I've had a chance to take about a 10 mile ride today after work which included a bit of climbing and, of course, some descents to go along with the climbs.
The first couple of miles I have to admit I stopped more than started while I tweaked the angle of the saddle. Okay, I had to stop three times to get it right but I do believe it's good now. This isn't really any different than any of the leather Brooks I own - always a bit finicky at first then locked in. Since this was an urban ride on roads that vary from freshly paved to badly in need of help I was able to get a pretty good feel for the saddle in a variety of conditions. Long distance will have to wait till the actual weekend though. My first impression on a real ride was that the saddle didn't need any breaking in. Admittedly I'm a big guy and have never had to spend a whole lot of time breaking in a leather Brooks. In fact my Select, stiffest of the bunch, felt pretty good from the outset and while it has adapted a bit since November when it was new, I've never felt uncomfortable. That being said, the C-17 has been comfortable from the get go as well (angle not withstanding). I can feel some give in it when going over bumps (that I don't see - usually I use my legs as shocks on the ones I do). It doesn't feel like it's giving to much and needs to be tightened, just a little cushioning. I'm not sure how much lighter folks might fare but I suspect it's all good. In fact, once I'd adjusted the angle, the biggest thing I noticed about the saddle is that I didn't actually notice it. Since all my bikes use one B-17 or another I'm pretty used to having more or less the same experience on all my bikes - thus I really only notice anything when something is 'off.' The ride was fun and I'm looking forward to giving it a longer workout this weekend. "Did it stick to your clothes like you thought it would?" Umm..sort of and sort of not. The top of the saddle, the part that is partially cloth, is fine. It doesn't stick or drag on my clothes. I tend to wear MUSA knickers, shorts of the same sorts of materials, and Columbia convertible pants (wear 'em long to work and shorts on the way home). I can't say how jeans or other actual natural material might do, but the man made fibers I wear don't have an issue with the top of the saddle. But...and this has only happened twice in a bunch of dismounts, the bottom edge of the saddle is more or less exposed rubber. When I've swung my leg up to clear the saddle and dismount I have had it snag a bit on the fabric. The first time it happened I stopped, sat back down, and tried again. The second time I just twisted a bit and my leg came free. As I dismount when stopped I don't think there'll be a problem. If, however, you are one of those who dismounts while coasting it's something to think about. I expect this will stop as the rubber gets rubbed a bit more. And, honestly, this could easily happen on the rougher bit of leather on the bottom edge of a new Brooks leather saddle - it's not like I haven't gotten myself caught on the nose once or twice (or thrice...). Still it felt like cloth catching on rubber. I also had another concern this morning. Normally I leave my helmet out to dry out on my lanai but for some reason last night I slung the helmet straps over the nose of the saddle. Remember, this saddle is 'natural.' Well this morning I discovered an ugly stap mark underneath the wear the helmet strap had been. Shoots. I didn't realize my strap was that sweaty. I figured I'd be careful in the future and thought about how I'd clean this up. I locked the bike up at work (we have a combo locked cage with racks) and did my eight hours. When I came out the mark was gone. Clearly it was just moisture. I guess this makes sense. As I recall from prior days plastic saddles that aren't at all absorbent just get slick and icky when they get wet (from rain or more likely, sweat). Leather, of course, does absorb a bit. Well apparently so does the fabric on the saddle. What this means in the long run I don't know, but it dried out and no mark was left. Given how folks sweat this might, on the natural saddle, lead to moisture marks one might not wish to explain. :-) In any case, after a short 10 mile ride I'm happy with the saddle. Now, as for it's looks. I actually like the thing. No, it's not leather, but it's not a plastic bit of awfulness either. It looks like a quality saddle. Do I like the looks more than my leather saddles...not, not really, but it's not, at least to my mind, ugly. In fact it matches my Acorn bags on the Hunq fairly well so it doesn't look out of place at all. That's it for now. I'll have a long ride this weekend (hopefully) and will report back again on how I feel after at least a couple of dozen miles. Aloha, Bob On Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 10:51 AM, Michael <john11.2...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks for the pics. I see the contours now. >> > > So, the saddle looks like it is made out of metal, rubber, and plastic, > and whatever the cloth is on top? > > Did it stick to your clothes like you thought it would? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- Robert Harrison Honolulu, HI rfharri...@gmail.com statrix.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
