Brooks saddle feeling lumpy?

[neil_p]

I have a Brooks B17 on my Thorn, and have done about 4000 miles on it. I have always waxed it, tightened it occasionally, and never left it in the rain. Over the last couple of months it has started to feel "lumpy" - i.e. by posterior feels a bit sore after riding, despite always wearing padded cycle shorts. The soreness seems to be somewhere near where the copper rivets are.

I'm trying to fathom what might have caused this (as I expected the saddle to be comfortable for years).

Could it be the rivets starting to stand proud of the leather? They feel slightly raised but hard to tell if that is causing the problem.

I have lost 10kg in weight recently (down to 64kg now).... have i just got a bit bonier, and the saddle has yet to mould to my new shape?

I am tempted to send the saddle to Brooks to check it out, but that means buying another saddle to stand in for it, which is not ideal.

[julk]

I lost a similar amount of weight last year and find my Brooks saddle just as comfortable, so maybe not your body change. I suspect the saddle has aged in some way, maybe accelerated by adverse climate exposure.

I have ridden Brooks saddles for around 50 years and have found the lifespan to be somewhat variable, understandable since they are made from leather.

The very old saddles have eventually cracked and split around the rivets, the shortest lived went permanently out of shape on a wet tour after just a couple of years light use.

I am contemplating buying and breaking in a second saddle to have as a spare in just such a case as this.

[neil_p]

Hmmm, I think I'll buy another saddle and send the current one to Brooks to see what they say. I'm doing 30 miles a day at the moment, and I don't expect to be uncomfortable for all that time. The whole reason I got a top of the range Brooks was to avoid discomfort. grrr.

[mylesau]

It's hard to diagnose the problem that you are having, but I pose a couple of ideas that might be worth considering:

• you shouldn't be sitting on the rivets
• have you thought about your for/aft position - perhaps try moving the seat back a couple of mm and see if it makes a difference
• loosing a bit of weight may have caused you to stretch out a bit in your riding position, resulting in a shift back on the seat
• does the surface of the seat look like it has sagged/stretched at all from new? - perhaps another 1/4 turn on the tension bolt would help?
• alternative to the above - you say you've tightened the tension bolt on occasion, could it be too tight - back it of a 1/4 turn and see if it makes a difference.
• are the sides of the leather flared out at all? - again a small adjustment on the tension bolt might be required
• have someone look at your seating position - see if they can see any obvious issue - perhaps they could take a photo so you can see where you're positioned on the seat
• try cycling without padding (I never use padding, but many do), it might be part of the problem rather than the seat

I live a long way from Brooks, so sending a saddle back for me would be the last resort, I guess it's not such an issue for you?  Don't have an answer, just offering some suggestions.

[Andre Jute]

I am contemplating buying and breaking in a second saddle to have as a spare in just such a case as this.

I can't say I fancy that. I ride only about 2000km a year, and it took me a year properly to break in a Brooks, though it is true that my B73 was adequately comfortable from the beginning -- I bought it for its reputation as the most comfortable Brooks right out of the plastic bag -- but it is now very comfortable. I was looking forward to my B73 seeing me out in that comfort.

Surely the B17 too can be adjusted with the tension nut under the nose, a quarter turn at a time?

In days of yore if a saddle was stretched and flared, which might feel lumpy on a bony bott, holes were punched along the side and the saddle laced across the bottom so that it recovered its shape. There are photos on the net. I haven't done this, but it was suggested to me when it was (needlessly) feared that soaking in neatsfoot oil would make my Brooks saddle too soft.

One more thing. I sit very upright, quite unlike you fast B17 fellows, so it may not matter to you as much, but every time I disturb my saddle, I'm again impressed with how sensitive to nose inclination and height its comfort is.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Bicycles at
 http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLING.html

[neil_p]

It's hard to diagnose the problem that you are having, but I pose a couple of ideas that might be worth considering:

• you shouldn't be sitting on the rivets
• have you thought about your for/aft position - perhaps try moving the seat back a couple of mm and see if it makes a difference
• loosing a bit of weight may have caused you to stretch out a bit in your riding position, resulting in a shift back on the seat
• does the surface of the seat look like it has sagged/stretched at all from new? - perhaps another 1/4 turn on the tension bolt would help?
• alternative to the above - you say you've tightened the tension bolt on occasion, could it be too tight - back it of a 1/4 turn and see if it makes a difference.
• are the sides of the leather flared out at all? - again a small adjustment on the tension bolt might be required
• have someone look at your seating position - see if they can see any obvious issue - perhaps they could take a photo so you can see where you're positioned on the seat
• try cycling without padding (I never use padding, but many do), it might be part of the problem rather than the seat

I live a long way from Brooks, so sending a saddle back for me would be the last resort, I guess it's not such an issue for you?  Don't have an answer, just offering some suggestions.

When cycling yesterday and today, I made a conscious effort to sit further forward on the saddle... only an inch or so. It was enough to make a huge difference.... bliss!

I will move the saddle back an inch or so to compensate. I will also slacken off the tension a quarter turn, just in case that has made the saddle to taught.