Submitted by
BrooklynBoy
a Cross Country Rider
from Brooklyn, NY Date Reviewed: September 24, 2008
Favorite Trail:
The Incline, Nisene Marks SP, CA
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$170.00
Purchased At:
A Bicycle Shop
Strengths:
See previous review
Weaknesses:
See previous review
Similar Products Used:
See previous review
Bike Setup:
See previous review
Bottom Line:
Couldn't figure out how to edit an existing review. Sorry. Just wanted to add one thing: With ~100 mi on this saddle, it's already starting to conform to my bones. The change is clear. I've done 3 applications of Proofide. Dunno if that's overkill. It feels right. Yesterday, running out of daylight, I rode home in my office clothes. No padding; no discomfort.
All I can say is my experience with this saddle differs from that reported by many others: First, while many reviewers say their Team Pro won't break in, mine is already beginning to conform to my anatomy. Second, some have said it's too hard and uncomfortable to ride without padded shorts. Not my experience at all.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
BrooklynBoy
a Cross Country Rider
from Brooklyn, NY, USA Date Reviewed: September 10, 2008
Attractiveness to working thieves. Hypothetically: If it degrades from getting wet, because it will get wet.
Similar Products Used:
WTB Rocket V, Specialized Lamda
Bike Setup:
Soma DoubleCross Shimano Deore/Tiagra, Araya 310F rims, Infinity Armadillo 700 x 28 tires.
Bottom Line:
Smooth as silk in urban combat from B'ooklyn to Midtown.
The one think I can definitively state, after one hour on this saddle: Uncomfortable until broken in? Don' ev'n worry'boutit. If it only gets better from here, my behind is going to be in heaven. This was a very comfortable ride, out of the box.
Commuting through Manhattan is serious business. The last thing I want to worry about while dodging lorries and cabs, cranking over cobblestones and potholes, is how long it's going to take my saddle to break in. That was the furthest thing from my mind today. It was a nice, nice ride.
There may be some blind luck in my case. With no fuss, the Team Pro set up on my post at almost exactly the same orientation as the no-name, made-in-Taiwan, foam-plastic-vinyl saddle I'd been riding for the last 5,000 miles. I find myself seated perfectly on this saddle, and I foresee no problems with either numbness or rivets wearing through my tights.
Note that I put the maintenance requirements in the plus column. I love being intimately involved with the things I use. When we had cars, I liked to work on our own cars. I love rubbing oil into our walnut salad bowl and into the wood surface of our kitchen island. I love sharpening our kitchen knives. Why wouldn't I love a saddle that I need to rub treatment into and tension ever so carefully?
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Submitted by
rbensyl
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA Date Reviewed: June 26, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Chicopee
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$110.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Amazing craftsmanship, design and durability
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
80s-90s vintage Selle Italia Turbo/turbomatic, Selle san Marco Rolls
Bike Setup:
Klein Adept race
Bottom Line:
What a long, strange trip its been. I started biking about thirty years ago at age 12. I've done all kinds of racing,(road and MTB), junior through Cat. 2 senior, long distance touring, etc. In the past I always made fun of people that had Brooks saddles - goofy looking, heavy, dated, etc.
Boy was I wrong- the Brooks users actually DID know what they were doing.
After a brief hiatus from riding last year I have been riding again this year and went through a bunch of saddles in the last six months: Selle Italia SLR, Flite, Flite Trans Am, SLK, Selle san Marco Concor, Regal, and strada, Fizik Arione, (about ten in all).
I bought a Brooks on a late night whim on Ebay and relunctantly tried it this week for the first time. Ive always been a "weight weenie" or gram counter at heart, so I really struggled with the Brooks purchase- for me buying it was like getting a drunk to go to an AA meeting.
I was amazed at how comfortable it was out of the box- yes, it was hard, but has the "right" shape for me at least. I rode 90 minutes on it offroad and had no soreness afterwards. If it feels this good now, I can't wait for it to break in.
Yes, it weighs somewhere around 550 grams, but I lost 10 pounds in the last year and that amounts to ~ 4500 grams. The average person out there could easily lose ten pounds (even alot of bikers I know) so I really don't think the weight thing is a big issue, unless you are pro- racing in the mountains. (You can get a Ti- railed version that is 100 grams lighter) but I opted for the much less expensive steel version because I didn't know if I would like it.
There's a reason many long distance cyclists use the brooks saddles -they work well and last 30+ years if taken care of.
I guess I'm a convert now. I want one for all three bikes now!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sal Monella
a
from Texas Date Reviewed: May 5, 2008
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
Online retailer
Strengths:
Top-notch product. Very comfortable once broken in. Saddle tilt and fore/aft adjustment are very important for a comfortable fit. Slick surface will lessen with use.
Weaknesses:
None. If you're worried about weight then drop some of that excess off your a$$. If you're having numbness issues then your saddle isn't adjusted properly.
Similar Products Used:
Brooks B-17.
Bike Setup:
Reynolds 853 road bike with Campy Chorus.
Bottom Line:
As with most other riders I thought I had to have one of those lightweight a$$ hatchet saddles. Boy was I wrong. After trying a B-17 on the mountain bike I opted for the Team Pro for the road bike. I could not have made a better choice. While a little narrower than the B-17, the Team Pro is just as comfortable once broken in. Very classy saddle also. For those who poke fun at your Brooks, they'll come around eventually.
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Submitted by
Josh
a
from Longmont Colorado Date Reviewed: November 16, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Windsor in Santa Fe
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$80.00
Strengths:
Look very cool, seems to be durable
Weaknesses:
I could never get it to break in. I found myself constantly pushing back so that my sit bones were on the rear of the saddle. Otherwise, I'd sit too far up on the narrow hard middle of the saddle. Very uncomfortable for my body.
