Well it arrived today and weighs 14oz. My Sel Italia Flite weighed 12oz so it looks like the weight penalty won't be so bad. I forgot to order the special saddle sauce so it looks like I'm gonna go with motor oil.
New Brooks Swift Saddle
- Thread starter Serial Midget
- Start date
This morning I decided that I would dress my saddle with Hubbards Shoe Grease. I live in an area where the primary resource is timber and where the average rainfall is over 70 inches per year... just about everyone owns a set of cork work boots and tin pants for those times when you find yourself working outside in heavy rain. You use parafin to keep your pants waterproof and Hubbards Shoe Grease to keep your boots conditioned and water proof.
So I found my tin of grease and and set it on the fire box to melt, I also set my saddle near the fire to get nice and hot and the slathered copious amounts of the grease on with an old paint brush and let it soak in for 30 minutes before slathering it again. Grease is good.
I let the saddle sit for a couple of hours and then remounted it and rode the rollers for 2 hours in 30 minute segments. The saddle is not soft but definately pliable. For some reason I had to move this saddle more forward than my previous on and that makes my reach about 15mm too short, I felt minimal discomfort in the ass area and minor numbness in the usual area but nothing compared to my last 2 hour ride on the rollers. Even before this saddle is broken in it proves supior to the Sel Italia which had about 6000 miles on it and was becoming too soft in the gel foam areas that had degraded.
The problem I have now is selecting a new stem length to go with my new saddle position. This will take some time an consideration, right now I think I will get a quill stem adapter that will allow me to use a stem designeed for a threadless headset. Quality quill stems are getting very pricey and the selection is somewhat limited as far as reach and rise.
So I found my tin of grease and and set it on the fire box to melt, I also set my saddle near the fire to get nice and hot and the slathered copious amounts of the grease on with an old paint brush and let it soak in for 30 minutes before slathering it again. Grease is good.
I let the saddle sit for a couple of hours and then remounted it and rode the rollers for 2 hours in 30 minute segments. The saddle is not soft but definately pliable. For some reason I had to move this saddle more forward than my previous on and that makes my reach about 15mm too short, I felt minimal discomfort in the ass area and minor numbness in the usual area but nothing compared to my last 2 hour ride on the rollers. Even before this saddle is broken in it proves supior to the Sel Italia which had about 6000 miles on it and was becoming too soft in the gel foam areas that had degraded.
The problem I have now is selecting a new stem length to go with my new saddle position. This will take some time an consideration, right now I think I will get a quill stem adapter that will allow me to use a stem designeed for a threadless headset. Quality quill stems are getting very pricey and the selection is somewhat limited as far as reach and rise.
Why's that? What was happening that made you move it forward? Could a different tilt compensate to keep it in the same fore-aft position? 1.5cm sounds substantial?Serial Midget said:
Sounds like you treated it very well.
You're getting a little numbing? From day one on my Brick, I had no numbing. Did 54 miles today at the slug pace of 16mph, so 3+ hours, no numb at all. Are you just reporting all the details (including the really minor ones) or is the numbing that noticeable?
When you ride rollers you don't stand up or shift your body too much so what might not be noticed on the road becomes a factor while riding the rollers. Prior to riding rollers I never felt any numbness on rides of less than 50 miles but would experience some on rides that were longer. The newer the saddle the less of a problem it would be but as the saddle became too soft I would notice it more and more.LordOpie said:
As for shifting the saddle forward - I have no idea why except that it was more comfortable once I did it. The Sel Itaila is a longer saddle so its possible that I sat more forward on it than I do with the with the new one.
No but I can and have endo'd off of them and put a sizable gash in the front roller with my cleats...LordOpie said:ah, I bought rollers and have a total of 35-40 minutes over three sessionsBut yeah, if you could stand on rollers, you'd be a badass! Do you ride up to 'em and bunny hop on? I do.
Try pedaling next timeLordOpie said:
Any updates on brooks? Still like it? I'm ordering the swift today, just curious how the break-in went...
I have no complaints and have made no further adjustments. I rode in the rain for 2 hours yesterday with no ill effects - I can reccomend Hubbards Shoe Grease as saddle dressing.Mr Tiles said:
Thanks. I thought I was going to order it yesterday but the lbs wanted close to $200 for it. I can get them off ebay for a lot less. Just going to wait until the right deal presents itself. We have a swap meet that comes through these parts (Charlotte, NC) called the Big Stampede in November. I would prolly easily find one there for less than a bill...
Good luck - I tried for a couple of weeks before I gave up and ordered it from my LBS. All the ones I saw on eBay where used or green.Mr Tiles said: