I mentioned in an earlier "Fancy Bicyclist" post my obsession with Brooks saddles. Up until the fall of 2009, I owned only 2 Brooks saddles, a black Champion Flyer that I've had on the Centurion (the one I got in Canada,) and a brown B-67 on the Long Haul Trucker. Then over the fall I lucked out on Craigslist and scored two more for cheap: a honey brown B-17 Narrow and a dark brown B-66. I bought another B-66 (dark dark brown) off of Win, a guy who stays frequently at the hostel. (Interestingly, even though the B-66s are technically the same model, the one I got from Win was narrower than the Craigslist find.)
I put the Craigslist B-66 (the wider one) onto the Worksman Cycle Truck, replacing the beastial saddle that came equipped with the bike. (Even though the B-66 is hefty, it was still pounds lighter than the saddle it replaced!) This saddle is pretty beat, with tears on one side, but I don't ride the Cycle Truck that much, so I'm not that worried. If it fails, it fails. Besides, I paid only $20 for it.
The narrower B-66 went onto the Raleigh Wayfarer on Sunday. It instantly made the bike look classier than the white saddle it came with, though April liked that one. Originally I intended to let April try the B-17N on the Novarra Randonee, but the narrowness scared her. So I decided to pull the B-67 off of the Long Haul Trucker (a saddle I never really got used to) and let her try that instead. We'll soon see if she's entered the cult of the Brooks! *
So the easiest thing would be throw the B-17N onto the Long Haul Trucker, right? Of course not! It's a touring bike, so I'd rather throw my Champion Flyer on there, because it's my most favored and broken-in saddle.
Long Haul Trucker in natural habitat of cluttered apartment.
I put the B-17N onto the Centurion because it goes with the sexy single-speed feel, plus the brown matches the bike better.
Ain't it classy looking? Y'know how I can make it even classier looking?
Yeah, that's right, sepia tone.
Ah, slave to fashion.
*The answer: NO.
I put the Craigslist B-66 (the wider one) onto the Worksman Cycle Truck, replacing the beastial saddle that came equipped with the bike. (Even though the B-66 is hefty, it was still pounds lighter than the saddle it replaced!) This saddle is pretty beat, with tears on one side, but I don't ride the Cycle Truck that much, so I'm not that worried. If it fails, it fails. Besides, I paid only $20 for it.
The narrower B-66 went onto the Raleigh Wayfarer on Sunday. It instantly made the bike look classier than the white saddle it came with, though April liked that one. Originally I intended to let April try the B-17N on the Novarra Randonee, but the narrowness scared her. So I decided to pull the B-67 off of the Long Haul Trucker (a saddle I never really got used to) and let her try that instead. We'll soon see if she's entered the cult of the Brooks! *
So the easiest thing would be throw the B-17N onto the Long Haul Trucker, right? Of course not! It's a touring bike, so I'd rather throw my Champion Flyer on there, because it's my most favored and broken-in saddle.
Long Haul Trucker in natural habitat of cluttered apartment.I put the B-17N onto the Centurion because it goes with the sexy single-speed feel, plus the brown matches the bike better.
Ain't it classy looking? Y'know how I can make it even classier looking?
Yeah, that's right, sepia tone.*The answer: NO.
That saddle was an assault to my lady parts, is all I'm sayin'.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that's not all I'm saying. It was seriously uncomfortable in a number of ways, and the pressure to the most sensitive parts of my groin was only part of it.
My daughter has asked for a Brooks saddle for her bike. She's 10. Fortunately, the purple Brooks saddle ($180) that we saw at River City would be much too big for her!
ReplyDeleteApril, you just need to break the saddle in! ;-)
ReplyDeleteVespabelle, it sounds like your daughter is going down a dangerous road. Next thing you'll know she'll want a Rapha jersey and a bike by Rivendell! ;-)
That' quite a nice saddle collection. The B66 looks so comfortable. The B72 that I have from what I can tell is not going to be so springy
ReplyDeleteSM, yeah, the B66 (on the Raleigh) feels comfy, though I haven't done any real riding on it yet. The B66 on the Cycletruck is OK, but since it's falling apart I'm not expecting too much out of it.
ReplyDeleteThe B66/67s seem to be "king of spring", though the one on the 67 was pretty noisy, though.