saw brooks Saddles on that programme last night and they look great but wondering if they are comfy? how are they suited to mtbing (trail centres) or are they mainly for touring bikes? £75 not cheap either.

Yes, got them on all my bikes!

But some people don’t like them….

IMHO, they work better for touring than MTB (certainly that B17 you’ve shown). They aren’t exactly made for mud and wet grit so you’ll ruin it PDQ. I found the B17 was comfy from the off, but many folk tell tales of having to break them (your arse) in. It’s got more comfy the more it’s been used.

I’ve tried the C15 & C17. They actually ripped bits off my arse.

|I’ve got one of the Cambium saddles ( sadly I think they are the ones made in Italy and not the UK ) and it’s quite comfy.

I’ve Cambiums on 3 of my bikes.

Love them.

YMMMV

No.

they are, BUT….

– very sensitive to setup
– can take some tie to bed in
– heavy!
– not great for bad weather/offroad

With leather saddles like Brooks/Spa Cycles/Gilles Berthoud etc. you need to take the time to get them setup right, and adjust to them, and just like any saddle make there are different shapes for different bums but once you get it right they are awesome.

In addition to what scotroutes said they are not really racy saddles, they work for long periods of sitting and riding, not aggressive high power riding IMO.

You know how on a long road or touring ride you don’t really notice your saddle at first, but then it gets more uncomfortable after about 80 miles, and then gets progressively worse? Well with a decent leather saddle it’s the other way around, you notice it a bit to begin with, and then the longer you ride the less you notice it and the less it hurts 🙂

Found the Cambium C17 like a sofa over 30/40 mile distances. Rode 75 miles of the SDW and never experienced saddle rash that bad. Not sure what the reason was? (Note to self; Don’t put aloe vera body lotion on a raw bottie!)

and then the longer you ride the less you notice it and the less it hurts

Is that because your harris is numb? 🙂

I’ve always fancied one but more for the aesthetic than anything else.

I have the spa equivalent on my touring bike. Mixed reviews and many find it uncomfortable. However just back from a 2 week your on mine and it was like sitting on a sofa. Really comfy and as alluded to above, you just don’t notice it unlike some others.

I came from a charge spoon which, whilst fine for an hour or so, would cut me in half for a longer ride.

The Spa is one I expect to be riding for the next 40 years…

A good Brooks is arse magic. Until you’ve ridden a triple sprung Brooks you haven’t experienced true comfort on a bike.

I’d forgotten that until I took my ancient roadster for a loop round the NW Highlands. After over 100 miles on rough roads it took me a while at the end of the day to realise that something was missing, that feeling in the nether regions – the numb bum syndrome.

They’re heavy, but they’re not delicate. Use mudguards or keep the waterproofing up and the saddle will outlive you. (The one I was riding on was pre war)

I loved my b17 leather one but the c17 was awful

I have a swift on one of my bikes and honestly it is unforgiving.
They say you break them in, rubbish you smash your backside first. Having said that my son who has a larger derriere than myself, says it is the most comfortable seat he has ridden.
I would change it but it really suits the bike, and as I don’t ride it too often, I can live with it, but I wear bib shorts for sure.

I’ve got them on all my bikes, but there are many different ones….I use a B17 special on my salsa spearfish and have a cambium on my trek stache for the rain and mud…..I’ve got most of the different models spread across a wide range of bikes….the only ones I don’t have (or have had) are the Colt, which is a dedicated touring saddle and the swallow, as I’m too much of a heavy trader for that. I’ve done thousands of miles on my B17 and it was comfy from the off. They come into their own after you’ve been riding for about an hour, and the heat of your hoop warms the leather up and softens it….IMHO, of course.

They do not have a relief hole so will put a lot of pressure on genetals especially if in a more agressive riding position. Some people might like that kind of thing but not my cup of tea.

Just trying to sell my last one.

Yes, they are comfy.
But, they are variable, some much nicer than others.
They don’t like a soaking.
The rails have limited movement, hard to get far back enough on many bikes.
They have a sweet spot. Sit a bit further back than usual to stretch your legs and you’re sitting on the hard metal frame.

Always had at least one since I was a teenager, but I just can’t be arsed anymore.

Have a new Spa I might break in (bloody neice nicked my nicely broken in one!) but tbh, I’m finding my Spesh BG just as comfy as I ever found the leather saddles I’ve owned.

Worth a pop if you’ve never had one, but I fear things have moved on.

[quote]featuring a distinctive cut-out section in the top of the leather, first conceived and registered by Brooks over a century ago. In the catalogue of J.B. Brooks & Co. dated 1890 a model called the B86 Imperial, with its unique “registered cutting”, is described as “a sure preventative to all perenial pressure”[/quote]

I have a B17 Narrow I used to commute on – the commute ended as opposed to the use of the B17. It’s still on my single speed which is my most used bike, I’d say they are better on tourers and regular use bikes than on MTBs.

It is comfy after a fashion, but it’s by no means the perfect saddle, as for cost mine is 4 years old and probably has another 15-20 in it at least.

I have a Cambium C13 on my commuter and find it very comfortable, but then again I find a Selle Italia C64 comfortable!

