Author Topic: Brooks saddle size  (Read 18017 times)

Danneaux

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2013, 08:22:13 am »
Quote
...can you give some instructions on how to do this...
Hi Alastair!

Sure can! I'll start a separate topic on it with full links. I'm 8 hours behind you and it's after midnight here, so I'm headed to bed soon.

My technique is a little different from others shown on the 'Net and has been successful for every saddle I've tried it on. It is not difficult, and greatly minimizes the possibility of bruised leather and damaged rails/cantle plate.

I feel sure I have some photos from the last go-'round and will see if I can find them to go with the procedure.

Best,

Dan. (...who has stayed up to watch some major breaking news on television)
« Last Edit: April 21, 2013, 09:59:49 pm by Danneaux »

Danneaux

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2013, 09:59:36 pm »
Quote
...can you give some instructions on how to do this and where can you get...
Alastair,

I have posted a tutorial and suppliers list here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=6369.0

Best,

Dan.

richie thornger

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #17 on: October 14, 2014, 06:05:07 pm »
Hello Matt,
Did you get your brooks in the end?

I have been instructed to stay off the bike for a minimum of two months because of damaged ischial tuberosities (sit bones)
This was probably started on my first trip to Istanbul on a used brooks sprung saddle. For quite a while I hadn't realised that the spring needed adjusting and the saddle was actually bouncing off the metal. Add that to the last few years and I've been in quite a bit of pain for the last part of my trip. I have now been told to sit on a rubber ring at home and stay off the bike :(

Is there a thread with alternatives to Brooks? I found not only my sit bones got a battering but also the insides of my thighs rubbed a lot. I tried all sorts of adjustments but could never get it to go away.

For my next trip I'm considering the following.
Different saddle to the standard Brooks B??47??
Drop bars or different bars to give me a less upright position.
Thudbuster seatpost.

Has anyone got any experience with any of these???

what better way to avoid the post tour blues than planning the next one :)
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy

Danneaux

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #18 on: October 14, 2014, 07:18:48 pm »
Hi Richie!

My combination of drop handlebars for a 45° back angle*, a Brooks B.17 Standard and a Thudbuster LT suspension seatpost have resulted in unqualified success on my own Nomad. You can see photos and a discussion of the LT and ST 'post options in my "Danneaux's Nomad" gallery entry.

Related threads here:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7089.0
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49113#msg49113
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49115#msg49115
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49125#msg49125
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49147#msg49147
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49255#msg49255
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49269#msg49269
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49273#msg49273
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49567#msg49567
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49587#msg49587
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49589#msg49589
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg49735#msg49735
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg50471#msg50471
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg50507#msg50507
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg50585#msg50585
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg50655#msg50655
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg50849#msg50849
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4523.msg50891#msg50891

The ST worked well on-road, but was inadequate to address what I found to be a neck-snapping stiffness on the Nomad's robust frame when riding off-road and on very rough logging roads _unladen_. The LT works ideally in that case, but I am seriously considering an ST as a "someday" purchase for my primary randonneur bike and also for a second one, which doesn't get ridden so much because it has a very stiff ride on pavement. I'm not old, but the time and miles have taken a toll and I do think such pounding damage can be cumulative after a couple hundred-thousand plus miles.

For what it is worth, I think the suspension post's blunting of sharp impacts results in an easier life for the saddle leather and rails (I've broken three sets of Brooks saddle rails over the years, and transferred my old leather covers to new rails, re-riveting using Brooks' copper rivets).

Hope this helps. All condolences on your painful injury and all the best for a speedy and complete recovery soonest.

Dan.

*NOTE: To use drop handlebars and get a 45° back angle on my size 590M Nomad, I use an inverted 60mm riser stem and compact drop handlebars. No leverage, steering, or handling problems using the short stem, and it results in more of my weight being carried within the wheelbase of the bicycle. I used the same stem length on AndyBG's loaned size 587s Raven Tour with Thorn's Zoom Anatomic handlebars to produce the same fit within 1mm or so. Again, no leverage, steering, or handling problems for me on my fully loaded double European transcontinental crossing this summer. My former 560S Sherpa Mk2 used a shorter top tube and a more conventionally sized stem to achieve the same fit.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2015, 07:06:34 pm by Danneaux »

richie thornger

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #19 on: October 14, 2014, 09:10:35 pm »
Wow Dan I had no idea you had all of my ingredients.
I will have to look into it all.

