any changes in the saddle position, i.e. up/down, fore/aft, angle of the dangle?

I'm hoping brooks + steel + 650x42 = magic carpet ride...

[Luwabra]

It’ll take a few rides. And adjustments. I went from romin evo to b17 imperial. Needed to put the nose up from level more than expected for me anyway.

[Peter P.]

My experience has been they work better with a more upright position; the wide steel horseshoe frame is less forgiving as the hips rotate forward. So don't cut the steerer too soon or too much.

Tilting the saddle down slightly below horizontal will make the front half of the saddle parallel with a slight flare up to the rear. That works.

There's not as much rearward adjustment to the rails. Not much can be done about it without looking far and wide for a seatpost with extra setback. I didn't bother and just adapted my expectations.

And it may take a long time for the saddle to break in. Give it at least six months, maybe even a year.

Those were my experiences.

[charliedid]

Yes, people ride it level to slightly nose up in most cases.

Also remember that a B-17 was designed to work on a bike that has no drop to the bars and in most cases bars higher. I know people who break this rule but they are weird anyway. You will also notice it has far less rail adjustment due to the upright fit and slack seat angle it was designed for.

All you can do is try.

[Birddog]

If the relationship in the image of your stem and saddle height is accurate, I think you will have a problem. That is quite a bit of drop for a Brooks B17?. I would set up the saddle level and either nudge up or down a bit for final placement. If the nose is sloped too much you'll slide forward. In my experience if your bars aren't pretty close to the same height as your saddle your "boys" will complain. YMMV

[jamesdak]

Yep, pretty much every Brooks or Gyes I run need the nose up a bit or it will always be pushing you forward and putting too much wight on your hands.

[sib]

I can't help you with your saddle query, but that bike looks fantastic.
I hope you'll post a ride report when it's done..!

[Billybob62]

Some good advice/information here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/leather.html

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by Birddog

If the relationship in the image of your stem and saddle height is accurate, I think you will have a problem. That is quite a bit of drop for a Brooks B17?. I would set up the saddle level and either nudge up or down a bit for final placement. If the nose is sloped too much you'll slide forward. In my experience if your bars aren't pretty close to the same height as your saddle your "boys" will complain. YMMV

In the photo the saddle is a little high and looks like I'll add some spacers under the stem. Without shifty bits yet I just tossed it together to get it on the ground.

Thanks for the advice, all. This is helpful get getting it setup.

[redir]

My two bikes with Brooks have the nose up position as well. Of course you have to find what works for you but my guess is that you will want nose up too.

[Ken Robb]

My experience is that none of my B-17 or Brooks Pro saddles needed any breaking in to be comfy. The contour of these saddles is so "right" for my undercarriage that I have a very wide area of contact and so very low psi between me and the saddle. I treat them top and bottom before my first ride with Brooks Proof Hide and then add a little to the tops very rarely but I'm rarely caught in the rain and my bikes live in my garage so they are not exposed to the sun much. Getting just the right amount of "nose-up" is critical as I need to get my bottom situated with most of my weight bearing on the wider portion toward the rear of the saddle without getting the nose so high that there is pressure on my plumbing. If the nose isn't up enough I have a tendency to slide forward which results in pressure on my hands. I like my bars even with or higher than my saddle. Riders with more than a little saddle-to-bar drop will probably be happier with one of the slimmer Brooks models.

[93KgBike]

What a timely thread, for me. I have finally gotten my first ever Brooks B17 to go on Andrelcox's & dgoodwin's old CSi.

I agree with charliedid's comment about the B17 being designed for an 'older' style riding position where there is a minimal drop from saddle to bars. I spent several years on an Ideal 90 saddle that really could crush one's walnuts in the more modern pelvis-rolled-forward position. But it worked great on a big frame with seat and bars leveled, and a shorter stem.

Dennis Stone tried to get me to buy one for a few years before I left CA. He really thought they were the best.

Anyone have advice on the schedule, or necessity, for nose tension changes as the saddles age? I never adjusted the tension on my old Ideale for myself, or for my wife. That saddle is now 58 years old.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by 93KgBike

What a timely thread, for me. I have finally gotten my first ever Brooks B17 to go on Andrelcox's & dgoodwin's old CSi.

I agree with charliedid's comment about the B17 being designed for an 'older' style riding position where there is a minimal drop from saddle to bars. I spent several years on an Ideal 90 saddle that really could crush one's walnuts in the more modern pelvis-rolled-forward position. But it worked great on a big frame with seat and bars leveled, and a shorter stem.

Dennis Stone tried to get me to buy one for a few years before I left CA. He really thought they were the best.

Anyone have advice on the schedule, or necessity, for nose tension changes as the saddles age? I never adjusted the tension on my old Ideale for myself, or for my wife. That saddle is now 58 years old.

I have never had to adjust tension on any Brooks because mine never sagged enough to need it. I think it would only be needed after thousands of miles and/or too much of the wrong leather treatment or water-soaking. Brooks recommends NOT using neats foot and similar oils. I sure don't want my leather saddle to get as soft as my old baseball mitt. :-)

[palincss]

It's interesting to note that in some of the older Brooks catalogs, such as the 1907 catalog found here the B.17 on p. 15 is described as a "road racing saddle" while the text on the facing page goes on at some length urging ordinary road riders to consider using a larger sprung saddle instead of a road racing saddle for general riding.

I guess riding positions have changed a lot since 1907!

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by palincss

It's interesting to note that in some of the older Brooks catalogs, such as the 1907 catalog found here the B.17 on p. 15 is described as a "road racing saddle" while the text on the facing page goes on at some length urging ordinary road riders to consider using a larger sprung saddle instead of a road racing saddle for general riding.

I guess riding positions have changed a lot since 1907!

The roads have changed too. :-)