For information, 36x16  transmission,  aboie 33km/h you can no longer pedal, sometimes it’s frustrating

Depends on your pedaling cadence.

I generally pedal relatively fast at about 90 rpm (tours par minute). With a 36x16 combination that translates into 36 km/h, which is way above a sustainable speed for me on the level, unless I have an exceptionally strong tail wind.

If necessary I can increase pedal cadence for very short periods. With a 36x16 combination at 120 rpm in the highest gear that would be 48 km/h. In practice, that kind of speed is not really useful for me, except perhaps when I negotiate medium size roundabouts, where I feel safer if I am doing roughly the same speed as most of the motor vehicules. 

My current highest gearing on any of my bikes is 42x19 on my Rohloff equipped Raven Sport Tour. I use that bike mainly for day rides with little luggage. Top gear with 42x19 is slightly lower than with a 36x16, the maximum speed I managed recently when pedaling (downhill) was 53 km/h at 137 rpm, just to see if I could still do that at age 69. But normally I would just stop pedaling and coast down the hill.   

Quote from: jul on July 26, 2026, 12:54:24 PM

maybe is it possible to find a similar saddle as the B17 but without leather ?

I went from the leather B17 to the rubber C17 and prefer the C17, it isn't identical, a bit like a half broken in B17, not everyone likes that, I bought a second C17 from someone returning to leather.

I have two C17 saddles that I really do not like, they are currently unused.  I am sticking with leather.

I had a bike fit by Hewitt Cycles as a part of the buying experience some 25 years ago, it made some changes to my position which I didn't at first like, but ended up changing other bikes to match.  That's an issue with trial and error, you will resort to what feels familiar, rather than what might be best.  Years later I tried the guide linked below, and it came within mm's of the Hewitt fit.  Both professional and guided need to be taken as a starting point, rather than an absolute, we are all different, though not as different as some assume.
https://wheel-easy.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/bike-set-up-2017a.pdf

I applied Proofide to the top and bottom on a regular basis, initially more frequent than later.

IIRC, Brooks instruction for applying Proofide are to apply the proprietary wax to the top and the bottom when first applied, but for subsequent applications only to the top.

I presume that is to avoid building up wax on both sides so that the leather can breathe out any moisture through one flat side with only a light, single application of Proofide.

Trivia, I bought my Brooks saddle and leather grips in the Honey colour, not because it matched my bike well (it was actually a very good match but a bit flashy for me) but so that I could create a custom dark brown by soaking the saddle in neat foot oil (buy it from a saddlery or tack store which supplies the horse racing crowd).

I'm still getting back into the swing of cycling again after a few years off the bikes, I'm older, heavier and less bike fit than I was, and also riding riser bar bikes while my drop bar road bike is gathering dust in a corner. I'm considering a bike fit to get the most out of my cycling and to possibly iron out a few issues I'm having.

I've noticed there are now quite a few people offering bike fitting services, from the expensive to the not so expensive, from specialists who do nothing but bike fits to bike shops who also offer it as one of their many services.

Has anyone had one? What did you think of the experience? Has it improved your cycling or solved any issues you may have had?