I originally installed a honey-colored Brooks B17 on the Black Mountain Monstercross bike -- you can see it in the pictures I posted a couple of days ago -- and put about 500 miles on the rig. The B17 a bit wider than the Team Pro model I've had on my other long distance bike, but I didn't think it was a big difference. After a couple of long rides, I began to notice some recurring pain on my sit bones. It took a couple more rides and swapping saddles a few times, but I realized the the B17 is just too wide for me. I think I've also determined that the Brooks Swallow is a little too narrow for me. So like Goldilock's last bowl of porridge, the Team Pro is just right. Brooks also makes a B17 Narrow that may also work but I've not ridden one.
The B17 is a good alternative as it uses a thinner leather than the Team Pro and typically breaks in faster. Even though I weight nearly 200 lbs., I'll admit that I had to resort the Lon Haldeman technique to soften up the thick hide on my Team Pro. I put over 1800 miles on the damn thing, but it looked and felt as stiff and unyielding as a brand new saddle. I followed Lon's suggestion pretty much as written and now the thing fits like a glove. I had to soak it twice, the first time I soaked it for about 5 min but it failed to soften it enough so I did it again the next day and it was just right.
The outcome is that I now have 5 Brooks B17s for sale -- I'm going to keep my vintage 1977 version. I tend to lean my bikes agains things using the corner of the saddle so all these have very minor wear (typically just loss of color) on the rear corners. All are broken in and have been treated with Proofhide top and bottom once or twice a year since new.
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