Brooks England  B-17 Saddle - Men's

After 300 miles, I cried "uncle!" on breaking in the seat with Proofide, the wax-and-oil mix that Brooks loves to sell, sell, sell. I used, used used Proofide and hurt X3. Friends said, "water and oil. I googled "Break in leather bike saddle." The top answer: drop it in a bucket of hand-hot water for 7 minutes, towel off the water, rub in some oil (I used Mobil 1) and ride it for 15-20 minutes. It now has dimples that match my derriere! Yeah!!! Did I write "Yeah?" Well, Yeah, Again! More vinyl seats to nail to the wall in the hall of pain! But what gives? No color but black in my local REI? Really? Honey is the new black in bike seats.

I was very excited when I got this saddle, but after trying constantly in vain to adjust it properly I simply hated it. It has to be the most overrated saddle on the market. I know a lot has to do with personal fit, but looking at a lot of reviews on other forums I think a lot of people are buying into the hype and riding in an uncomfortable saddle. You should not be putting a lot of pressure on your arms or legs to compensate for the saddle, and this is what I had to do, and what a lot of people I've seen comment say they do. It takes a lot of miles to break in, which is ok considering that it is durable and will last longer than almost any other saddle on the market, but is a waste if after 500+ miles it is still uncomfortable in every configuration. Due to the leather it is super slippery when you first get it, and you slide all over. This eventually lessens a bit, but is something to be aware of. This saddle is probably best on an upright cruiser-type bike. As for a road, cross, or somewhat aggressive mountain bike I say stay away unless you can test it first. This put a huge amount of pressure on my sensitive areas no matter the height or tilt of the saddle. The rails are not as long as most modern saddles, so there is very little room for adjustment. I was always sliding forward, and never got my sit bones anywhere near the rear of the saddle unless I would basically half stand half hold myself back there w/ my arms. I've read a lot of people saying this is what they do, and it makes them a better rider. IMO this is not the proper fit for a saddle, so for me it was no good. The one good thing about this saddle is that since it is IMO severely overrated you can buy it and resell it without losing too much. For people like me a Fizik or Specialized Toupe is a far superior saddle. My Specialized was head and shoulders above my previous saddle which was decent, and after sitting on this one for a few rides I had to fight myself not to just go buy another, which I eventually did. Also to note I got a little ruboff of coloring on my shorts, but he manual warns about this, and it may have been to the leather treatment I put on it. I can't comment on the effect rain has on the saddle because it never really got wet when I rode it, I was lucky enought to have covered parking, had fenders which protected thte bottom. Most of my rides are commutes or rides < 30 miles, although I sometimes go longer; I usually ride everyday since my bike is my main transportation. I rarely would ride more than 5-10 miles on this saddle before it was so uncomfortable from both the fit and the sliding around that I wanted to go home. I wasn't paid for this review, and I doubt you could pay me to ride this saddle again. The narrower one looks like it might be slightly better, but for the price I can buy 2 great used saddles.