My 2nd Brooks saddle after 33 years
05-16-17, 04:59 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
My 2nd Brooks saddle after 33 years
Just purchased a brand new Brooks saddle 2 days ago and put 10 miles on it the first day and 12 miles on it the 2nd day and I can happily say it is already more comfortable than the padded saddle that came with my new Fuji. I'm not sure how that even is possible as the Brooks (Antique Brown) is hard as a rock.
When I was 13 I got a new Schwinn Super Sport with a Brooks saddle and rode that bike tiill I was 23. Had no speedometer of any sort, but I had paper routes for years and would often go on 55 mile rides to a neighboring town, so I'll hypothesize that I might have put 4k or 5k on that bike and brooks saddle. Performed no maintenance on the Brooks of any sort. No Proofide, no rain cover, left it out in the rain many times, left it out in the sun frequently, and never had a kickstand so it was always on the ground. Didn't know that I reminisced about the Brooks until I started hanging out on this site.
Thanks so much everyone for bringing the passion back to me. I owe it to all of you.
Oh, and I purchased it at my LBS and paid about 25% more for it than I would have from Amazon. But I feel good about that knowing that I am supporting the business and the hard working people who are hopefully living their dream. No I'm not a sucker, not I'm not rich, no I don't have a bunch of extra money laying around, but I will still sleep good tonight knowing that my little purchase and spending a few extra dollars will hopefully help them stay open and continue to service our community.
I love having my second Brooks after 33 years!
Gary
When I was 13 I got a new Schwinn Super Sport with a Brooks saddle and rode that bike tiill I was 23. Had no speedometer of any sort, but I had paper routes for years and would often go on 55 mile rides to a neighboring town, so I'll hypothesize that I might have put 4k or 5k on that bike and brooks saddle. Performed no maintenance on the Brooks of any sort. No Proofide, no rain cover, left it out in the rain many times, left it out in the sun frequently, and never had a kickstand so it was always on the ground. Didn't know that I reminisced about the Brooks until I started hanging out on this site.
Thanks so much everyone for bringing the passion back to me. I owe it to all of you.
Oh, and I purchased it at my LBS and paid about 25% more for it than I would have from Amazon. But I feel good about that knowing that I am supporting the business and the hard working people who are hopefully living their dream. No I'm not a sucker, not I'm not rich, no I don't have a bunch of extra money laying around, but I will still sleep good tonight knowing that my little purchase and spending a few extra dollars will hopefully help them stay open and continue to service our community.
I love having my second Brooks after 33 years!
Gary
Last edited by Greyhounds; 05-16-17 at 05:34 PM.
05-16-17, 05:32 PM
#2
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Glad the new seat is working well. 
05-16-17, 05:55 PM
#3
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Ride on.
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"When I hear another express an opinion, which is not mine, I say to myself, He has a right to his opinion, as I to mine; why should I question it. His error does me no injury, and shall I become a Don Quixot to bring all men by force of argument, to one opinion? If a fact be misstated, it is probable he is gratified by a belief of it, and I have no right to deprive him of the gratification."
T. Jefferson
"When I hear another express an opinion, which is not mine, I say to myself, He has a right to his opinion, as I to mine; why should I question it. His error does me no injury, and shall I become a Don Quixot to bring all men by force of argument, to one opinion? If a fact be misstated, it is probable he is gratified by a belief of it, and I have no right to deprive him of the gratification."
T. Jefferson
05-17-17, 01:23 AM
#4
Senior Member
Do you know, that a little over a decade ago, very few of us here used Brooks saddles. Every time I mentioned Brooks as being an option, there was the usual belittlement, and especially the usual comments about hard-as-a-rock, need so much maintenance, blah, blah blah.
Funnily enough, the same thing happened when I posted that I was a 50+ fixed gear rider. I think there might have been about four of us hanging around here at the time. There was a degree of ridicule about riding a fixed gear, at my age... think of your knees, crazy for even thinking about it, that's why geared bikes were invented...
Worse still... I have a fixed gear equipped with a Brooks. And I did centuries and toured on it!!! Talk about being an outlier.
Now it seems Brooks are just as acceptable as any other saddle. And new FG riders are appearing every season. Bravo I say.
Funnily enough, the same thing happened when I posted that I was a 50+ fixed gear rider. I think there might have been about four of us hanging around here at the time. There was a degree of ridicule about riding a fixed gear, at my age... think of your knees, crazy for even thinking about it, that's why geared bikes were invented...
