A Brooks Saddle: Riding in Comfort and Style

As we have discussed before, stock saddles are the pits. If you ever want any comfort on your bike you will need to invest in a decent saddle. And if you are riding over 30 miles, or 200, you are going to need to love your seat.

After doing research online to see what touring cyclists were getting to upgrade their saddles, I kept running into positive feedback on the Brooks saddle. I did a little more research and found the success of these beauties is in their shape—your shape, that is. They form to the cyclist's body. That beats hard plastic any day, right? And, if taken care of properly, they will last for years. Now that is an investment I can live with!

Looking for the best price I searched and searched online. I found a shop out of Utah that peddles the classic saddles and got a heck of a deal. My saddle arrived in three days! Can I tell you how excited I was today to find the package on my doorstep?



If being impressed with the quality of the saddle wasn't enough, Brooks' design and attention to detail in the presentation of this product sealed the deal for me. The design is completely old school with a modern, clean flair.

In my box I got a saddle, a saddle wrench to tighten the tension, The Brooks Bugle newspaper, and a maintenance brochure (one cent stamp of J.B. Brooks included on the envelope). Frankly, this is some graphic designer's dream job!

In the brochure it describes the B17 saddle like this:

"The B17 is the most popular saddle in the BROOKS Classic range. It is certainly the oldest Brooks model and longest living saddle in cycling history. This icon has been sold as far back as 1896 and for over a century never went out of production."


I will need to condition the saddle with Brooks Proofide conditioner. This will keep it soft and protect it from the elements. I'm so excited to test it out I am heading out the door right now . . . well, almost.

One more thing . . . I found these great videos online that show the factory where these lovelies are made. It's really interesting to see the craftsmanship that goes into making them.