Cheers
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy

mickeg

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #20 on: October 14, 2014, 09:30:24 pm »
The Brooks Conquest is essentially a Brooks Pro with springs, it is narrower and less likely to rub.  I have Conquests on all my bikes.

Brooks has come out with some non leather saddles.  If I was looking for a saddle for touring that I did not want to worry about it getting wet, I would consider it.  I have not ridden on it yet, but have seen on that another person was touring on, he liked it.

I think if you lean more forward, you may need a narrower saddle.

richie thornger

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2014, 05:04:52 pm »
Cheers Mick, it's all being noted.

Does anyone per chance know the shop that will let you try out a Brooks and if not happy they give you a refund?
I saw an advert for it a few years ago and can't find it now :(
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Danneaux

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #22 on: October 15, 2014, 05:24:13 pm »
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Does anyone per chance know the shop that will let you try out a Brooks and if not happy they give you a refund?
Yep; sure do!

My friend Bill Laine at Wallingford Bicycle Works in New Orleans offers such a service over a 6-month period, as does a "saddle lending library" in New York City.

Bill can be reached here: http://www.wallbike.com/

Be aware of the added costs of international shipping each way, which will make the potentially free trial not so very free at all.I think it would be more cost-effective for customers outside the US to buy a saddle and then sell it on if it doesn't work.

All the best,

Dan.

richie thornger

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #23 on: October 15, 2014, 06:35:52 pm »
I think you may have solved my mystery. My addled brain was telling me it was somewhere near Oxford (UK)
Wallingford is near Oxford. I think I may have seen it online and not noticed it was in the US.

So many reasons to visit North America for a little trip at the moment. How cold is LA in December/Jan
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JimK

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #24 on: October 15, 2014, 07:16:13 pm »
oh, Louisiana in January, for cycling... might be a delight!

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/louisiana/united-states/3188

Donerol

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #25 on: October 15, 2014, 11:33:22 pm »
I am thinking of splashing out on a Brooks.
I have consulted their web site but cannot find and answer to this question.

Is it possible to make a 'bottom' impression and send it to Brooks for their opinion?

I know this sounds a bit suspect but the idea rings a bell with me.

Thoughts folks please

Matt

This first post here gives some useful tips. It suggests playdoh for making the impression but corrugated cardboard can sometimes work.  Note the special  calculations for Brooks.

richie thornger

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #26 on: October 16, 2014, 03:10:33 pm »
Jim it does indeed.  8)

So here's a different take on things...I'm thinking of getting a Brompton or a Bike Friday to do a different type of bike touring.
Would one saddle be appropriate for a foldy and my Nomad or would it wear in different places???
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Danneaux

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #27 on: October 17, 2014, 05:55:42 am »
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Would one saddle be appropriate for a foldy and my Nomad or would it wear in different places???
Richie,

So long as your position on each (different) bike is the same, the saddle should be freely transferable. The sit-bone impressions made on one would work on the other. All my bikes are set up so I can duplicate my preferred position, and I've had no trouble transferring saddles from one to another.

However (you saw this coming, I know), if your position differs greatly from bike to bike, then yes -- the saddles will form to a specific bike.

The key here seems to be whatever affects back angle. As the pelvis rotates forward (result of a forward lean), the ischial tuberosities (sit bones) become effectively narrower. As the pelvis rotates rearward, it becomes effectively wider (as when sitting uprght). That's how saddle wear patterns are most affected.

Either of the bikes you mentioned can be made to pretty much duplicate your position on a larger-wheeled bicycle. The key question is, do you want to have the same position? If you do, then no problem switching saddles between them. If you don't (and many people seem to prefer a more upright position on small-wheeled Folders), then you'd likely want different saddles for each bike.

Where Bike Fridays are made here in my town, I was going to mention some things to keep in mind when selecting a small-wheel folder, but that is beyond the scope of this Forum, which is geared primarily toward Thorn Bicycles. Richie, you're welcome to contact me off-list if you wish to discuss the particulars of Folded touring in greater depth.

Best,

Dan.

julk

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Re: Brooks saddle size
« Reply #28 on: October 17, 2014, 10:11:22 am »
I ride a Thorn eXpr and an H6 Brompton, I have them set up to give as near the same very relaxed ride position as I can.

I ride a titanium B17 with a titanium seatpost on the Brompton, a Flyer (= a sprung B17) on a cro-mo seatpost on the eXpr.
Both rides are comfortable.
I simply don’t put the sprung saddle on the Brompton to save weight and folded size, but I could.
Julian.