Customer Reviews

Brooks Saddles Flyer S Bicycle Saddle (Women's, Black Steel Rails, Black)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't care what the weight weenies think this is the best saddle for non racers. Let's face it if your not on the race circuit at any level why kill your butt. This makes riding a pleasure, so what if it weighs a tad more!

I've been a Brooks saddle guy all my life, but my tried and true seat, the Brooks Heritage Saddles B17 Standard Saddle - Men's which I've gone through two of them needed a replacement. Having a long time ago ridden a bike with a wide spring loaded seat that made dirt roads feel like silk, I knew the value of a spring seat. But my current commute is 25+rt. miles of roads & bike paths. I don't need that level of suspension. Then I discovered that Brooks made a spring seat that fit the micro adjust post on my bike. It only weighs a 1/2 lb more than my B17 (like with my old body, and commuter load I'm going to notice the extra weight.) So I bought it.

After a month of riding, I'm pleased with the purchase. It's still as stiff as the old B17, but those expansion joints in the road are no longer a jolt to my tailbone. The weight is un-noticable once it was on the bike. Yes you can tell holding the two saddles which weighs more but if I just ate one less bowl of Ben & Jerry's I'd make up the difference.

A friend of mine bought the Brooks Saddles B67 Bicycle Saddle (Men's). The spring'yness of the two saddles is about the same with the B67 being slightly less stiff. The leather finish on the B67 was a bit slicker but then both saddles are pretty new.

The Brooks home page has all the specifications you will ever need, width, weight, length etc. I picked the special because I find with the wide rivets they don't poke me when the leather finally stretches. I don't need or like the cutout on the "Imperial" models, but everyone is built different.

Note: With the springs the seat is about 1/2 inch taller from the rails up than the B17. So if you are already at the bottom of your seat post adjustment it might be too tall. You also will want a cover, any plastic bag will do for parking the bike out in the rain all day. Riding it in the rain has never been a problem for me. (no cover used.)

So recommended for light touring, commuting, and recreational riding. Which is probably 90% of us on drop handlebar bicycles.

I'm not an avid cyclist - that is I don't get out as often as I should. I ride primarily well groomed single track and asphalt (urban/rails to trails type riding) and plan on setting up a bike for commuting. Although I don't put in many miles, I know what I like in a saddle. What took me so long to acquire a Brooks saddle is beyond me. This saddle has it all - support, comfort and classy looks. I have ridden the Flyer S Special for three outings now. Although the nose is shorter for the women's cut, there is still plenty of room to move around and find your sweet spot - the place where butt and saddle meld into one and you forget about the saddle and just drift into your riding zone. Many reviews I've read mention that the rider has felt comfortable in the saddle straight out of the box without riding shorts. I'm not there yet but I am definitely comfortable on the saddle. I would not hesitate to take a long ride on it.

I was bit apprehensive about having to prep the saddle before riding so I did a bit of research. Turns out the process was painless. I decided to treat the saddle with Obenauf's oil and heavy duty LP - oil to condition and the LP to preserve/waterproof rather than the Brooks recommended Proofhide. I've had great success with Obenauf's for other leather care and I'm very satisfied with the outcome on the saddle. I liberally applied the oil to the underside of the saddle and let it sit in a large ziplock bag in a warm car for around 15 minutes. Then I worked any remaining surface oil into the leather - top and bottom. I repeated this process about four times until the oil soaked through and the top of the saddle turned dark. I left the saddle in the bag overnight - out of the heat - then again worked the oil into the leather, wiping away any excess. To finish I applied two coats of the Heavy Duty LP. The saddle shines and is smooth without being overly slippery. The leather has the slightest hint of give when pressed hard and so should break in nicely when I ride.

I've never ridden a comfort saddle - all of my past saddles have been on the harder side. I am a firm believer that a properly adjusted/fitted saddle that supports you and provides absence of friction is more comfortable than a soft, overly padded seat. The Brooks takes that belief to a whole new level. So much so that I will be saving up for a B17, Swift or Pro for my full suspension mountain bike. Heck, if Brooks made saddles for recumbents, I'd get one for the recumbent too!

I wish I found this seat before. My hard-core biker friends tell me that it may not be the best for riding across the U..S, but for local, even long distance riding is perfect.

Radomir
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I have been biking nearly daily for about 40 years now (lately my average has been about 2,800 miles per year) and this is one of the more comfortable saddles I have tried (my #1 favorite is no longer being made and is worn out and this is replacing it). Over-stuffed gel seats are comfy on the bottom, but they interfere with my leg movement. This seat is the best balance I have seen so far between not interfering and minimizing soreness under the sit bones.

Like any new seat first ridden after that long winter break, it took a few rides my rear to adjust to it (or visa versa, it is hard to say).

It came with that special wrench to adjust the tension nut and a rain cover.

The rain cover is a bit stiff and does not fit all that nicely, so I picked up this cover and leave it on the saddle 24/7: Aardvark Waterproof Std Seatcover, Black

Their web site is reasonably detailed. They have three basic classes of seats: Narrow (for the racers), Wide (for the up-right riders) and in-between (touring & trekking = this seat). brooksengland d com describes this middle class of seats thusly:

Typically the touring and trekking cyclist will spend a greater amount of riding time in the saddle than the sporting cyclist, and is likely to adopt a wider variety of sitting positions. Although the rider may stand up from time to time to achieve greater control or generate a burst of speed, the standard position on the bike is seated. Therefore our touring & trekking models are wider than our sporting models in order to increase comfort.

And here are the specs for this seat specifically:

Flyer Special
Length: 275mm
Width: 175mm
Height:87mm
Weight: 890g

The Flyer is a classically sprung saddle for long distance trekking and touring. It is directly descending from the B66 Champion, first featured in the 1927 catalogue. Sharing the same leather tops of the B17 models, it combines the comfort of these popular models with the extra suspension granted by two rear springs.

<Update 1 - After 2 weeks and 220 miles with only 3 days off, my rear started telling me to go back to my 10yr+ old saddle (it is also a hammock style seat, but using long springs and foam and a now-torn-and-thread-bare nylon cover instead of leather). I put my old saddle back on today and I will probably leave it on for about a week and then give this Brooks saddle another try.>
<Update 2 - It would appear that I prefer this Brooks saddle over my old favorite after all. I am anxious to change it back now. I guess I just have to spend more time letting my rear adjust in the spring than I used to. I may also fiddle with the seat position a bit as I did have its nose a bit higher than I was accustomed to in order to keep from sliding forward.>

This is a great seat. Can do long miles and and still be comfortable at the end of the day. Worth the cost.

The most beautiful bike saddle I've ever seen, very well-built, and seems to be pretty comfortable out of the box, even though you should break it in with Proofhide cream for a couple weeks before riding. The copper rivets are a little uncomfortable on my backside, but I think that's because my bike is a little too small and I'm riding more upright than this saddle is really meant for. This is a touring saddle, and you're supposed to be somewhat stretched out. But like Apple products, once you've ridden on a broken-in Brooks saddle, everything else is crap. Like a nice pair of leather shoes.

If you don't have a Brooks saddle on you bike get one. I have Brooks B-17's on both of my bikes. I bought the Brooks Flyer S for my wife. She was doubtful but after breaking it in for about 150 miles she loves it.