Brooks B17 saddle review

As previously stated, I was salivating over the Brooks B17 (in apple green) because I noticed the seat that came with my Trek 520, the Bontranger Select City, was initially very comfortable but started to irritate me on rides over 20 miles. Since we plan on averaging 30 miles every day for 2 months, I decided to test the reputation and style of classic B17.

Upon arrival, I was surprised how hard the leather on the B17 was. I got some grief from Emma and several bike store salesmen in LL Bean about my decision to order it, so I felt some initial buyer's remorse, paranoid that it wouldn't get much more comfortable.

I could feel my sit bones pumping against the hard leather with every pedal stroke. It didn't feel the best, but I was also riding in khaki shorts and let a bike store technician put it on quickly. Upon getting home, I lathered the saddle in Proofide and hoped for the best.

The next day, I put Proofide on the seat before riding (the supplied directions are pretty unclear as to how much/ when to use the substance,) put much more appropriate clothing on, and it felt great! The grinding of my bones against the saddle was slowly disappearing, and I found a great sense of satisfaction in having created such comfort for my butt, by using my butt.

I don't know if this was a fluke, because others online report needing over 600 miles of riding for the B17 to become comfortable, but by the third day of Proofiding before riding (plus wearing a chamois and using Chamois Butt'r,) I was quite happy with it.

My only complaint is that the B17 creates much more perineal pressure (article about the effects of bicycle seats on men!) Basically, this means that when I lower my hands to the drop bars, the nose of the B17 is noticeably harder and more protruding, and I feel uncomfortable pressure in my perineum.

Considering that linked article says such pressure can lead to sexual dysfunction, I was scared by it and decided to angle the seat forward. This helped, but now I slip forward and put more weight on my hands, which is also bad in the long term. I am hoping this effect will also dissipate as the saddle breaks in more, and that I will be able to tilt it back and take weight off of my arms again.

Basically, the B17 in Apple Green looks super badass, but takes some getting used to. As a testimonial, Emma had previously experienced pain with several different kinds of seats, including a Specialized mountain bike seat with a channel down the middle. After weeks of experimentation, I finally told her to try my slightly broken in B17, and she literally yelled out loud because her butt had never felt so good on a bicycle, and immediately ran inside to find out where she could buy one for herself.

This was especially satisfactory, considering Emma and those LL Bean guys who sold her the inappropriate Specialized mountain bike seat were dissing the B17. She ended up buying a Brooks B17 S in Honey later that day. I guess that story speaks for itself!