I was skeptical at first, but once I got a Brooks saddle (a B-17 narrow) for my touring bike, I became a fan too. The B-17 is a touring saddle, no padding or springs, and intuitively one would think it would be uncomfortable to sit on a hard leather saddle all day. But I have much less pain after 8 hours on the Brooks than I've ever had after a day of biking on a padded saddle. As Elon says, it conforms to your body; it's analogous to a good pair of leather sandals.

Despite what you may read on the Internet, don't use Neatsfoot oil to break in your leather saddle; it can cause the leather to get too soft and floppy, creating hammocks. Brooks sells a compound called Proofide that works perfectly for breaking in and maintaining the saddle; I've had my Brooks for 3 years now and it still feels stiff to the touch, which is how it should be, but it has subtly conformed to my body and fits me like a glove.

A few competing brands have emerged in recent years and are getting good reviews:

1. The Velo Orange saddle (shown on the same page as the Brooks models they sell: http://www.velo-orange.com/brookssaddles.html.

2. The truly gorgeous Gilles Berthoud saddles: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/bersaddles.asp.

I love the B.17 as well. One complaint I've heard is that recently they've been cheapening out on the leather and they are not durable as they once were, so I'd give the alternatives listed a good hard look.

One thing that I forgot to mention in my previous comment is that, while I know a few vegans who use Brooks saddles on their bikes, a leather saddle does present a bit of a dilemma for those of us who think about the environmental and bioethical impacts of our consumer choices. There's no getting around the fact that an animal died to make my saddle, nor is my decision to use a leather saddle consistent with my decision to eat less meat (in part for health reasons, but mainly for environmental reasons). But in this case, leather is the best tool for the job. I haven't experienced any other saddle that provides the same level of comfort and durability.

I haven't lost any sleep over it, but at the same time I think there's a niche for alternative products with less impact, such as saddles made from road-killed moose or deer, assuming their hide holds up as well as that of cattle. Synthetic products have their own environmental impacts and probably some of them kill or sicken animals indirectly through upstream impacts in the supply chain.

I bought ten of the B17's so I could have the knowledge & satisfaction of being personally responsible for the elimination of several cows. (I don't even own a bicycle.)

This doesn't seem to conform to the newer designs which leave a center "channel" for male plumbing. There were a bunch of studies that came out a few years ago linking infertility and other issues to extended bicycle riding in men due to lack of blood flow to the related parts.

@Andrew Pollack: Those "newer" designs actually date back to the Golden Age of bicycle evolution, the 1890s. Fear sells, and those studies often surface as a new saddle is being marketed. Not that the issue should be taken lightly, but it can have as much to do with fit and positioning (saddle is tilted slightly upward rather than parallel to the ground) as with saddle design. I have a Specialized Body Geometry saddle with a center channel cut-out on my road bike, and it's a fantastic saddle. The wonderful thing about Brooks saddles is that they manage to feel as though there's a channel cut away, though there isn't. The rider's sit bones take the pressure and more sensitive areas don't.--es

@Andrew

It looks like Brooks has a flavor of saddle with a slot for your junk.
http://www.rivbike.com/products/show/brooks-b17-imperial/11-074

There's also another brand of leather saddle that incorporates the slot.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/hot-seat-anatomic-leather-saddles-in-bright-bright-colors/

After seeing this page:
http://www.wallbike.com/content/butchering.html
I've been tempted buy a B17 and carve a slot and do a little trimming/tying

I have B-15's on both of my bikes and love them dearly! As said above, they really do conform to you! Having had "the numbness" after rides that weren't even that long on some of my older saddles, I switched to a channel design only to be disappointed at the fit for my body. A friend had a Brooks on his ride and talked up how comfortable they were, so I gave it a try. I have not looked back since. The "break-in" period is not awful, but after about 10 days of short rides all was fine and has only gotten better. Plus I find I sweat less "down there" on long rides.

Some riders have spent more money trying to find the right saddle than they've spent on bikes. Buy a Brooks. It's cheaper in the long run. A leather saddle adapts to your anatomy, instead of you trying to adapt to the saddle. Do cowboys ride gel saddles? Even without the cutout, your man-parts will thank you.

