Women's Brooks Saddle for Quality Style and Comfort
Brooks B17 S women's specific saddle When I met my fiance three years ago she was not a bike person. I put her on an antique balloon cruiser bike and then found a good price on a Trek 730 hybrid with comfortable posture riding position yet aggressive enough for her to feel confident for touring.
One thing about bike newbies is that they can be informative in regards to product complaints. Knowing that without question the number one complaint of every cyclist is butt pain and is one of the major reasons some folks simply quit riding.
First decision of course was to find her the most comfortable seat and convince her to try it. It is common for first time Brooks saddle users to be skeptical of the solid tough looking rawhide surface and believe that it will become more comfortable over time. "If you're going to be dumb you'd better be tough" doesn't apply here. I suppose that reasoning has it's place but when it comes to bike related products such as this it's uninformed ignorance.
So without further ado I ordered the women's specific Brooks B17 S, conditioned the leather, made all the proper saddle adjustments, height, fore aft, etc. and we went for a ride. She unwittingly rode without padded bike shorts, however she nevertheless was convinced of the new comfort. After a few miles of course she began to complain of butt pain but she rode further than with her old seat.
Yes, yes I got her some padded shorts, she got back on the bike and she was feeling "right as rain" as they say. One of our sayings around here when investing in a proper saddle is "it's a small price to pay to get rid of that pain in the ass". I so enjoyed hearing my just reward of her resounding exclamations in improved comfort and pleasurable pedaling. When I explained to her that over the next two to three hundred miles she would gradually experience more and more comfort as the seat was broken in her expression of satisfaction was and is priceless.
One thing about bike newbies is that they can be informative in regards to product complaints. Knowing that without question the number one complaint of every cyclist is butt pain and is one of the major reasons some folks simply quit riding.
First decision of course was to find her the most comfortable seat and convince her to try it. It is common for first time Brooks saddle users to be skeptical of the solid tough looking rawhide surface and believe that it will become more comfortable over time. "If you're going to be dumb you'd better be tough" doesn't apply here. I suppose that reasoning has it's place but when it comes to bike related products such as this it's uninformed ignorance.
So without further ado I ordered the women's specific Brooks B17 S, conditioned the leather, made all the proper saddle adjustments, height, fore aft, etc. and we went for a ride. She unwittingly rode without padded bike shorts, however she nevertheless was convinced of the new comfort. After a few miles of course she began to complain of butt pain but she rode further than with her old seat.
Yes, yes I got her some padded shorts, she got back on the bike and she was feeling "right as rain" as they say. One of our sayings around here when investing in a proper saddle is "it's a small price to pay to get rid of that pain in the ass". I so enjoyed hearing my just reward of her resounding exclamations in improved comfort and pleasurable pedaling. When I explained to her that over the next two to three hundred miles she would gradually experience more and more comfort as the seat was broken in her expression of satisfaction was and is priceless.
Trek 730, Brooks B17 S, women's touring bike Looking back I see it was one of our first intimate exchanges of trust. Soon after her dad became ill and we spent a couple weeks out of town with her step mom making several trips to the hospital. So, while tending to intimate discussion, making myself available emotionally and training a two month old Catahoula puppy I decided to use my time wisely (when I wasn't needed for other things) and continued building her bike by adding fenders, rear rack, lights, etc. Almost three years later I like to think we've built on that trust. Now she has a mountain bike as well : )
Cheers!
"Ride the energy of your own unique spirt"
Cheers!
"Ride the energy of your own unique spirt"
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