Found: A great resource for the history of brooks saddles
 

I had visited the Brooks website a few days ago for some reason and today when I opened my Yahoo mail there was one of the "cookie-inspired" ads there for Brooks so I clicked it to see what they were touting. Since I had a few minutes to do a little bit of looking about while there, I did so, and found this great resource.

My plan is to stock up on printer ink and print most, if not all, of these vintage catalogs.

YEARS: 1890, 1907, 1912, 1913, 1919, 1921, 1926, 1933, 1935, 1957, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Brooks Book Archive

Enjoy!

Whoa! There were some crazy-ass suspension saddles back in the day.

A bell on the the bars and a bag under the seat with some tools and I am good to go.

Sun CR18 rims and stainless spokes - $100+
Tubes and tires about - $50+
Cork grips - $15
Chain - $15
Bell - $15

Complete disassembly and lubrication/adjustment of every single piece - $priceless

Currently using the Brooks mattress saddles and a cheap Walmart bags until I decide on a saddle and a bag that is proper Then multiply that essentially by two since I have one for my wife as well.

Some photos would help.

The AL rims are a must if you ever want these bikes to stop. The chrome wheels are pretty, but slippery. Also, a new Teckro 559 on the front at least. These were part of my $250 base price.

I also have everything x2, same reason. Her bike has two rear and one front basket and two-legged kickstand.

Question on the cork grips - how well do they work in very wet and humid conditions? Florida, for instance. I have no experience with them.

After building my DL-1 into the best bike I can make it, I was still left with that immense weight to haul up the hills. You may shout Heresy!, but I've gone a different route lately.

I've bought a couple of old 10-speeds, one with a chrome-moly frame, and the other 531, and I've got an AW hub laced into a 700c wheel for both of them. I'm turning old 10-speeds into Roadsters! Eventually, the 531 frame will get a Sturmey Archer 5-speed hub, but for now, 3 is enough. Upright handlebars, either alloy or bamboo fenders, alloy chainguard, Brooks saddle, some premium grips, a pair of half clipless / half platform pedals, and a good saddlebag round out the package. It's not exactly cheap, but it sure does work well. Early testing reveals them to be an absolute joy to ride. I really think I'm onto something here. Watch for photos when I get one completely finished. The 531 frame qualifies as English.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psdxmehpn1.jpg

I had put photos of these two project bikes before. Like I mentioned, I have not decided what bags and saddles but the Brooks mattress saddles actually do okay for short rides and are original types to the bikes.

The cork grips were amber shellacked. I am sure they would do fine in Florida. I bought two sets from a local shop and apparently there are no more but I think Velo Orange has some very similar.

As to kickstands, I take those off, I have already stated my thoughts on those. I would as soon beat my bikes with a hammer as install a kickstand.

The sliver bike has Kenda tires and the coffee one the Bell tires (no longer available I think). When these are done, again as said earlier, I am converting to Presta valves and a better tire. But, frankly, these tires seem to be just fine, again, I am sure there are better but these roll smoothly and the tread is soft and grips well.

When I first got it:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...pspvj7epip.jpg

I hate gum wall tires, those thick gooey types, they are gross.

When I was younger I could handle hilly rides on my 3 speeds, but these days I confine my riding to relatively flat landscapes. I think the upright riding position is a much larger detriment to hill climbing than the extra 10 pounds of weight on the bike. Also, while you do get better performance from alloy rims, I think braking problems with steel rims tends to be overstated. Well set up old time side pulls with fresh Fibrax pads stop my bikes plenty well enough for me especially considering the moderate speeds I ride them. I also tried salmon Cool Stops on my Sprite and was very pleased with them on the steel rims. I do gear my old bikes down for comfort, but maybe stronger riders would be happy with the stock gearing. While my Vitus 172 Motobecane has never seen a kick stand, I have no problem with them on the old hi ten 3 speeds. To me, they are an essential part of the utilitarian English bike. Still, I love the idea of a lightweight, upright IGH bike. OK, I'd leave the kick stand off that one! Pricey to build though.

My bike is the men's version of yours. Same paint. Agree with you on the gum walls on that bike. Mine came with gum walls, replaced them with black / reflective stripe. Much cleaner look.
My wife's is the Coffee. Never understood the hate for kickstands. To each their own and all that, but just don't understand the emotion of it.

A pre-Raleigh (1959) Phillips Sports came through my shop today...overall decent shape, but definitely showing its age. Its owner may be leaving it behind if she leaves the area for a job, and has agreed to let me know if she decides not to take the bike with her. I shoulda taken some pictures...oh well....

It's so damn sad, to have to make a decision like that.

I have a Raleigh Sports Camelback frame, fork, fenders, crankset, and chain guard that I would like to trade for a pair of root beer colored fenders and chain guard. The condition is better than the photo depicts (the color is silver), but it really needs an OA bath.&nbsp;<br><br><img src="http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=526689&amp;stc=1" attachmentid="526689" alt="" id="vbattach_526689" class="previewthumb"><br><br>I am reluctant to go through the hassle of shipping it. I live near to the Maryland, Delaware, Virginia beaches - near the intersection of US-13 and US 50, so a meet and swap would suit me best.

The pre-Raleigh Phillips /Hercules/etc. is sort of different and a lot of fun to get into if you end up collecting the bikes. You see a lot of nice variations of bikes from them.

Yes indeed; Brooks seems to have covered "all the angles"...

Warm day, and lots of daylight this time of year.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OdTTdIL4N...610_170723.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kgVp_2-V3...610_170716.jpg

Nice bike.

Easy Come, Easy Go
Someone swiped this one the other day.
Not a lot invested but I did like it....
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=526931http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=526932

[MENTION=301310]gster[/MENTION] - dang! I like the brown Glider.....my green one is a weird green - no one would steal it!

I live in Parkdale and they'll steal anything......
I'm keeping my eyes open.
It wasn't locked and I was sitting 5 feet away on a patio.
In the blink of an eye it was gone.

Sorry to hear it. I lived on Tyndall Ave for a year. Parkdale is still the Wild West of Toronto.

Regarding stealing bicycles, not about old vintage bikes, but i found this hilarious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yTFiP_co0U

I will be watching my bicycle very closely, i like it very much and too much work to let it be stolen :mad:


Not much progress with my DL-1, so few time. Will see whether i can do a bit this evening ..

There's a special place in hell for bike thieves.

Beauty.