Brooks B17 Review: Comfort, Break-In and Rain Care

The Brooks B17 is a leather hammock saddle: one piece of vegetable-tanned hide, stretched over a steel frame, riveted at the rear and fitted with a tension bolt at the nose. There is no foam, no gel and no plastic shell. The leather is the suspension, which is why a new one feels firm and slightly slick and why an old one feels like nothing at all.

It has been in Brooks' catalogue for well over a century and is still the default choice for touring, audax and long-distance commuting. It is also a deliberately old-fashioned product: heavy next to a moulded saddle, fussy in the wet, and slow to feel comfortable. What you get in return is a shape that, once it has settled, suits a great many riders over very long days — and a lifespan measured in decades rather than seasons.

It suits riders who pootle, commute, tour and ride audax. It is a poor match for anyone who wants instant comfort, counts grams, or leaves their bike out in the rain.

Underneath the hide sits a simple steel frame with two rails. The leather is pulled over the rear cantle and held by copper rivets, and a bolt at the nose lets you take up slack as the material settles. Because the whole thing is mechanical, it can be adjusted and repaired in a way that a moulded saddle cannot — but it also means there is nothing between you and the leather except the leather.

Brooks still makes its saddles in its own works in England, and the finish reflects that: thick hide, tidy rivets, a stamped plate at the back. It looks like a piece of equipment rather than a component.

Nobody buys a B17 for how it feels on the first ride. Out of the box the leather is stiff and slick, and the saddle feels harder than almost anything else you could fit. The first few hundred miles are the price of admission.

Break-in is the whole point. The hide softens where you sit and gradually takes the shape of your sit bones, with two shallow depressions appearing towards the rear. How long that takes varies enormously from rider to rider — some say a few hundred miles, others a full season. Warm weather, a little Proofide and plenty of hours in the saddle speed it up; cold, wet commuting slows it down.

Once it has happened, the hammock spreads load across a wider area than a padded saddle does, which is why long-term owners talk about simply forgetting the saddle is there. Two caveats worth knowing:

• A leather saddle gives you nothing for free. Riders who never settle into a B17 have usually bought the wrong shape rather than the wrong material.
• The surface is slippery when new, particularly in the wet, so expect to shuffle about until it scuffs up a little.

The B17 is a specialist, and the scores below show it: it wins where leather wins and loses where leather is a liability. Read them as a picture of a season of ownership rather than a fortnight.

This is where leather saddles earn their reputation for being high-maintenance. The B17 has no waterproof membrane and no synthetic cover: the hide will absorb water, and a saddle that stays soaked will stretch, sag and eventually dry out of shape.

The practical answer is not a wonder product but two pieces of kit. Decent mudguards keep the worst of the road spray off the underside, and a fitted saddle cover deals with the rest — on the bike at the cafe stop, and in the bag for the ride home. A thin smear of Proofide slows absorption a little, but it does not make the saddle waterproof.

If the saddle does get drenched, let it dry slowly at room temperature. Heat is the enemy: a radiator, a hot air vent or a hairdryer will dry the leather too fast and leave it cracked and hard.

The B17 name covers several shapes built on the same leather-and-steel idea, and picking the right one matters far more than the colour or the rail material. The Standard is the classic broad hammock and suits upright positions. The Narrow is trimmed at the sides for riders whose thighs rub or who ride lower and longer. The S is the shorter version, sized for smaller riders, and the Imperial adds a central cut-out for anyone troubled by soft-tissue pressure.

If you can only try one, try the Standard — it is the shape most riders picture when they say Brooks.

A word on your position: the more weight you carry on your hands, the less the broad rear of a Standard helps and the more likely you are to want the Narrow.

The B17 makes most sense on a bike that is ridden for distance rather than for the clock: a steel tourer, an audax machine, a gravel bike doing long days out, or a commuter with mudguards and a rack. It also suits riders who like looking after their kit and who would rather buy once than replace a saddle every couple of years.

It is a poorer fit for a few clear groups. If you race or ride a long, low position, the broad rear of the Standard will get in your way — try the Narrow first, or a different saddle entirely. If your bike is left outside at a station all day, the leather will suffer. If you want to buy online, fit it and forget it, the break-in period will frustrate you.

One more consideration: a leather saddle rewards a rider who knows roughly where their sit bones land and what shape they get on with. If you have never been comfortable on a saddle, borrowing or test-riding a B17 before committing is far better than guessing.

Buy the shape, not the finish. Colour, rivet style and rail material change the look and the weight far more than they change the ride. Get the model right first, then decide whether the titanium-railed version is worth the extra outlay to you — it saves a useful chunk of weight but keeps exactly the same leather.

Secondhand B17s are widely available and can be excellent value, but leather keeps the shape it has been trained into. A lightly used saddle from a similar rider will settle quickly; a well-worn one may never feel right under you, however cheap it was.

Finally, budget for the extras. The saddle does not come with a cover, and a saddle cover plus a tub of Proofide is the difference between a B17 that lasts fifteen years and one that sags in three.