Worse still... I have a fixed gear equipped with a Brooks. And I did centuries and toured on it!!! Talk about being an outlier.
Now it seems Brooks are just as acceptable as any other saddle. And new FG riders are appearing every season. Bravo I say.
05-17-17, 03:01 AM
#5
Grumpy Old Bugga
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I had three B17s... until my son stole one for his bike. They've all been comfortable from the start and just keep getting better and better. The only damage I've ever done is gravel rash (bitumen does horrible things to leather).
05-17-17, 10:16 AM
#6
Banned
My Team Pro I got in 1975 is still usable.. Though in the Wet weather, It Lives under plastic bags, on the bike.
05-17-17, 01:31 PM
#7
Palmer
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Yeah, they're downright trendy these days.
In the next ten years cyclists will 'discover' there are numerous other tensioned leather saddles:
Berthoud
Lepper
Persons
Sella Italia
Selle Anatomica
Selle Monte Grappa
Gyes
Cardiff, AFAIK made by Gyes
Rivet, AFAIK manufactured by Gyes to Rivet's specifications
Velo Orange, AFAIK made by Gyes
Dia Compe
Papillionaire
(I suspect the Dia Compe, Spa, and Papillionaire saddles are also made by Gyes.)
Ideale - out of business, sometimes available on ebay or at cycle jumbles
No connection to any retailers mentioned, examples only. There are plenty of places to get any of these.
In the next ten years cyclists will 'discover' there are numerous other tensioned leather saddles:
Berthoud
Lepper
Persons
Sella Italia
Selle Anatomica
Selle Monte Grappa
Gyes
Cardiff, AFAIK made by Gyes
Rivet, AFAIK manufactured by Gyes to Rivet's specifications
Velo Orange, AFAIK made by Gyes
Dia Compe
Papillionaire
(I suspect the Dia Compe, Spa, and Papillionaire saddles are also made by Gyes.)
Ideale - out of business, sometimes available on ebay or at cycle jumbles
No connection to any retailers mentioned, examples only. There are plenty of places to get any of these.
05-17-17, 02:11 PM
#8
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heartwarming share
05-17-17, 08:00 PM
#9
Still learning
"No I'm not a sucker, not I'm not rich, no I don't have a bunch of extra money laying around"
I lived in Ann Arbor for 30 years, and no one in the city ever admitted to being rich, not even some of the more successful landlords, developers, or well paid University administrators. Go figure.
Congrats on your new Brooks!
BTW, Tree Fort Bikes in Ypsi will match most online pricing and you will still be supporting local people!
I lived in Ann Arbor for 30 years, and no one in the city ever admitted to being rich, not even some of the more successful landlords, developers, or well paid University administrators. Go figure.
Congrats on your new Brooks!
BTW, Tree Fort Bikes in Ypsi will match most online pricing and you will still be supporting local people!
05-18-17, 06:20 AM
#10
Newbie
Thread Starter
Thanks oddjob2. I will venture out to TreeFort Bikes after work today. You know us Ann Arbor people seldom cross the tracks to Ypsilanti. Just kidding, I think Ypsi is great!
05-18-17, 09:39 AM
#11
feros ferio
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Through my teenage years I always rode either Ideale or Brooks tensioned leather saddles, and I bought a nearly-new Brooks Pro, which I still have, in 1973. Years later I put a used Brooks Team Pro on the mountain bike.
Last year I bought my first-in-many-years brand new (maroon(!)) Brooks Team Pro for the Capo Modell Campagnolo. Break-in has taken a little longer than in 1973, but at this point I am very happy with both the look and feel of it.
Last year I bought my first-in-many-years brand new (maroon(!)) Brooks Team Pro for the Capo Modell Campagnolo. Break-in has taken a little longer than in 1973, but at this point I am very happy with both the look and feel of it.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
05-18-17, 01:40 PM
#12
aka Tom Reingold
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I joined BF in 2009 and saw all the talk about Brooks saddles. I had one but didn't think they were special, and I rolled my eyes at all the talk. Now I realize they really are special. If you take care of it, it gives you more years per dollar than other saddles, so it's not expensive. And nothing fits my butt as well as a B17. To be frank (is that allowed?), it doesn't merely not feel bad, it actually feels good.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