Similar Products Used:
everything: SLR, Bontrager, Flight, WTB, Arione
Bike Setup:
Bianchi San Jose SS cross
Bottom Line:
Nice saddle - but doesn't fit me
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Proximo Glutimous
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO USA Date Reviewed: July 18, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Comfort
Weaknesses:
Doesn't like getting wet
Similar Products Used:
Brooks B17, Specialized Avatar, E3 Form
Bike Setup:
18" Access XCL, Marzocchi MX Pro fork, Shimano XT everything.
Bottom Line:
To the previous reviewer: if you are wearing holes in your shorts from the saddle rivets, your saddle is misadjusted and you are sitting *too far back*. The rivets connect the saddle leather to the underlying steel frame. You will never break in that steel frame by sitting on it. Try moving the saddle back and sit on the leather 1/2 to 1" or so in front of the rivets. Yes, you may feel like you are sliding off the saddle initially but once it breaks in that goes away.
All in all, I wasted a lot of money on various modern saddles before trying a Brooks. Mine was comfortable out of the box once I got it set up and has been for 500 miles so far. The Team Pro has thicker leather than the B17 so it will take longer to break in but it still should be reasonably comfortable out of the box if you set it up right and give it a couple of liberal coats of Proofide to help things along.
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Submitted by
Mike Callahan
a Racer
from Kings Beach Ca Date Reviewed: November 6, 2005
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Strengths:
Cool retro look if that is what you are into.
Weaknesses:
Never breaks in. Looks are not everything especially if you want to use it.
Similar Products Used:
Brooks Swallow
Bike Setup:
Too many bikes to list Colnago, Masi, WJL, Tommasso, Cinnelli, Specialized,
Bottom Line:
After hearing so much about the legendary comfort of these saddles I tried for years to break one in with no success. No amount of Proofide will help. All my shorts had holes in them in a ring corresponding to the rivets on the saddle. Even though the rivets are flat and polished they are still metal and on he drops you will sit on them. I rode countless centuries on these saddles and wore out at least four over the years. I was never happy and I never was able to break one in. They were always a pain and I don't know why it took me so long to give up on them. Since I have used many other saddles including Selle Turbos, Avocet RS, Flite Unicanoiter and on and on. All of those saddles were better than the Brooks and less than half the weight too. These saddles are a myth. They are heavy and a pain in the A--. They look cool to the geeky set though.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
chuck cypert
a Cross Country Rider
from dallas, the metromess Date Reviewed: December 24, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Old Ore Road
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Classic beauty, timeless design.
Weaknesses:
Weighty, not yuppified enough for average riders. No bag mounting tabs.
Similar Products Used:
Too many to name but many Brooks and Ti Flites.
Bike Setup:
25 year old Ron Cooper touring bike recently refinished and restored to full Campy glory.
Bottom Line:
You will either love this thing or hate it, I don't think there is any in between.
I love the way the honey leather turns chocolate brown when you treat it with Proofide and the way the large rivets look like pennies when they are polished from use. I have several Brooks saddles and they definitely work for me but I am pretty old school so when I restored my old bike there was no other saddle. Casual riders may not be able to appreciate a real handmade leather saddle the way someone with several decades of dedicated riding can.
I am in the habit of taking new Brooks saddles and coating them with Proofide and setting them in the sun all day and repeating the process until they are fully infused (underside too). Then, once or twice a year remedial Proofide and enjoy for life. You can ruin a Brooks with too much Proofide, so they say, but I have never seen this happen and have never had a problem with any of mine.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
TruckeeLocal
a Cross Country Rider
from Truckee, CA Date Reviewed: June 23, 2003
Favorite Trail:
The 06
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
England
Strengths:
Comfort, comfort, comfort
Weaknesses:
Weight Some maintenance
Similar Products Used:
Older Team Professional, B17-Ti, standard saddles supplied with bikes
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Id with XT, CrossMax XLs
Bottom Line:
This is the real deal. Black leather saddles are why cycling shorts are black. It's taken about 75 miles of off-road riding to break in my new Team Professional. That's a bit longer than it took for me to break in my B17 (see separate review). Other differences to the B17 are that it's narrower which gives more options with regard to positioning yourself on the bike, and it doesn't have the saddlebag tabs that seem to catch my shorts sometimes. These things are heavy compared to 'normal' saddles. Fine if you're a weigh weany, go somewhere else. But nothing, in my experience, is as comforable as a broken-in Brooks.
Don't get the tension wrench - you may be tempted to use it and potentially ruin a fine saddle.
Do get the proofide. Use it. And don't believe that it mustn't get wet. Rubbish. These things are made in ENGLAND. Duh. It rains there. I ran my old Team Professional on a touring bike in Belgium for 3 years and 30,000 km. It rains there too. Put some proofide on the underside of the saddle and it will be fine.
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Monroe TWP, NJ, USA Date Reviewed: June 3, 2003
When I first bought this saddle (1997?), it went on my road bike and came right back off (and went in the 'I can't believe I wasted money on this thing' bin). Later that season, as a sort of a goof, I put the saddle on my mountain bike. Noone else I knew had one, so it was kind of different and cool. After about three months of riding that rock, an amazing thing happened. Two little dimples formed towards the back of the saddle, and it became the most comfortable saddle my butt has ever been on. I would have felt generous giving the Brooks one chili when I first bought it, but now I don't think five chilis is enough. The Team Pro is now on my road bike and I'm breaking in a Champion on my fat tire ride. For those who are wondering - I'm a biking heavyweight at 210 lbs. Now if I could only find a comfortable saddle for my 110lb wife...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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