Brooks B17 Leather Saddle Review - An English Classic ?

My biking mates were divided 50/50 between bemused and horrified when they saw we were planning to head off and ride 5000 odd miles on HARD leather saddles. I must confess I was apprehensive also. In the lead up to our UK adventure I've been reading quite a few books of other crazies who done similar things, cycle around the world, across a desert etc etc. These characters all rode very different bikes but there was always one thing in common. A 'Brooks' saddle and most often a B17 (the original and cheapest model).

The B17 design has been made the same way for more than 100 years, it's essentially a piece of thick, hard leather stretched between two frames, a wide one at the back and a narrow one at the front. It's kind of like a hard leather hammock for your arse. As it ages and the leather stretches there is a bolt at the front to move the two frames apart to keep the tension even and maintain the same sitting position. Fans claim they can last 20+ years, I'm not as convinced.

Some months before we were due to head off I took advantage of an online sale (www.chainreactionclces.com) and snagged a B17 for me and a girly B17 for Al for about A$60 a piece to try them out. We both used them on and off around melbourne but it was hard to really tell how they were panning out. You know how good leather shoes are stiff and perhaps a bit uncomfortable before they suddenly and magically become like your favorite jeans? The most comfortable thing you own? A leather saddle is kind of like that. You have to break it in, using mostly your sit bones and a bunch of kms to get there though.

I had a bit of a 'Come-To-Jesus' moment with mine. It had been slowly getting a little less hard over about 1000km and then we did one 70+ km day in the rain early in our trip here in the UK. 5 hours of riding in the rain and it was pretty well soaked (strictly speaking a no no). Anyway when I stopped I noticed the saddle had two distinct dints where my sit bones are and the whole saddle was soft and floppy. Urk. We got sunny weather the next day and then had a few days off the bike, so it dried out pretty well. I tightened up the tension on it a 1/2 turn, and it's been MAGICAL ever since.

The saddle really does mould itself to your own particular rear end. Not sure I'd put one on my road racing bike, or even a mountain bike - perhaps one of their different designs - but for a long distance touring bike where you sit up a bit more, or a commuter bike it's a good choice.

'Myth Busted'