I originally got my Brompton for commuting to university and work – practical, compact, perfect for everyday use. But today, for the first time, I actually used it for a proper ride. And what can I say? I love it!
40 km of pure freedom, fresh air, a touch of adventure… and then came the moment my butt decided to betray me. I had to take a break because my saddle started to feel like it was carved from solid granite.
Now I’m wondering: Is it just me, or is the saddle really that unforgiving? Is this some kind of Brompton rite of passage? Or are there actually more comfortable saddles for longer rides?
Looking forward to your advice – or just your sympathy.
by Rezaak26
11 Comments
The fit between the saddle and your sitbones is very very important on any bike.
I switched on my touring bike from a medium to a wide WTB saddle and I can’t even visually tell the two apart, but my butt knows.
There are definitely more comfy saddles
(Sympathy extended)
Saddle fit is incredibly personal and it can take a long time to get the perfect setup. What might be good for short rides might be awful for longer ones.
I don’t like to do too long a distance in an upright position. Too much weight on the saddle, and causes more chaffing. 45° is perfect for me on my touring setup, I mostly use the brompton for in city travel, rarely more than 50km/day.
I’ve tried about 20 saddles and found, as noted above, that saddle fit is very personal. Friends swear by fizik, selle etc and I can’t last 10 mins on them. I can ride on Brooks b15 all day and a b17 on my Brompton but the Brooks Cambriums (c15/17) are unridable. The sit bone measurement approach is a good place to start. Also, think about height and placement, this can make a huge difference to comfort, even a few mm or a degree of tilt.
Your butt may never forgive you 🤣
More seriously… I couldn’t get on with the Brompton saddle in either padded cycling shorts or casual… I swapped for my normal road saddle with a cut out and less padding and that worked a treat
Welcome to the gang!
Yeah I switched mine out, it came with a fizik saddle (during the pandemic that’s what they shipped) but it’s far too hard for anything more than 4 miles imo. Swapped it for a comfier one, now I can do 10 miles ish. I need to adjust it more but much better!
I tried 4 saddles and finally landed on Prologo Dimension AGX. Best saddle for my bony sit bones.
I found that it is the different clothes I wear, I use the stock saddle and never did the switch, only with what I was wearing, and some clothing combinations (pants and underwear) worked fine and some wasn’t.
If that’s the C17 I wasn’t impressed either. It was a great deal better than the Fizik seat my C-line came with, but it did not stand the Tush Test of Time™
I spent 2.5 years cycling around the world and like most other RTW cyclists I used a Brooks B17 saddle. It takes a bit of breaking in, but I rode 80+ miles a day at least 5 days a week on my trip and as soon as I get my G Line next week I’ll be putting a B17 on it.