Monday, May 25, 2009

Befuddled

My efforts to balance bike life with the rest of life are pretty much spinning wildly out of control right now, but that's how it is and in the meantime, I've been trying to sort out my new Brooks B17 on the short rides I'm able to manage. I'm a newb to Brooks and I gotta say that I'm not feelin much love. One the one hand, there's something that feels really good about the structure and shape and material that you don't get from synthetics. But right now, that stuff is all way secondary to the discomfort. I can't seem to find the position that works for me.

In the position shown here, I slide down the slick surface and end up on the nose. Not a good feeling, and I have to continually push myself back:



When I adust the angle one notch back to this position, the front of the saddle puts serious hurtful pressure on my appliances:



Maybe my seatpost adjustment isn't fine enough and there's a sweet spot somewhere in between. Maybe the saddle just flat doesn't fit me. If so, maybe one of the 500 other Brooks models will fit better? Hmmm, which one. Maybe I need more break-in time, but that's a scary, painful thought.

Should I go back to Two Wheel Transit, where I bought it and ask for help, or should I write it off as a lesson learned and eBay it out while it's still in good shape.

Not sure about the whole deal. Advice?

8 comments:

Jerome said...

Man I wish I had advice for you, but I'm actually having the exact same problem. I hate the feeling of having to push back all the time, and when I go one notch further back, it's a little delicate, especially in the drops. I was wondering if it's still a matter of break in. I've noticed some guys brooks seem to have a serious sag right before the rear support plate. I was hoping that I just need to suffer through to get to that point, and then it'll be good to do. hopefully someone who knows might shed some light for us. Cheers.

Jacque Hendrix said...

John Speare is the go to guy on this one.

David Blaine said...

Try the slightly nose up position but push the seat one notch forward so that you sit further back.

Pat S said...

Thanks David, that makes sense. I'll give it a try.

John Speare said...

yeah. shove the saddle back all the way in the rails. brooks rails are notoriously short. some poeple must ride a setback post with them.

try raising the saddle a hair before you point the nose up.

Anonymous said...

Try a micro-adjust seatpost to find that sweet spot. It looks like it should be in between the two pics you posted.

If the Brooks doesn't suit you, try a Selle-Anatomica. I liked mine so much I bought a second one for my other bike. And...I don't have to wear padded shorts anymore - it's that comfortable!

Jerry W

Pat S said...

John and Jerry,
Thanks for the tips. Sounds like I need to keep fiddling with it.

John Speare said...

Pat: you should also know that you could fiddle forever and still be uncomfortable on teh b17. every butt is different.