Right, let's not beat about the bush here; these are expensive saddles. I used a standard Brompton saddle for about 6 months (the original foam saddle on pre 2009 models, not the new saddle with the hand grip on the nose). I thought this was a relatively comfortable affair, I did tend to "bottom out" (pardon the pun) onto the plastic pan over the larger bumps, but nothing too bad. There was some peeling on the nose of the saddle though, where I was carrying the bike around; so I thought it time for change.
I have tried several different saddles over the years on a variety of mountain bikes, but I've not sat on leather. It's always been "gel" and "ultimate comfort" and other such buzz words. So owning a Brooks saddle required a certain amount of trust after reading about the 200 mile bedding in period. I was concerned that I would be walking around the office like John Wayne but alas, the worry was unfounded, well...partially. The first approximately 20 miles were fine, nothing to report, no chaffing no obvious signs of danger. The next 80 were a little bit uncomfortable! (It's worth noting here that my frame is somewhat, aerodynamic, thus built in padding is minimal!) It wasn't really bad it was just a small battle of supremacy between the buttocks and the saddle. Eventually the moulding started to take place and I can happily say now that it is probably the most comfortable saddle I have ever owned.
I was slightly pre-emptive about carrying my Brompton around by the saddle as I was unsure of the consequences, after the peeling that had occurred to the previous offering, I definitely didn't want anything like this to happen again. So after struggling to carry my load using the frame, I just decided to just go for it. I've been carrying it around using the saddle for approximately 7 months now (general moving the bike about, including stairs at stations etc) and there is no damage at all.
As far as general saddle upkeep goes, I have applied one coating of proofide (coating applied with a duster, left to go cloudy and penetrate the leather, then remove with said duster and give a bit of a buff) and nothing more. I've not had any sagging, so there has been no need to touch the tensioning screw; he has pretty much looked after himself.
I thoroughly recommend this saddle if you do the mileage and are looking for a long term bottom investment. You may have to put up with people questioning your sanity (a tap of the knuckle on the saddle makes it sound anything but comfortable), but they don't know what they're missing, just let out a manly noise, safe in the knowledge you'll have a comfortable ride home...If it's bedded in of course!
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