Which Saddle?

Brooks Pro or Swallow or B17...chrome or titanium depending on the depth of your pocket or the indulgence of your wife/partner.....if a Pro or B17 get it chopped...not as light as some of the exotica previously trumpeted but when worn in very comfortable...you might change your bike but you will keep your Brooks.

I think I dig this Brooks saddle, the narrow one, very nice...

I think I dig this Brooks saddle, the narrow one, very nice...

Here comes the lighter to light you to bed
Here comes the chopper to chop off a bit of your saddle
chip..chop..chip..chop..chip..chop
chop..chop..chop..chop....even better saddle.

chip chop chip chop... you don't stop

chip chop chip chop... you don't stop

chip chop chip chop chip no i don't stop

Anybody familiar with this curio?

I saw a guy with one of these this morning. I asked him about it when we stopped at a light, he said there's no covering on it, its made entirely of plastic, and it takes a while to get used to, but it cheap and fairly comfy for him. Looked a bit solid to me, and his was bright flouro yellow, but each to their own.

I'm a bit afraid of buying a Brooks saddle, because that'd mean not being able to leave my cycle out in the street.

I'm a bit afraid of buying a Brooks saddle, because that'd mean not being able to leave my cycle out in the street.

Why? How do you think everyone else does it?

Bearing glued inside the seatpost nut - option 1
Special seapost nut/special wrench - option 2
take the saddle with you all the time (QR) - option 3
get a dog and leave it with the bike - option 4

the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=11719

£3.91...my missus has one of these for her pashley princess

here in Geneva whatever looks good and easy to grab gets instantly stolen.
but you're right, it's everywhere the same s**t

I've just read through most of this and nobody seems to have suggested the fizik aliante.
They're super comfy. I used to regularly do 4-5 hour training rides on mine and I loved them.
I currently own 3 of them. 2 on Classic steel fixed gear bikes and 1 on my Cervelo R3.
I don't like the look of saddles that have exposed rails but purely on comfort they are ace.
You can get them from about £45 shipped on ebay so not overly expensive for the base models either.

b-17

I've tried way too many saddle.

Brooks B17 - uncomfortable (sit bones sit on the metal rail that hold the leather)
Brooks Swift - uncomfortable (ditto)
Brooks Swallow - uncomfortable (ditto)
Brooks B68 - uncomfortable (widest brooks, still feel the metal frame)
San Marco Rolls - uncomfortable (after 5 miles)
San Marco Turbo - uncomfortable (after 2 miles)
Charge Spoon - uncomfortable (after 5 miles).
Charge Knife - as above
Charge Ladle - as above
Selle An-Atomica - uncomfortable (sit bones sit on metal rail)
Fizik Aliante - uncomfortable after 5 miles (but was bearable if I keep shifting my bum).
Fizik Arione - uncomfortable (2 miles).
Selle Italia SLR - uncomfortable (2 miles).
Selle italia DIVA - uncomfortable (5 miles).
Selle Italia Flite - uncomfortable (2 miles).
Specialized Toupe 155 - uncomfortable (2 miles).

I'm never going to find a comfortable saddle in my lifetime.

Here is my scientific approach to saddles:

• Charge spoon.....meh...
  
• Brooks (unsure of model).....uncomfortable as fuck
  
• Turbo.....alright for a bit
  
• Velo cheapo.....did london-paris on it.....AWESOME!!!
  
• Fizik arione.....Looking pretty damn good
  
  

Kind regards

@edscoble, i feel your pain

my sitbones is defintely too wide when I can feel the metal frame of the Brooks B17 saddle.

uncomfortable
uncomfortable
uncomfortable
uncomfortable
uncomfortable
uncomfortable
uncomfortable
uncomfortable

You have to give your saddles more of a chance than 5 miles!

No, that's *when* it get uncomfortable, it was fine for 5 miles, but beyond that, it get more uncomfortable.

my journery is 11 miles each way, and I cycle about 100-120 miles a week (with one 16 miles trip from Camden to Kingston).

ohhhhhh so you've been running them for more than 5 miles each? I'm surprised you can't find a saddle that fits out of that list

Oh I have, I must've clocked something like 300-500 miles on each saddle, some of them never went past 200 miles as they were too uncomfortable to carry on.

and I did carefully adjust the saddle, height, angle, etc.

When it come to choosing saddle, my mindset is "will this be less uncomfortable?" rather than the common "will this be more comfortable?"

such a drag.

Specialized Alias ( is a flat saddle for good fore and aft positions and comfy, if not the comfiest i've had so far)
SLR (very good still but not quite as good as the alias IMO, but looks better)
Brooks Pro(almighty pain after less than a mile, truly awful)
Brooks Vitesse (brilliant saddle, but heavy )
Specialized Avatar (langster standard saddle is ok, but it has an arched back which forces you to sit in 1 position all the time)
Fizik Arione (great saddle for fore and aft positions, nice and flat like the Alias but without the cutout so not as comfortable IMO)
San Marco Rolls (lovely thick wedge of spongyness, good for tinkering along, but not good for long rides as it gets sweaty and clammy, but nice and flat again for fore and aft positions)

So for me the cutout makes a difference and flat saddle rock my boat. I hate the ones with arched backs which force you to slide forward when you want a further back position. varying the position is important i think in keeping your bum happy, in my experience anyway, because it alternates the pressure points.

Oh I have, I must've clocked something like 300-500 miles on each saddle, some of them never went past 200 miles as they were too uncomfortable to carry on.

and I did carefully adjust the saddle, height, angle, etc.

When it come to choosing saddle, my mindset is "will this be less uncomfortable?" rather than the common "will this be more comfortable?"

such a drag.

try the Specialized Alias, they come in different widths to suit whoever. Honestly, really great saddles. probably be able to try one from a bike shop.

Oh I've tried those, 155mm, uncomfortable, and I can defintely feel my sitbones on the edge of it.

oh and Cinelli Unicantor - uncomfortable too.

There's more saddle I've tried but I forget, if the width of the Brooks B17 is 170mm, and I can feel the bolt that hold the leather, than 155 is much too narrow.

there's no such thing as a 'saddle doctor' is there? netherless going to see Scherrit again to find a solution.

sit in a pool of plaster of paris and mold your own one :)

must have seriously wide sit bones. the widest Spez Alias is like a dinner plate.