Brooks England B17 Special, Leather Bike Saddle with Hand-Hammered Copper

12 reviews for Brooks England B17 Special, Leather Bike Saddle with Hand-Hammered Copper

1. 

   Hopes for Humanity – 12 December 2024

   Love the craftsmanship, and it’s magic like Harry Potter, no pain!
   I took the plunge and bought this seat after much debate. I’ve been riding cycles almost my entire life starting at around 5 or 6 I can’t recall. As I got older, I got more into competitive cycling and had more than two dozen different types of seats. Each and everyone takes time to break and some are better than others. Some start out pretty comfortable but after a long ride, it really hurts. Some less if I wear padded shorts plus another layer of padding. But they pretty much all hurt nevertheless. Now here’s the Brooks. Rather clunky looking yet very aesthetically pleasing to the eye saddles.First ride about 24 miles, trying to micro-adjust to my bike (Bike Friday Pocket Rocket) but keep sliding back and forth and I feel like I keep slipping forward. So I raise the nose just a bit but then it was too much. This isn’t the saddle’s fault but rather the seat post design. It feels rock hard even though I had applied the Proofhide overnight.On the second ride, more micro adjustment and lowering the post an mm or two. Still felt like sliding forward a bit so I adjusted the tilt again. But, here’s the weird part. The seat still hasn’t been broken in and it still feels very hard but I don’t feel pain. And my bottom is saying “Hey this is very comfortable, keep riding faster!” My single-gear Bike Friday now feels like a completely different bike.. only much better!On my third ride, I noticed a couple of very important habits that I used to have during my years of cycling. First, I don’t stand anymore when anticipating a bump or washboard on the road surface. Actually, I now just enjoy going over them and feeling those imperfections on the road (like vinyl vs. CD?). Also, that last few miles after a ride when you’re tired, wow, that feeling of relaxing and just enjoying sitting and pedaling very joyfully!If it’s this good and I now only put less than 70+ miles, I can’t wait for several hundred or a thousand!Update:So far, I have put over 200 miles on the new Brooks B17 Special saddle. I have applied Proofhide after each ride as well as put Obenauf’s Leather Conditioner on the bottom of the saddle. One I noticed was that as soon as I applied the oil underneath saddle using a small brush, the leather quickly became very supple and flexible. On the most recent ride, I immediately noticed how comfortable saddle began to feel even at the beginning of the ride. This did not happen at least towards the end of the ride which was about 20 miles. I also started to notice a slight arch forming on the seat which wasn’t there before when it was new (compare the 1st pict which is most recent vs. last picture when it was new). I will continue to do the Proofhide/Obenauf’s oil treatment and start to scale back some what down to every other month from hearon.Update (5/27):To date, I have logged over 500 miles on the B17. Without the slightest doubt, as what others have said about this saddle is undeniably true. That is, the more miles you put on, the comfortable it gets. Now I ride fairly briskly on my single gear Bike Friday road bike. Because of this, I think it’s breaking-in a lot faster. I already started to see darker spots on the area where my body makes the most contact during the ride. Also I noticed that the saddle, although it’s firmer than say Terry’s gel saddle, it is way more comfortable yet because it has less give, I tend to put power down on the pedals more efficiently and feels less tired after the run. I also have the B17 with the cutout in the middle which is comfortable, but I think the B17 Special would be my first choice if I had to buy a new one.If you’re on the fence about this saddle, don’t, by far, this is the most comfortable saddle I’ve owned to date.Update-7/4:So far I must have put close to 800 miles on the B17 Special. As you can see from the last photo, saddle has begun to take some noticeable form according to physiques. Also notice the discoloration started to occur around the edges. However, the seat is now noticeably more comfortable. I can unanimously say, so far, I am loving this saddle, it makes my daily workout on the Bike Friday a shear heaven!

2. 

   Dan Brown – 12 December 2024

   Luxury Saddle, Comfortable, Stylish
   It’s gorgeous. Smells wonderful. Looks great on the bike. Classic. And, with almost 200 miles on it now, I can say it has become very comfortable. I did use Brooks’ Proofide® as Brooks instructed. Very happy, gonna be my saddle for the foreseeable future.

3. 

