Brooks England B17 Bike Saddle - Handmade Leather Bike Seat (Steel, Titanium, Copper)

This is an awesome seat and is a huge upgrade compared to the bike seat that came stock on my specialized bike. Even only 20 miles in it comfortable and will only get better.

I took the plunge and bought this seat after much debate. Ive been riding cycles almost my entire life starting at around 5 or 6 I cant recall. As I got older, I got more into competitive cycling and had more than two dozen different types of seats. Each and everyone takes time to break and some are better than others. Some start out pretty comfortable but after a long ride, it really hurts. Some less if I wear padded shorts plus another layer of padding. But they pretty much all hurt nevertheless. Now heres the Brooks. Rather clunky looking yet very aesthetically pleasing to the eye saddles. First ride about 24 miles, trying to micro-adjust to my bike (Bike Friday Pocket Rocket) but keep sliding back and forth and I feel like I keep slipping forward. So I raise the nose just a bit but then it was too much. This isnt the saddles fault but rather the seat post design. It feels rock hard even though I had applied the Proofhide overnight. On the second ride, more micro adjustment and lowering the post an mm or two. Still felt like sliding forward a bit so I adjusted the tilt again. But, heres the weird part. The seat still hasnt been broken in and it still feels very hard but I dont feel pain. And my bottom is saying Hey this is very comfortable, keep riding faster! My single-gear Bike Friday now feels like a completely different bike.. only much better! On my third ride, I noticed a couple of very important habits that I used to have during my years of cycling. First, I dont stand anymore when anticipating a bump or washboard on the road surface. Actually, I now just enjoy going over them and feeling those imperfections on the road (like vinyl vs. CD?). Also, that last few miles after a ride when youre tired, wow, that feeling of relaxing and just enjoying sitting and pedaling very joyfully! If its this good and I now only put less than 70+ miles, I cant wait for several hundred or a thousand! Update: So far, I have put over 200 miles on the new Brooks B17 Special saddle. I have applied Proofhide after each ride as well as put Obenaufs Leather Conditioner on the bottom of the saddle. One I noticed was that as soon as I applied the oil underneath saddle using a small brush, the leather quickly became very supple and flexible. On the most recent ride, I immediately noticed how comfortable saddle began to feel even at the beginning of the ride. This did not happen at least towards the end of the ride which was about 20 miles. I also started to notice a slight arch forming on the seat which wasnt there before when it was new (compare the 1st pict which is most recent vs. last picture when it was new). I will continue to do the Proofhide/Obenaufs oil treatment and start to scale back some what down to every other month from hearon. Update (5/27): To date, I have logged over 500 miles on the B17. Without the slightest doubt, as what others have said about this saddle is undeniably true. That is, the more miles you put on, the comfortable it gets. Now I ride fairly briskly on my single gear Bike Friday road bike. Because of this, I think its breaking-in a lot faster. I already started to see darker spots on the area where my body makes the most contact during the ride. Also I noticed that the saddle, although its firmer than say Terrys gel saddle, it is way more comfortable yet because it has less give, I tend to put power down on the pedals more efficiently and feels less tired after the run. I also have the B17 with the cutout in the middle which is comfortable, but I think the B17 Special would be my first choice if I had to buy a new one. If youre on the fence about this saddle, dont, by far, this is the most comfortable saddle Ive owned to date.

I like the fit and finish… The leather was flawless, and so was the sub frame.

I like the seat but have not had a chance to ride yet. Instructions say not to proofhide top side of seat but topside seems to be dry and will easily soak up whatever it comes in contact with as did the bottom when I applied proofhide to it. I have other Brooks and other leather seats but with smooth tops and have always oiled the top side somewhat. Dont know if Ill proofhide this one on top or use some other leather conditioner that I have on hand. I know that whatever I would use would definitely darken the seats leather, which wouldnt matter to me. I like the softer condition of it though compared to a standard one.

This replaces a 15 year-old seat. A rail broke on that one when I failed to tighten the tension (ever). I know from past experience this seat will have a lengthy break-in period (for the sit-bones, either side); but I have to say its been comfortable to me right away. For example I dont find the tight-tensioned top down the middle or its shape. I also find the sides of the seat perfectly comfortable, never chaffing. Someday I may repair the old one, but I needed to get back on the road.

I find most bicycle seats require you to conform to them. I expected this one to be difficult in the beginning, but that was not the case. While it wasn’t comfortable on the first ride it wasn’t as bad or worse than many of the gel seats I have had in the past. Each successive ride has shown improvement in comfort to the point where no other seat I have ridden has been as good.

I was skeptical even after installing this bicycle saddle because I was concerned that there was too much hype. I was also concerned about the durability in outdoor environments because it is leather. I purchased this bicycle seat almost three years ago and honestly I have put less than a thousand miles on it. I treated it to a slathering of Atsko Sno-Seal when I got it and have done nothing to it since. My bicycle is stored either in an unheated garage or on a covered porch (usually the porch) where it is very exposed and the seat looks like it is brand new. Fast forward to last December... I bought a new bicycle and have been somewhat unimpressed with the seat that came with it. After about 200 miles, I can say that the new seat was making me sore. I ride in street clothes like Old Navy Khaki shorts kind of street clothes. No extra padding or chamois.. Today, I decided to swap the Brooks seat onto the new bicycle and... HOLY CRAP! It is SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE! I totally get what everyone says about the seat breaking in. When it was new it was obviously not broken in so there was some concerning discomfort. But I stuck with it and eventually, that goes away. When did that go away? I have no idea. Honestly, this is probably not possible to really determine. I fairly heavy and likely weigh half again more than rider who race so my break-in time is surely different than most. Hang in there. It does break in.