Brooks England Flyer, Touring Leather Bike Saddle with Suspension Springs

I love this seat. Beautiful, comfortable, super high quality. If you're looking at it chances are you have already made up your mind to buy it. Stop looking at the price and buy it.

This bike saddle is well made, high quality and substantial. Have ridden about 150 miles since installing it on my bike. While it was actually comfortable enough right out of the box, it keeps getting better with each ride. Would buy it again without reservation. This seems to be a good investment for my overall bicycling experience. Don't be concerned with the idea that a significant break-in period might be involved. If the seat is properly installed on your bike and you have followed the instructions provided by Brooks in applying the Proofide, I believe you will have a great experience. Of course, not every saddle is for everybody, but this one is working extremely well for me.

This is the most comfortable saddle I've ever placed my bum on, by far. For me, the Flyer was relatively comfortable right out of the box and a vast improvement over the stock saddle. Before putting it on my bike I put it out in the sun for a bit to warm up, then gave it a good coat of Proofhide. When that soaked in nicely I covered the saddle with a dish towel and gave it a mild beating with a French rolling pin. Then I put it back in the sun to warm some more and added a second coat of Proofhide. Then I put it on my bike, adjusted it, and went for a 12 mile ride. Instantly I fell in love with it. My stock saddle was too wide for my hips and rubbed the inside of my legs too much. The Flyer is narrower (175 mm, I believe) and fits me so much better. I am 5'10" and weight approx. 160 lbs, and my sit bones are 110 mm apart. My bike is a city bike, with North Road style bars and a relatively upright sitting position (handlebars are just a tad higher than the seat). The Flyer is the perfect width for me with this riding style and geometry. The springs do add a great deal of weight to the seat and thus to the bike overall, and it is noticeable when lifting the back end of the bike. However, they do add a nice amount of shock absorption to the ride, especially since my frame is aluminum and not steel, and I like to keep my tires inflated to the max PSI. Some people have said that they don't feel the springs moving at all. That hasn't been my experience, and I'm a relatively light guy. If you put your fingers loosely around one of the coils while you ride, you can feel the slight movement and the shock absorption they are doing, especially when going over bigger bumps or cracks in the pavement. Plus, on my style bike, I think a sprung saddle looks better. Compared to other saddles I've ridden, I had to slide the Flyer way back on the rails and had to tilt the nose up slightly to get it into a good position. I've read that most people find a slight upward tilt more comfortable with Brooks saddles, and it has definitely been my experience. I don't have many miles on my Flyer yet, and it definitely isn't fully broken in yet. Still, it is already very comfortable and will only get better with time.

This saddle has been outstanding! More than 3000 miles of touring and commuting, the Brooks is still just as comfortable as ever! It has seen all four seasons, and did get rained on a few times, but a light application of the proofide I purchased with the saddle over two years ago seams to keep it looking great! At first use, the saddle felt like solid steel. The leather was very stiff (it sounded like I was tapping on solid plastic). After a few mile ride, I felt it, especially in my sit bones. I stuck with the saddle though, after reading many reviews of how Brooks saddles are stiff and a little uncomfortable at first, but start to break-in and conform to the rider, adding many years of comfort and use. I am very glad I did. Three thousand miles probably isn't much in the bicycling community as far as road biking goes, but my commute is on very rough terrain, gravel roads, over railroad tracks, lots of construction and debris using a heavy bike carrying lots of weight much of the time, both on the bike rack and in a backpack all year round. I don't own any Lycra clothing or bicycle specific shorts: it's either regular pants or plain old summer shorts. It is difficult to see in the photo, but my saddle had developed impressions where my sit bones contact. Every time I hop on the saddle, my derrière seems to "slide" in that sweet spot, and I am good to go, no re-adjusting, so sliding off. I thought about adjusting the angle down more because it does look like the thing is pointing up, but I ultimately decided against it. It works...long rides, short rides, smooth trails to very rough Michigan roads that has murdered tires and deformed rims...this saddle takes quite a bit of the edge off. Never a sore fanny or sore back. This saddle has seen me through an almost 100 pound weight loss. I purchased this saddle shortly after purchasing the 2013 Salsa Vaya that is pictured when I was 273 pounds. I am now down to 178 pounds...a testament to the durability of the Brooks Flyer. One thing to note, when I apply a very light coat of proofide (I store the proofide in the freezer to prolong shelf life by the way), I wear old black shorts to sort of "buff" the saddle and remove any black residue. After that, I wear khakis and other light clothing without a worry. The 40 gram tin I purchased with the saddle two years ago seemed a bit expensive, but I think it is a great deal being that it protects the saddle, and I probably used only about 10% of it. If I had to list a few cons, it would have to be a squeak that comes and goes. It's not loud or annoying, but it's there. I am very seriously considering purchasing a second Flyer just to have one on hand in case of discontinuation or a change in construction quality occurs.

