OK- I need to understand this in the old school context.
Lets start with the B-17. Way back when that was the top Brooks saddle.
Goings from narrowest to widest.
B17 Sprinter? (this one is inhumane) B17 Racer? Maybe longer also. B17 Narrow B17 (that's a pretty wide saddle)
Then the Pro was slotted in between the Narrow and the regular B17. And presumably better but that all varies hide by hide , doubler by doubler etc. For example a good B-15 is better than a bad B-17 especially since saddles with uneven thickness side to side are sort of doomed (unless the result matches your particular anatomy).
So where does the current Special sit in now?
I guess the Swallow is like a Narrow. I say that because I like the Narrow and I like the Swallow.
Ideale saddles are all just sort of puny. So an 80 or 90 really fits like a B17 Narrow.
Discuss.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Great Notch, NJ
> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 15:18:16 -0500
\r?\n> From: "Tom Sanders" <tsan7759142@sbcglobal.net>
\r?\n> To: <vladluskin@yahoo.com>
\r?\n> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> Subject: [CR] B-17 Champion Special saddles...Shape changed on
\r?\n> recent ones?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Vlad,
\r?\n> I have two of them and I think they are shaped a bit more like the Pro
\r?\n> models. I also notice that the steel railed one I have is more
\r?\n> comfortablethan the Ti railed model. this puzzled me a good deal
\r?\n> until I finally
\r?\n> realized that the tension is set greater on the Ti one. Whether
\r?\n> all of them
\r?\n> are like that or not, I don't know but I am going to back off the
\r?\n> tension on
\r?\n> the Ti one a quarter turn and see if I like it better. I think
\r?\n> these are
\r?\n> about the most comfortable saddles I've found...especially the
\r?\n> steel railed
\r?\n> one.
\r?\n> Tom Sanders
\r?\n> Sitting in Lansing, Mi wishing I were going to the Tour De New York
\r?\n> withthose guys! What fun!
\r?\n> ----------------------------
\r?\n> The B-17 Special, in three colors, is the most popular Brooks
\r?\n> saddle that I sell, so it seems that many folks would agree, Tom.
\r?\n> The "basic" B-17 Standards (two colors, women's model as well) are
\r?\n> right behind the Specials in popularity, then probably the Team Pro
\r?\n> (four colors, women's models too, now a Ti men's one also). After
\r?\n> that it's a bit of a toss-up - maybe the Flyer is next in
\r?\n> popularity? I stock several Ti-railed Brooks saddles now, but only
\r?\n> sell a few of each type per year. The cost premium is significant,
\r?\n> but they are significantly lighter as well. (Some are available
\r?\n> only with a Ti frame, of course, such as the Swallow Classic and
\r?\n> Swift...).Greg Parker
\r?\n> Ann Arbor, Michigan
\r?\n> http://www.bicycleclassics.com