Brooks Saddle

As I've written about before, I often commute to work on my trusty Novara Randonee touring bike (purchased this last Spring).

Ever searching for a more comfortable saddle, I decided recently to purchase a Brooks B-17.

For the uninitiated, Brooks saddles are "old-school," all-leather saddles that haven't changed too dramatically in the more-than a hundred years they've been making them.

It's a beautiful piece of workmanship/craftsmanship/manufacturing, and I'm interested to see if it ends up being as comfortable as everyone swears they are.

Pure leather (no plastic, cushioning, gel, etc. like most modern saddles), it reputedly takes a good 100-200 miles to break it in and get it feeling just right, but everyone says its worth the break-in period. I've ridden it two days now (Friday and Monday -- it arrived last Thursday), and am pleased to report that so far it's comfier than my old saddle.

Riding a Brooks also, I think, puts you into a relatively small niche and other Brooks riders take notice and compliment you on your saddle. Two days, and it's already received comments from other Brooks riders.

I'll report back in a few hundred miles to let you know what I think. The shop from which I bought it -- Wallingford Bicycle Parts of New Orleans (originally started in Wallingford (Seattle)), offers a 6-month return policy, so confident are they that a buyer will love the Brooks.

If you're interested in seeing some of their handiwork, and/or learning more, see below:

http://www.brookssaddles.com/

http://www.brookssaddles.com/brooksengland.html