I Purchased a Brooks Champion Flyer saddle (Black) mid-May 2010. I've read all the reviews I could get my hands on regarding Brooks saddles, and felt it was something I wanted to try. You have a LARGE contingent of those who swear by them with religious furor and a much smaller contingent who are disgusted that theirs never broke in and gave up. Thus I felt it was a bit of a gamble. So far I am guardedly pleased. I have about 200 miles on the saddle so far, it appears to be breaking in quite nicely. One gent told me that his brooks to 1000 miles to break in but that it was comfortable after that. Brooks says that their saddles typically take about 300 Kilometers to break in. I'm a 43 year-old male 5' 9" 215lbs. I've been a Specialized brand loyalist for most of the last decade, and in many respects I still am, I still recommend Specialized Milano type especially for men overwhelmingly. Because of out of box comfort for the price, perhaps a couple K on the Brooks will change that but not yet. When I first opened the box and felt of the saddle I was worried I'd made a mistake, it feels way too hard to be comfortable when you handle it. I was determined to try so I installed it and found it considerably more comfortable than it looked but not as comfortable as some of the specialized saddles I've used right away. I made the smart move of packing the larger Allen wrenches in my bike bag think I'd have to make quite a few adjustments to the Brooks and I was correct. In the past with other saddles, I'd moved it a half inch here, a quarter-inch there, etc. I was usually happy with 2 or 3 adjustments. I've made at least 6 adjustments to the Brooks to slowly bring it into where I was happy with the ride, not pitching myself too far forward, etc. The adjustments tend to be more frequent and smaller. The last adjustment I made was to move it 1/8 of an inch forward and yes I really could feel a difference. The saddle seems to disappear under me when I ride it and I rarely notice or think about it on that bike, I take this as a good thing and that I am on the right track. I was not prepared for the slippery factor, the saddle is a bit slippery due to the shiny leather, if you're used to synthetic saddles with the grippy fabric on them this will surprise you. I'm not sure the slippery tendency is good for off-road riders, they may opt to stay away from brooks for this reason, or at least try someone else's Brooks before you buy. Speaking for myself, I'm keeping my specialized saddle on the mountain bike. This is not a factor for me on the road bike as I'm using it purely on the road bike for long commutes and some touring. I'm following Brooks care instructions to the letter, if you buy online be sure to order some Brooks "Proof hide" I forgot to do this and now there is a shortage of the stuff here in town. Luckily a local shop called "Old Spokes Home" put some proof hide on there for me, no charge. That will cover me until I can buy my own tin. I have noticed some spring squeak on my flyer but this was only for a brief period after a rain. Seems to be gone now, don't know if it will return. The springy feel is not very noticeable unless you pogo up and down deliberately. I feel the springs do take some of the bumps out. I rode up beside a gent on a surley LHT during my commute one day who had the same Brooks flyer only in brown, he's had his for a lot longer and says "I love it". So after 200 miles, I'm happy and will probably stick with it. It seems to be getting increasingly comfortable. I feel I can recommend this saddle to the dedicated male touring or longer distance commuting cyclist. (my commute is 20 miles each way). I cannot recommend this saddle to cyclists who only rides the occasional weekend ride, or the off-road cyclist. I suggest that these folks look to Specialized Milano. Women should seek out saddle reviews written by women IMHO. -Roger

This is the most comfortable Saddle. It took a couple hundred miles to wear in the saddle (for me it was about two weeks), but after that it is great. It is very durable, so if you take care of it, I think it will last a lifetime. I cover it (and have fenders) to keep it dry when it is raining. It is very slick, so you have to install it level (or it acts like a slide and you cannot stay on it). But that is great because any kind of pants slip nicely against the saddle so you have no friction against your legs (even jeans). I believe that I have used this Saddle for riding 50 to 60 thousand miles and it has been the best bike accessary that I ever bought.

So nice to see a product & manufacturer that has maintained quality for decades.

Replaced the stock saddle on my Specialized Sirrus with the Brooks. It was an immediate improvement. Short rides were giving me a butt ache. The Brooks solved that problem and simply provided much more comfort. Love the springs! Took my bike in for a quick service to the dealer and the guy was like "wow, look a that... a Brooks saddle... classic!". I'm like, yeah, this thing is great!