I am a leathery veteran cyclist—there, I said it—with a heritage in one of the great cycling centres of the United Kingdom.
The industrial Midlands, where I grew up, led the bicycle boom of the late-1800s, spawning hundreds of bicycle factories and associated industries.
It was as hard to live in Wolverhampton and not become a cycling enthusiast, as it might be for a Saskatchewan kid to avoid playing “shinney” hockey.
Birmingham, 28 kilometres southeast of my hometown, remains the home of Brooks England, established by John Boultbee Brooks, in 1866.
The company originally manufactured horse tac, but an uncomfortable bicycle commute led the owner to file a bicycle saddle patent in 1882. Soon, the demand for bicycle saddles outstripped orders for the equine equivalent.
I have straddled a variety of saddles, but more than a few of my bikes have sported the classic Brooks butt pivot, from my first childhood hand-me-downs, to some of my most recent acquisitions.
My oldest existing Brooks saddle—a Professional—is still comfy on my Nishiki Landau. I installed a beautiful honey B-17 on my Rivendell Blériot, built in 2007.
As any randonneur who has attended big events like Paris-Brest-Brest will attest, Brooks saddles are popular with cyclists who spend long hours in the saddle.
This scrumptious film, created by Selectfilm, examines the history, and illustrates the construction of Brooks saddles, a process essentially unchanged for over 130 years.
Part 1
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9w-y24Waz4 [/youtube]
Part 2
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYirlnS19-s[/youtube]
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Unfortunately I feel (and others have expressed the same thing) that the quality of leather is not what it used to be. Brooks (Selle Royal) seems more interested in making expensive “special edition” saddles than sourcing better leather which is a shame.
OTOH, the new Berthoud leather saddles are great. There is much thought that has gone into their design and the (very thick) leather seems to be top notch. They do require a lengthy break-in period however. I think they may be becoming the defacto choice for serious randonneurs that prefer leather saddles.
Having ridden on Brooks for more years than I care to count, I think you may be right that the leather they are sourcing is not as “hard” as it used to be. Certainly my most recent purchases were pretty much comfy right out of the box.
My 34 y/o Brooks Pro is still in amazing shape (see pix on my Nishiki page, link above) and more comfortable than ever. It did take about a year to break in, as I recall.
I have no evidence for this, but I think the more pliable leather was a deliberate decision by the manufacturers, not necessarily a short-cut by the new owners. I’m not entirely convinced that it is not still quality leather, though I’ve heard grumbles that, due to modern cattle-rearing practices … leather just ain’t what it used to be.
Most returns I’ve seen by customers have been from people who are just not prepared to put in the time to break the saddle in.
I haven’t had chance to try the Berthoud saddles, but going on my experience with their other products, I’m sure they’re top-notch.
You could be right about this being a deliberate choice by Brooks to make the saddle more comfortable out of the box. It’s probably not necessarily in a manufacturer’s best interest to have saddles that last multiple decades either. When you get excessive sagging or worse, asymeterical break-in you have a problem.
My experience with the Berthoud sounds much like what others have described for the break-in of classic Brooks Professional saddles.
It took a while to break in my B17 which is now on my Dahon Mu XL. Other than stock saddles (Bontrager, Cannondale) and a brief experiment with a Selle An-Atomica (which was not of the same quality) I haven’t tried others. The person who bought my Trek road bike wanted to buy my Brooks afterwards (he didn’t care for the Bontrager either) but it wasn’t for sale. I sold him the Selle An-Atomica instead.
It was interesting to see the number of folders in the videos and cool to see I am using the oldest model in the Brooks line. I also love the Birmingham connection since that is where my parents were from (I root for Aston Villa). Great videos and neat to know the history behind what I am sitting on when riding the Dahon.
I sure every Brooks owner can identify with the comment in part two regarding saddles staying with the owners when changing bikes. Mine is on its second bike and every non-recumbent bike I ever own will have Brooks saddles on them. It was an easy decision to go to a Brooks within days of returning home and recovering from the STP in 2008 even with good quality shorts and chamois cream. No chamois cream, or special shorts required post Brooks. Good shorts still made it more comfortable, but they weren’t required. I can’t speak to the leather quality over the years, since other than as a kid (more years ago than I care to admit) I only started cycling since 2004, and then only casually until late 2006.
This article and discussion also serves to remind me that it is time to proofide my B17 before packing the bike up for our trip to Saltspring and Victoria in the next few days.
That’s a good point, Richard. Proofide is very important to keep your saddle happy. Other than the occasional saddle soap rubdown. I use nothing else.
Some people use Neatsfoot oil. I think it is a mistake to do so as it softens the leather too much.
I also carry one of the rain covers.
Incidentally, I have never used the tightening bolt on my old Brooks Pro, which certainly says something about the quality of the leather.
At risk of repeating myself, I offer the following:
I used Brooks’ saddles for many years. Whether my nether regions were compromised by long hours on the Brooks saddles or not I don’t know. I do know that my plumbing seem to roll a round on the Brooks.
But in 2006 I spent a lot of money on Selle SMP saddles. The vacant space there in seem to offer less of a problem
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