(Donald Gillies) said:I own a swift and team pro. I like them both, but i like the team pro
a little better. the swift is a little smaller in all dimensions, to
save weight. I am big (6'1.5"😉 and do not have a narrow pelvis. The
swift is honestly a little too narrow for me.
According to wallbike.com, the B-17 standard is their most popular
saddle, and the one least oftened returned to wallbike.com. It's also
the widest unsprung saddle.
I come from an age when people learned to take severe bumps by flexing
their knees slightly to reduce saddle-shock. With this precaution,
most of the brooks saddles are comfortable. Another reason why brooks
saddles are so often recommended is that the hard and very slick
surface of these saddles does not produce chafing, which can be a big
problem with a plastic saddle and a 100 mile bike ride. With plastic
saddles there can be a stiction problem in hot weather or with sweat.
If all you do are 2 mile bike rides, plastic / nylon is perfectly
acceptable.
On certain classic british bikes, the Brooks Pro / Team Pro is the
most beautiful saddle ever made ...
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA
I own 2 swifts and a pro. I like them both, but i like the swifts a
little better. I'm a little smaller, at 5'11.5", and seem to have a
width of ischial tuberosity just about between those two saddles.
I soak the leather for new saddles wit neatsfoot oil in a tinfoil
mold, as per http://www.sheldonbrown.com/leather.html (thanks
Sheldon!) which is more needed for the pro than the swift. Over time
and bumps the swift, for lack of leather, sags under weight, requiring
periodic tightening. On one swift I'm currently at the end of the
adjustment, the thing is somewhat more narrow as a result, I think,
and very long and awkward, but it's got some life still, although not
for long-haul rides. The swifts are definitely more cushy, while the
pro is a pretty substantial and immovable hunk of firm leather. The
most comfortable one is the one I haven't used for a while.
I find that if I "cycle" through saddles, never riding one more than a
few rides, or about 150 miles, whichever comes first, that the sore
"bits" caused by saddle "a" will not be directly impacted by saddle
"b", which will create other nearby separate sore "bits".
I even incororate Fizik alliante, gobi, and arione into the schedule,
for certain types of riding, such as shorter (< 2 hrs), or bumpy
(cross/mtn). These rides are a lot harder/faster, with my legs
holding up more of my weight, so you have less of a chance to get
sore. Also, you're sitting on a more generalized larger area, so the
plastic saddle cushion is kinder than hard leather pounding on
realatively small spots, and opening sores. I think (speculating
here!) people who only ride short, really fast on smooth surfaces,
like typical working training cat 2-5 USCF racers in the US can
survive just fine with plastic, but if you put on serious miles and
actually sit on the thing for up to 25 hrs/week, then the plastic just
doesn't cut it. I wonder if any European racers getting ready for
spring classics train at least partly on leather. I wonder what these
RAAM riders use.
Bill Westphal