The folks here are right- Brooks saddles and their imitators cradle your sit bones perfectly, without gooshing all over the place. It is said gooshing that makes saddle manufacturers try things like big slots, etc- if there isn't material in that area, then there's less pressure when you sit and the saddle deforms a bunch. Brooks saddles also keep you cooler in hot weather (because you ride on top of, not smushed into, the cover).

Anyone with a leather saddle should take a corner-store plastic bag, ball it up and stick it between the saddle's rails somewhere where it'll stay. That way, if it rains, you can pull out the bag anytime and VOILA - instant rain cover. I've done this countless times, and it works fine.

For those looking for something a little lighter and more modern-looking, the Selle Italia Regal has a really nice shape, and what little padding it has is firm, acting more like the leather membrane on a Brooks than most. I have a Regal on my fixed-gear city bike, and a Brooks on my touring/road/cyclocross beast.

I've been using a Brooks Swift for many years--it replaced a Flite. On similar 500-mile rides, the Swift easily beat the Flite: similar ride conditions, saddle sores with the Filte, none with the Swift.

That said, Brooks saddles are not for everyone. They're expensive and require maintenance, and may not fit every seat. But if you're having trouble finding a comfortable way to ride, they're definitely worth a tryout.

I also had concerns about bioethics so I decided to go with road-kill moose. It took quite a while to run one down with my Hummer because, those mothers can MOVE. I mean, I've always been a huge fan of opposing thumbs and stuff, but that experience really made me tip my hat to quadrapedal locomotion. Well played, my friend. Anyway, after I got my car back from the shop I realized: JUST BUY A COW. However, I ended up ripping its skin off anyway. This may sound crazy, but every time I walked past the garage I swear that cow said "RACHEL!" in this really creepy, hissy kind of voice. Happy ending: did you know those things have STEAKS inside of them?

One of the most painful and overrated saddles ever created.

Perfect for every style of slowly coasting along. No offense for those just looking to commute or tour in style and comfort but I kind of want to slap every hipster I see rocking a gigantic steampunkish contraption of chrome and leather on a bike supposedly made to go fast. If you're on a racing-style bicycle and your butt is supporting more than 20% of your weight for more than brief intervals, you're not pedaling hard enough.

While I've used Brooks saddles for a couple of decades now, there is one saddle that I like better. It's made in England and called the Rido saddle. About 5 years ago, I sent away for one (less than $40 shipped at the time) and have ridden it on my road bike ever since.

It supports my butt more effectively than other saddle and allows more rotation in my hips. If you are used to a warm cushy saddle, it will take a little to get used to because it is very firm. The benefit is that it contacts the sit bones and not much else. It is made out of hard plastic with a rubber skin that supplies only a small amount of give under the sit bones. Even with the Brooks, I would get numb on very long rides, not with the Rido --- I feel like I have more power and stamina. Most importantly, I enjoy the ride more.

The added benefits over the Brooks are no break in time. No oiling or maintenance, no staining your light pants, and finally they are waterproof.

While I do use this saddle on a fixed gear, I would not recommend it for off-road biking. The rubber skin interferes with sliding forward and backwards on the saddle that is needed for going up and down hills.

The only other drawback to the Rido is that it is ugly. It certainly does not have the old world charm and beauty of a Brooks.

They are phasing out the original Rido saddle with the R2. It is heavier (still less than a Brooks), but has a little more padding. The original now costs around $50 shipped and the R2 starts at $65 shipped to the U.S.

http://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com/
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/src/froogleUS/currency/USD/category-Saddles--Rido-926.htm

like with previous discussions of padded shorts, this bicycle seat is yet another patch are fundamentally flawed design of a bicycle. Recumbent bicycles are a proven better design in many dimensions. This is not to say they're perfect, just better.

To the naysayers who ask why it isn't more popular, the answer simple. The retail market is currently driven by the wannabe racers try to emulate the racing community. Recumbents were banned by international racing federations because it significantly outperformed traditional upright bicycle. therefore, there's nothing as a role model.

