Which Brooks saddle is best? Too hard? Suspension or not?

[crazytraveler]

I have been wondering what to do about my saddle and seat post for a while.

My problem is, my B17 Brooks saddle got deformed on the top. I sent it to repair but since then it has not been the same. It is rock hard!! I have ridden over 11,000 Km and it is harder than on day 1.

There is anything I can try to save the saddle? Why is so hard? It feels that when they fix it the tighten the leather so much that now it is just like sitting on concrete.

I was thinking to by a suspension seat post now that I am getting into Asia and the roads get worse, but maybe I could solve all my problems by getting a new Brooks saddle with springs? Softer on unpaved roads and new leather?

If no ideas comes out about how to get the leather to soften again, which of all the Brooks models would you recommend? I cannot really find much information about the differences.

I can get for the same price any of this models: Flyer Brown (the B17 with springs), Aged Flyer Men (softer leather?) or Flyer Bend Leather (directly descending from the B66 Champion, whatever that means).

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

[mickeg]

If you are happy with the shape but only want to soften the leather, use more Proofhide, top and bottom.  I usually put the Proofhide on the leather, put the saddle in a closed plastic bag and set it in the sun for a while.  The heat from the sun helps warm the saddle enough that the Proofhide can soak into the leather quite well.  I live in an area where it almost never exceeds 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), but putting it in the plastic bag allows more heat to accumulate and liquify the Proofhide without being excessively hot to damage the leather.

I use the Conquest model, that is sprung like the Flyer.  I like it for smoothing out some of the road vibration, but the extra steel adds weight.  The springs deflect maybe about 5mm when I sit on the saddle, not enough to notice and certainly not enough to cushion big bumps.  But it gets rid of some of the rough road feeling.  But if you are using wide tires, the springs might not help much as the wider tires would serve the same purpose.

Also if you are a lighter rider, the springs might be too stiff to help much.  I weigh about 175 pounds (about 80kg).

When I try to break in a new Brooks, I pull the seatpost with saddle attached out of the frame and soak the saddle in cold water for about 15 to 30 seconds.  Put the seatpost back into the frame and ride the bike for a short ride, staying near home.  (The reason that I stay near home is that if I find that the leather is deforming too fast, I want to get off the saddle right away and stay off it until dry.)  If that did not do enough, try it again and maybe increase the moisture level in the leather by soaking it for a bit longer.  Once I get the shape most of the way I want it, then I apply Proofhide.  Proofhide seems to give the leather an ability to resist taking a new shape, thus I do not apply it until I have the leather shape where I want it.

It is easy to get overly enthusiastic and get the leather too wet, resist that urge.  The goal is to get it moist, but not wet.  I usually soak the leather three or four times before I get the saddle where I want it, I would rather spend more time repeating the soaking than risk damaging the saddle by getting it too wet.

The surface of the leather has sometimes lost some of the smoothness in the sitbone areas where the leather deformed the most, but that has not been any problem for me.

[Andre Jute]

There is also the alternative of a mechanically sprung saddle. I use the B73, which has the maximum springing of three helical springs, one at each corner. I have no idea whether the springs work; they seem pretty hard to me. But the B73 has the reputation of being the most comfortanle Brooks saddle out of the box, and I certainly found it so. Just to make certain, I soaked the leather, totally covering the saddle, in a bath of neatsfoot oil for twenty minutes, then let it dry for 24 hours. Now service is a thin wipe of Proofide a couple of times a year on the top surface only. Note, however, that the B73 is for the relatively upright rider, certainly not for a bike with drops. There are also more heavily sprung triple rail saddles, with the B190 at the top, but that one is very wide indeed, and unless you are huge, I suspect that the springs will be very hard.

You should read Sheldon Brown on breaking in the Brooks saddles. Some people use motor oil. The traditionals fall down on the floor foaming at the mouth when they hear this. I take the view that is your saddle bought with your money, and whatever you do to make it comfortable is your business.

The tightening bolt can also be turned the other way. Have you tried very slightly (one-eighth turn per week of riding) slacking off the tension on the leather?