Brooks Saddles B17 Narrow Bicycle Saddle

For years, i struggled to find a saddle which doesnt give me pain in my sit bones after more than a 30 mile ride. Most rides in excess of that was a matter of toughing out a sore butt and seeing how long i could outlast the pain. Its been frustrating to understand how a pre-formed saddle should fit everyones tail bones.The Brooks saddle out of the box was more comfortable than my Fizik Arione. The craftmanship which goes into building this saddle is second to none. Ive only ridden 145 miles on it, and while some say it takes 200 miles or so to break in, its already so much more comfortable that i cant wait to ride more to break it in further.Ive read criticism of it weighing so much more than other pre-formed saddles. For me individually, I would rather throw on another 100 grams or so and be able to ride another 10-20 miles than to worry about ounces. Given the comfort level, this is an easy 5 star.While i can see where this product may not be the best for all, especially competitive riders shaving weight, as for most of us, the incredible comfort i feel on this saddle is the easiest trade off i could find.Ill buy two more for my other bikes!

I really don'l know much about bicycle saddles but I do know what is comfortable for me. The saddle that my bicycle came with was very uncomfortable. I hurt to ride the bicycle for any extended distance. It wasn't an inexpensive bicycle. I replaced the saddle with the Brooks and it works like a top. I'm not sore when I finish a long ride. There may be better saddles avaiable but I would be unlikely to give up the Brooks Saddle to try another. I understand the Brooks saddle becomes more comfortable as it breaks in. I can live with that.

I purchased this seat for a friend who owns a very nice bike, but was complaining about the comfort of his seat during long rides. A friend who owns a bike shop recommended this Brooks saddle, and so I purchased it hoping for the best. When my friend first started using the seat, he claimed it was a bit uncomfortable, however, I was told by my bike shop friend that there is a little bit of a break in period with these leather saddles. So after about a month or so of use, my friend is really enjoying his new saddle. Hopefully this should be a worthwhile investment for someone who loves riding.

I have a 35 year old Ideale on another bike. Wanted this because it is cheaper than a NOS Ideale. Was comfortable after 20 miles.

Not much to say about how it's built, since they've been making them for generations. Other than my particular one has a bit of an asymetrical cut to the nose, making the bottom edge of the leather look uneven from the left to the right side. This doesn't affect its function. Also the Brooks tag on the back is rivited just a little off center. Again not a huge deal except for the most obsessive compulsive of us.I've been wearing it in over the cold season for the past 2 months. Lots of indoor riding on rollers, and riding outside whenever the snow and rain isn't as prevalent. To do a proper review on this, one should fully wear it in over time. But since it started out already much more comfortable than my old padded racing seat, I thought I could go ahead. The leather is still hard to the push, but starting to crease and form around the rivets in the back.I ride a Look carbon frame, and this is probably the last saddle one would think of putting on it. My bike is light, but I ride this frame more for comfort than for weight. The weight of this saddle doesn't bother me personally. Yes, there's a version with lighter rails, but definitely not worth the extra money for me. And yes, there's also the "racing profile" B15 Swallow and the new cotton/rubber saddle they make, but one of the things that attracted me to a traditionally shaped Brooks is the "curtain" of leather to the sides. My thigh muscles are huge and I have no gap between them. After sawing holes through my cycling shorts every year and feeling chaffing all the time with traditionally shaped racing saddles over the years, I thought I'd try this saddle to see if it would help. It stopped the chaffing immediately, and the hugging feeling on the side feels great. The sides are never in your way. And since my shorts can slide and move on the saddle instead of grinding against my skin, I haven't had to use any skin lubrication since starting to use this saddle. It just seems to fix a lot of problems.

This saddle is the best money can buy. Breaks in very quickly and will become the most comfortable, durable, and good looking saddle you will ever own. If you know anything about using allen keys and can read an instruction manual this is an absolute breeze to install and adjust.

So far (150km ridden) I like it a lot, but the position and format of the rivets make this saddle not very confortable to ride with thin pants or shorts. When I'm wearing my padded bike shorts it's okay, but when I'm wearing regular clothes my skin definitely notices those pieces of steel, which is annoying. (if you check the Swift or Team Pro, the rivets are much further back, and probably won't bother you)I wish they would make a special version of the B17 narrow, with rounded (copper) rivets...UPDATE:I really wanted to love this saddle, but I don't.The leather is great, but after 2.000km ridden on it, I can't get used to the position of the rivets (on the top of the saddle!)So, even though the total width is 151mm, the usable width is only 130mm (!!), because that is the distance between the rivets. So, you can't avoid feeling them against your skin, unless you sit way too much forward, but then your seatbones don't have proper support.