Saddles
Brooks has been making saddles since 1866. Their design has changed little for nearly a century, because it’s hard to improve upon. Brooks saddles come standard on most of our better bikes, and they are on all of our personal bikes, too. They are beautiful, durable, and above all comfortable.
Comfort is popularly associated with padding and lots of it. This is a myth. When you sit on a padded saddle the padding presses into your soft tissue, limiting circulation and compressing nerves. As you pedal, this compressed tissue gets kneaded around, resulting in numbness or, worse, chafing.
Padding traps heat, too. If your saddle cover is plastic, your sweat has no place to go. This all adds up to a painful riding experience. And every spring, when fair-weather bikers rediscover this fact, they go out and buy a new, even more padded saddle!
With a tensioned leather saddle, your clothing slides over the smooth surface so it doesn’t rub your skin. The leather breathes naturally, drawing away sweat. Ventilation holes along the center help keep you cooler and drier.
These saddles firmly support your sit bones, keeping your soft tissue elevated and protected. Brooks’ fabled break-in period is as much about toughening up your sit bones as softening the leather. If you ever feel discomfort other than at your sit bones during this brief break-in period, then either you have the wrong model or it is improperly adjusted!
Unlike typical saddles, tensioned leather saddles improve both in comfort and beauty with use, developing a rich patina that tells a story over decades. Scuffs rub out with leather dressing. With proper care, this saddle will outlive your bicycle.
Most Brooks saddles are variations on two standard types.
Our most popular model by far is the Brooks B67. It is wide enough to support you in the moderate to completely upright riding style you’ll enjoy on most of our bikes and comes with springs to cushion your spine from shocks. If you already ride a bicycle regularly, these saddles are supremely comfortable right out of the box.
The narrower Brooks B17 is appropriate to sportier riding positions in which your arms and legs serve as suspension. These saddles can take about 100 miles to break in.
Most other models are variations of these two, with shorter or longer noses, more or fewer springs, and various colors and looks.
Need further guidance choosing between, for instance, the B73 S, the B66 Imperial, and the Flyer Aged? There’s an excellent breakdown of Brooks saddles’ array of options at Lovely Bicycle. We agree 87.5%!