As long as riders keep supporting the upright, it is effectively saying that you want people to risk nerves and blood vessels in a very tender area. And by the way, I've yet to see a recumbent use any animal products in its manufacture or use. My recumbent is 100% vegan friendly.

I've ridden on a B17 for the last 5 years, and loved it right out of the box; I never felt it needed a break in period. It's been great on long distance rides, and it's the only saddle I've had that didn't make me numb.

@cmouse
"fundamentally flawed design of a bicycle."
"banned by international racing federations"

Two words: Recumbent mountain bike. :) Thought so. I will agree however that virtually all of the speed and speed over distance records have been set with aerodynamic 'bents.

One disadvantage of a Brooks is the fact that it will irreversibly deform if it gets wet while untreated. Even the terribly overpriced Brooks Proofide ($20 / tin) won't protect against this, but $1 of Sno-Seal will. Use a hairdryer to put 3 coats on it and it will hold up to any rainstorm.

@cmouse: You are correct however, recumbent bicycles look nerdy as do the people riding them.

I have an Ergo noseless seat:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AO7MKM/

There's nothing to go between your legs, so there's no compression of perineal nerves or arteries. It's quite comfortable.

Oh the FUD about Brooks I see here in the comments. I bicycle commute every day and I happen to have a Brooks on my bicycle. For the past 9 years, I have had to park my bicycle outside at work since my landlord is a cheap-ass and won't provide indoor bicycle parking (which is required by law).

So myth #1, maintenance/rain/etc:
I frequently forget to cover my saddle. And it frequently rains. And frequently both my saddle is uncovered and it rains. In 9 years NOTHING HAS HAPPENED TO MY SADDLE. It still fits great. I have NEVER used a single product on it. Not proofhide, not neatsfoot, not snowseal. NADA. You don't need it. In fact, you're more likely to screw up your saddle with one of those products. I have no idea what you all are doing to your saddles, but if I can leave my Brooks out in the rain for 10 hours, then sit my 260# ass on it without irreversibly deforming it, I don't think it's a fault of the Brooks.

Myth #2, expense:
People don't give these saddles time to break in, so look on CL and in your LBS for returned saddles. I got my nearly new B17 special for $60. And I just picked up a VO saddle, brand new, shipped for $40. Sure the Swift is expensive, but the basic saddles are competitively priced.

Issues with Brooks saddles:
* Short rails. You might need a setback seatpost to get a Brooks to work for you. Some of the new competitors (like VO) are trying to remedy that with longer rails.
* Break-in time. Months for some people, nothing for others, and there really isn't any good way to anticipate what it will be for you. If you're willing to put in the time (pain) to get one broken in, you will end up transferring it from bike to bike, it will be your one and only saddle.

cmouse:
Recumbents certainly have advantages, but recumbent advocates need to get over their paranoia that their widespread adoption has been blocked only by some industry plot or mass delusion.

I rode recumbents daily for about eight years, but two things made me switch back to an upright bike.

The first is that recumbents are unwieldy. With a bicycle as my main transportation, I have to coordinate my bike trips with other types of transportation, mainly my wife's car and Seattle's metro buses. Recumbents are awkward to pick up and carry on stairs, awkward to fit in the trunk of a car or the back of a station wagon, awkward (or impossible) to get on the bike rack of a metro bus or car. I believe this is true of all the different styles of recumbents, though I mainly rode compact long-wheelbase models like the BikeE and Maxarya. Some are even difficult to handle when your just walking next to them, pushing them down the sidewalk.

The second reason was my total lack of upper-body strength. One of the great advantages of recumbents is that the don't make you put your weight on your hands, wrists, shoulders, and back the way that an upright bike does. However, this also means that you don't use the muscles in those parts of your body, either. Cycling is the only exercise I get, and eight years on recumbents left me so weak that, while swimming in a local lake, I was barely able to pull myself out of the water onto the dock.

I would recommend recumbents to bike tourists and anyone who doesn't expect to have to put their bike in cars and on racks regularly.