Brooks Professional imperial-cutout (no lacing)

This improves on the Team pro with a bit more comfortable ride just like the B17 imperial does compared to the B17. Lacing does not seem necessary (at my weight of ca. 80 kg, note that this also depends on the thickness and stiffness of the leather which varies per saddle).

If needed I can always add lacing later, but it seems fine after long term use (well, didn't use it that much, a few months), though there is a slight asymmetry in the saddle, that could be improved/fixed with lacing.

The team pro with cutout stays largely the same shape with my weight of ca. 80 kg. Note that this depends on thickness and strength of the leather which varies a lot with Brooks saddles, but with Team pros the saddles always seem to be made of fairly thick and definitely hard/stiff/strong leather. That the leather with the Team pro is differently selected from other saddles looks to be the case from my experiences with modifications. I never encountered a soft, i.e. easily cuttable, Team pro). What also helps is the the shape of the leather top which depends on the shape of the leather and the frame it's attached to at the rear, which helps to keep the Team pro keep its form so well, which is also why people feel/experience that it takes so long to break-in the Team pro.

2019: I finally added some holes and lacing not because the saddle was flaring out too much nor was it sagging, but it was getting a bit uneven in how much it flared left to right, possibly because of riding positions or perhaps because of the leather not being exactly the same left and right hand side. I still need to go ride it to see how it feels... Update December 2019: I hadn't used this saddle for ages, but after the lacing I rode with it for a while, and noticed that it is harder now, similar to how the B17 imperial feels harder than the B17 because of the lacing which reduces vertical spring in the saddle.

Last modified: 2019-12-28