Friday, December 9, 2016

Brooks B17 Saddle After 4 Years & Asymmetric Issue

The great thing about leather saddles is that over time they conform to your own personal pelvic bone spacing or something that makes it more comfortable the more you ride it.  It hadn't really occurred to me that my saddle has changed shape over the years until somebody with a newer version of the same saddle parked right next to my bike.  At first, I thought it was a completely different model because the shape was so different, but then I remembered that mine used to look like that when I first bought it. I will admit, I probably haven't been using that leather preservative as much as I should, but it has lasted well so far except for a little ripping around one of the front rivets.  Aside from the animal sacrifice requisite, still the best saddle I've ever used.
My saddle after 4 years
A newer Brooks

Update:
After I started thinking about my saddle some more, I wondered why the front looked off center. It turns out that, long ago, this front metal carriage thing popped off its proper location for some reason (perhaps because I almost always dismount the bike on the left). It had been in that position so long, that it galvanically corroded together. The solution was a mere screwdriver coaxing back to the original position.
Good news is my saddle hardware is back to how it should be, except that the leather part had been worn asymmetrically this whole time! So now my saddle feels higher on the left... I guess a bit more riding will wear it symmetrically again.  So for the other Brooks users out there, beware of this phenomenon.

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