At a glance Traditionally designed UK made leather saddle that’s a comfort benchmark
Tested by
Ped Baker, tester for The Bike List
Performance
Brooks saddles are something of a paradox. To the uninitiated they appear both old fashioned and uncomfortable in equal measure but talk to anyone who's ridden any distance on one and you'll hear praise that occasionally approaches the evangelical. I count myself as a Brooks apostle and this B17 Standard initiated my conversion.
Before the B17 I was a fan of the foam and plastic saddle.
Swayed by lightweight and technical 'innovation' I couldn't
envisage what a century old design could offer me. The reason I
decided to try a B17 wasn't anything to do with the saddle itself
but a
depressing pub discussion about the demise of British
manufacturing. Several pints of Landlord ale found route to my
patriotism gland and two days later the B17 arrived in the
post.
I'd read on the web somewhere how "you don't break in a Brooks, it breaks in you" With that in my head, I tentatively set off on my short inaugural journey, fully expecting to return home fifteen minutes later and throw the saddle in the bin. But no, the B17 was stiff and unyielding but no more uncomfortable than the fandango slotted model I'd replaced. After a week I started to pay a little more attention to the saddle, treating it to Brooks Proofide leather dressing. After a month, two shallow dimples appeared as the leather began to conform to my sit bones (a widely known indication that the saddle is breaking in properly). Incrementally the saddle evolved in shape as each ride defined and harmonised the leather until six months later we became a perfect, blissful fit.
I've now owned the B17 for four years, ridden thousands of miles on it including a biking holiday around Cuba. As well as the sublime comfort the leather construction also means the saddle is very cool in warmer climates.
But there is a downside. Get leather saddles wet and they're
ruined, leather dressing can only do so much. Brooks sell a
tailored waterproof cover but I can see that being lifted from a
railway station bike rack pretty 
smartish. At 520 grams
the steel frame and thick leather make the B17 relatively heavy
too, if that kind of thing worries you.
My experience with the B17 taught me two valuable lessons. The first is that innovation is sometimes just another word for novelty. Designs that have lasted over a hundred years have done so because they work. And perhaps the more important lesson is that Britain still makes products to be proud of. Not products designed in the UK and made in the far-east but actually made in a factory, with pride, in England
All together now "Land of hope and glory…"
Buy from www.evanscycles.com
Brooks says:
The B17 is our flagship model, ideal for long distance spors touring, trekking and atb use. It has been on the market for over 100 years, being featured in as early as the 1898 catalogue . The model is available for gents and ladies: the B17 (gents) and B17 S (ladies). The Standard models feature black steel rails, the B17 Special features copper plated steel metalwork, and the B17 Titanium … Both the B17 Special and the Titanium also feature hand hammered copper rivets.
- Length: 275mm
- Width: 175mm
- Height:65mm
- Weight: 520g
MADE IN ENGLAND
Find out more www.brooksengland.com