   Averagejoe – 12 December 2024

   Some Stuff that may help you with your purchase on model of Brooks Saddle to purchase..
   This is one of Two Brooks Saddles that I purchased. The first one is a Swift Saddle by Brooks. The second was the B17. The reason I purchased these saddles is due to the theory that they act like a hammock (leather suspended by a frame with no support directly under the leather) this is supposed to cushion your Butt on long or short rides. The reason this is so is because the leather flexes like a shock absorber. Not sure if the leather saddle molds to your Butt? I must say that my purpose for the B17 because of the large surface area is for my early Spring riding. The saddle is larger and therefore will be more comfortable. So basically get rid of your huge Gel Seats because this will replace that and offer more style and comfort. The B17 is also smaller that those Gel Seats in general. Once your Butt gets used to the pressure on your Butt Bones you can move onto the more sport oriented Swift saddle. Well at least that is my plan. If you have a real sport rode bike the B17 will look a little dorky! Honestly I like it and so does my Butt so I don’t care. I need all the help I can get early in the season. Remember it is still smaller than those big Gel seats. The B17 in my opinion is a better alternative. I mentioned the Swift saddle by Brooks. Well that is the Saddle I have been using now that my Butt is accustom to riding. It looks like a sport saddle but retro. They are in my opinion a work of art and truly beautiful. Now you may ponder the thought of a Titanium frame Vs. Steel? Well the Titanium Saddles are at least $200.00 more and drop the weight by 1/2 pound. If you feel a half pound is worth an extra $200.00 then go for it. For me it is not. How too decide if you want a B17 or a Swift? Well you can do what I did and purchase one of each but if you only want one saddle then here’s how you decide…..Basically if your handle Bars are lower than your seat/saddle then go with the Swift because it has no skirt and if your riding with low handle bars your in sport mode and the skirt of the B17 will rub your Thighs in that riding position. If your Handlebar position is equal too or higher than your saddle then go with the B17 or the Swift.Breaking in your Saddle by Brooks????? That will be different for everyone. What I did is purchase the Proof hide conditioner. I rub it with my Fingers under the saddle and on top. Placed in Sun Light after it was absorbed I put another coat on top of saddle then went for a 40 mile ride. Came home put another coat on etc. I did this three times riding in between coats. Basically do not go by mileage put in the saddle, use Time it is better because will all ride at different speeds so basically boils down to time. Well I just finished a Five Hour ride this past Sunday and that basically did it. It is broken in. I must say that I experienced no Numbness at all which I have experienced in the Past on other saddles and my Butt felt great. I must mention that there are other models of Brooks Saddles B17, B15, Swift etc.

4. 

   allison speer – 12 December 2024

   Beautiful Seat
   Bought this as a bday gift for my husband. He loves it- the look of it, the quality, etc. You can tell it is well made, even the packaging was done with care. He says this will be the seat he uses for the rest of his life.

5. 

   Josh – 12 December 2024

   Timeless Quality & Craftsmanship
   This saddle is absolutely gorgeous and comfortable. I bought this saddle for my casual BMX cruiser but I now wish I had one years ago when I road cycled far greater distances. The quality is well worth the cost.

6. 

   Amazon Customer – 12 December 2024

   nice saddle
   installed on 1978 Schwinn LeTour III

7. 

   FlyingDutchman – 12 December 2024

   comfortable finally
   i haven’t gotten to do too much riding on this seat, it is on my gravel bike,(I mtb, road ride and gravel ride)so it took about a year to “break in”,,now it is unbelievably comfortable

8. 

   RC – 12 December 2024

   I’m very picky and the quality is amazing. Right out of the box the seat is comfortable and will get better overtime with conditioning and use.It definitely gives me more power when I’m ridingFirst impressions highly recommended

9. 

   P. S. Abreu – 12 December 2024

   Confortável desde o primeiro dia e só pode ficar melhor, à medida que a pele suavizar e adaptar a forma ao meu corpo. O cheiro da pele (ainda mais com a aplicação de Proofide), excelente qualidade de construção e design, fazem deste um selim intemporal

10. 

    Polierer – 12 December 2024

    Ich konnte nur 4 Sterne vergeben weil der Sattel umgetauscht werden musste (was keine Probleme bereitete) aber das es eine Notwendigkeit gab zeugt davon das die Qualitätskontrolle in dem Fall nicht funktionierteDas Sattelleder war schief auf dem Gestell aufgelistet,und der Abstand der Schienen war zu gering.

11. 

    Cristiano Boero – 12 December 2024

    Perfetta

12. 

    Rockgodz – 12 December 2024

    Excellent quality, great feel, easy to fit.Have bought black brooks saddles previously and found they take longer to soften and adapt to your bottom, but this one has softened in no time