I bought a Swift and was so shocked at the weight, the crudeness and the discomfort that I sent it straight back. They really are beaten together in the same factory that used to make chastity belts in medieval times.

The leather stretches to fit your bum, which is why they shouldn’t be allowed to get wet. They do have a bolt under the nose for re-stretching them.

I disagree about this business of not letting them get wet. If the saddle is looked after from new and proofed every so often, it will stay in good nick.

What does give them the reputation for having a problem with wetness is when the saddle is allowed to dry out, and gets ridden on in that state. I think what happens is that the leather is no longer resilient and so it tears internally, and then when it soaks up moisture it naturally sags and stretches.

Back when Brooks weren’t selling their precious unguents for saddle care we used to use any old oil. My saddles got a regular rub over with 3-in-1 (including the underside).

Anyhow, it’s a Brooks I’m using on my resurrected Pompino, not the B17 but the sprung version of it.

Edit:

The lump in the bridge is a memorial to a motorcyclist who crashed into the bridgeworks in the 1930s. It was retained when they built this new bridge.
It was carved by one of the stonemasons on the spot and originally it showed a head with a leather helmet and goggles.

For me an object of torture.

Charge Spoon £18 ‘ nuff said !

What epicyclo said.
I have a swift on my ss. Comfy from about mile 20. The only saddle I’ve ever that that is as comfy with or without padded shorts. I’ve never been able to get it comfy on my Road bike but on mtb it’s simply amazingly comfortable. It gets regular treatment with books proofide (which is a job I really enjoy).I vaguely remember nybikesnob writing about why a leather Brooks suits mountainbikes.
Clearly there’s differing opinions up there ^.

Lovely, not for an MTB IMHO but you could if you wished. You should get a splash cover for them to use on an mtb on wet days. Look after oit and it will look after you

Had a Ti Swift. Comfy but despite proofing was starting to stretch from sweat. Sold before I wrecked it.

Charge Spoon £18 ‘ nuff said !

except if you dont have any arse padding they are shite and wear out.

Ive 2 b17s – ones 15 years old the others 10 one on a commuter on my tourer

Ive a swift ti – its not great for short rides but where it wins out against something like a spoon that after a week and 500 miles – it feels no worse.

When ever i use a padded saddle i find that as time goes on i get saddle sores and the padding gets compressed in spots leading to it getting less and less comfy.

trail_rat – Member
…When ever i use a padded saddle i find that as time goes on i get saddle sores and the padding gets compressed in spots leading to it getting less and less comfy.

I’m suspicious of the value of padding in the long haul. I don’t like it on a saddle and I never wear padded shorts.

For a long ride I use Vaseline and never get saddle sores. That’s what I used to do when I was doing big distances in my youth, and as it worked for me then (without any padding) I don’t see any reason to change now. However, even at my best, I was not in trail_rat’s class as a rider.

I think that padding just evenly distributes the pain (eventually) whereas with an unpadded saddle like a Brooks you can slightly adjust your position to an untenderised bit. 🙂

I agree about Charge Spoon saddles, they’re comfortable – up to about 80 miles onroad for me. After that I’ll take the Brooks.

On the mtb it doesn’t matter which saddle I use because I ride mainly SS so saddle contact is sporadic. I can do 24 hours on SDG’s hardest with no discomfort, but on the road it’s agony in about 30 odd miles.

I have various Brooks saddles, mainly sprung saddles that belong on my vintage bikes, so not much use for a head down position. However I do have a Ti Swallow on my Flying Scot, and it’s just as I remember it to have been 50 odd years ago – uncompromising if you don’t place it just right. (The sensors in your posterior will inform you of the right position 🙂 )

B17 was a joy and it wasn’t even mine (bought it second hand). Colt was a tool of torture on every bike except my Brompton.

B17 was on many bikes and was always great on the mtb. But was a pain to look after, as they really don’t like water.

i did the 24 hrs of strathpuffer solo on a selle italia slr 165 and 1.8inch tires

maybe thats why i find brooks quite comfy ……

TiRed – Member
…B17 was on many bikes and was always great on the mtb. But was a pain to look after, as they really don’t like water.

I haven’t put a modern Brooks to a real test, but I cannot remember it ever being a problem and I used to ride in all weathers, but maybe mudguards made the difference.

However, maintenance was the sort of thing you expected to do regularly. With unsealed bearings it was normal to drip a little oil in after a wet ride, and the saddle would get a wipe too. Maybe that’s the difference.

Or, any leather experts out there? Have Brooks changed their leather?

Had one on my MTB and liked it- however it got trashed on a particularly wet and muddy ride and it took a few months to get back into shape. It’s now on my commuter/pub bike. There’s enough things on my MTB to maintain without having to fanny about treating a saddle like a pet.

As scotroutes said good for touring poor for MTB.

Get cambium for mtb. I have got c17 on all my bikes. Best saddle ever, even stopped wearing padded shorts.

softened a rock hard swift in 1/2 an hour. put saddle in oven for 15mins to get leather hot. Removed then smothered with decent horse saddle conditioner on the underside . soaks in almost immmediately . Turn it over and step on it using body weight to stretch and massage the leather. SOFT and Comfy straight away.