Here a Brooks, There a Brooks...

I have a Rivendell-framed bicycle, blue and graceful and beautiful. I am proud of my Rivendell and of my friendship, 20 years old now, with Grant Petersen, the man behind the brand.

Occasionally, I am surprised by my fellow Rivendellers, owners of the various brands of bikes conceived by, designed by and made for the company. I admit I become afraid that they are owners, not riders. Often it's a hunch based on flimsy evidence and my cynicism.

This time, I followed a link on the Rivendell site to Flickr, to a page featuring photos of hundreds of Rivendells and Salukis and A. Homer Hilsens and Gloriouses and Willburys and Bleriots and...I can't recall all the models.

Visible and identifiable in fully nine out of 10 of the photos (of bikes owned by hundreds of individuals) were Brooks saddles. Old-fashioned, pricey, heavy, leather-with-rivets Brooks saddles. Saddles that 10 years ago were considered as ancient as rotary phones, too heavy for fishing sinkers, too easy to ruin in wet weather and too painful to endure.

Even Grant, who sells certain Brooks saddle models, will not claim that those seats are for everyone. Some people, a few, will find them comfortable enough to put up with the weight, expense and hassle. Not most people; not even half the people. Some people.

But nearly all the proud people who posted photos of their Rivendell bicycles on Flickr have chosen Brooks saddles. Isn't that strange? Can they all, as my friend Corey suggests, have the same ass?

We touch our bicycles in five places: both feet, both hands and our butts. Lots of riders have trouble with their feet and hands, but saddle problems far outnumber other cycling afflictions. Saddles, therefore, are an industry. Saddle developments are reported in the papers. New systems of saddle fitting are announced almost daily. Some may help. Who knows.

It's a mystery, saddle fitting; there are no rules. No one can tell you what saddle you should buy. There is no "perfect" seat. There are only dozens or hundreds of models to choose from.

Most good bike stores will loan you one to try. Maybe they'll loan you five at a time; if you find one you like, you return four and buy the one. Maybe none of the five will work. It's that personal and individual.

Somehow, despite all this mystery and multiplicity of choices, a staggering number of Rivendell owners choose the Brooks saddle, as far from the saddle mainstream as a saddle can get.

"Let's buy Brooks saddles. Let's not even try the hundreds of saddle models offered in ordinary storefront bike shops. Let's ride a Brooks. Hey, it'll be comfortable. And it's old-school, authentic and cool-looking! Perfect for our timeless Rivendells."

All those people, all over the country, bending over on the bike, sitting up on the bike, sitting too high, sitting too low, riding in cycling shorts, riding in jeans, riding in chain mail. Thin people, fat people, fast riders, slow riders...all riding the same saddle. Improbable, huh?

Maybe any saddle will do if you merely look at your bike and don't sit on it much. Or if you ride it to the Daily Grind one morning a week to read the Sunday NY Times.

That's not a kind observation, but it's what occured to me when I saw the hundreds of similarly saddled Rivendells on the Flickr page. Check out any group of seasoned bike riders, racers or commuters or tourists. No two saddles the same.

To think the best of all those Brooks folks, let's imagine that, sure enough, they all have the same ass. I'm sure that's the secret. Corey's right.