Brooks B17 Saddle

[wrongway]

I haven't had this saddle very long. I really like it. When I sit on it I'm sure that it is 'flattening out'. Should I try tightening it up or lacing the bottom?

 

[Roger Henning]

I wouldn't lace it. If it does get loose you you can tighten the nut under the nose of the saddle. Roger

PS it looks normal to me.

 

[fattyre]

Is that a new Brooks saddle? Or an old one you just recently got?
Hard to tell from that photo, but it doesn’t appear to be stretched out.
Snap a picture of the underside of the nose so we can where the adjuster nut is.

 

[wrongway]

I wouldn't lace it. If it does get loose you you can tighten the nut under the nose of the saddle. Roger

PS it looks normal to me.

Glad it looks normal. I just wanted to make sure.

 

[wrongway]

Is that a new Brooks saddle? Or an old one you just recently got?
Hard to tell from that photo, but it doesn’t appear to be stretched out.
Snap a picture of the underside of the nose so we can where the adjuster nut is.

I wouldn't call it new. It's slightly used and I can't recall where I bought it. Stand by for a couple pictures............

 

[wrongway]

 

[fattyre]

Oh yeah! That’s ready to be tensioned. Brooks makes a wrench that works perfectly.

 

[Eric Amlie]

That flattening out is what makes the saddle comfortable for me.
I've been moving to the B17 Imperial model with the cutout as it flattens out even more. Comfy!

 

[SirMike1983]

One thing to remember is that it is perfectly normal to develop two "low spots" where your bones go on the saddle. That is the saddle breaking in to fit you (as the folds and wrinkles of a shoe would do on your foot once the shoe breaks in). Tensioning is not done to get rid of those low spots so much as to reduce the amount that the whole top sags when you sit on it. The top should have some give to it, but should not sag all the way down on the frame - something different from the particular low spots where your sit bones go. If the whole thing feels kind of "soft" and saggy, then tension, but do so carefully. I love my Brooks Flyer (the B17 with springs), but my heart still belongs to the B66.

 

[Party marty]

Can you recommend a leather conditioner for a brooks B72 that I am bidding on. seller says “hard as a rock”
I think the leather needs more than saddle soap. Perhaps a soak in some moisturizer for leather?