Three months in and a few hundred miles down, how am I getting on with the Brooks saddle on my new touring bike?
On a great little ride over to West Yorkshire I chat a bit about the saddle, what level of comfort I’m hoping to achieve with it, and how comfortable it is at various points as the 3 hour ride progresses.
Happy cycling, folks!
15 Comments
It makes sense to use this bike as often as possible with a Euro-epic on the horizon and it sounds like you're getting closer to saddle symbiosis.
The old-timers used to talk in terms of hundreds of hours to break one in, but the leather might be slightly different nowadays.
Nice route, on a clear day the view from Cock Hill never disappoints.
That's the way to use a cycle, ride through the Pennines with a pub lunch and a pint. Excellent. Before long you won't even think about the saddle any more. I am in the process of breaking in a Brooks flier ( a B17 with springs) which I fitted in early March. I usually "proofride" my new leather saddles after the first three months or so to aid the breaking in process.
Put the Brooks saddle and your underwear to one side,,,,,, man that is such Beautiful scenery.
Worth watching the vid just for that.
Had my Brooks on the bike now for a year and never had a problem.
RIDE SAFE, 👍😎👍
Great video, Martin.
I have those Spa Cycles grips on my Trek hybrid that I use for touring and they are excellent 👍👍
Keep up the good work and I'm very much looking forward to watching your European tour this Summer 👍
I'm off to do the Coast and Castles (South) route in July with my partner.
BW from,
Holywood 👍
A couple years back I was telling Gordon @clippingin1593 that as a teenager I used to take my very ordinary school bike (squeaky gears and all) grinding up that climb and descent between Hebden Bridge and Oxenhope as I volunteered on the Worth Valley Railway. I especially remember some very unsafe descending moments into Oxenhope.
My Brookes added to my prostate problems & I ended up having surgery,at the time I wasn't having any pain at all until I collapsed 800 miles into a tour .I now use Smp selle M1 saddles .
Great video, nice adventure.
Excellent video! I thoroughly enjoyed the content you created. Thanks for sharing
Just wondering why you don't wear a cycling helmet? I know it's a personal choice.
I have Brooks b17 on 3 of my bikes except the MTB, always suffered a saw bum until I tried these. Still wear padded shorts on most of my rides.
I was reading a bike fitting article and Phil Burt (renowned fitter I believe) said that there is absolutely no case for tilting the front of the saddle up
Bit of a close pass there at 03.59. That is why I am afraid to ride on roads.
Great views and an entertaining video. I’ve been using a B17 on my tourer for around five years and it is the most comfortable saddle I have ever had. I apply Proofide every six to eight weeks to keep the leather nourished and use a cover when it is wet. The saddle was “comfortable” after around 300 miles of use and has just got better thereafter. I can manage a full day in the saddle wearing shorts and seamless undies. I wouldn’t swap it for anything else.
Wonderful views/scenery/video Martin, and lets not forget the pint and lunch even if it's not a ploughman's, but seriously though i wish you every success in breaking in your Brooks saddle, i well remember breaking in my one and only Brooks and it was a painful affair as it took what seemed like forever, if you don't mind me saying i would suggest not putting pressure on your self in trying to break the saddle in by a certain time because it can take longer sometimes than you think so maybe use a softer saddle on your tour because you will have to ride every day so that Brooks would potentially take it's toll on your backside and it would take the shine off your tour which needs to be avoided and you can go back to breaking in the Brooks at your leisure later on anyway good luck with it and thanks for sharing a great video Martin 👍👏👋
Great video Martin and a good update on your Brooks saddle. It took a bit of time with mine to achieve true comfort but do long rides now without any problems. Look forward to next time.🚴🚴