TiHabanero

My brother gave me a Wrights leather saddle. It looks as if it has never been used, but the leather is super soft narrow, and flexes like crazy. What info can you all give me on this brand?

Velognome 

They are similar to Brooks saddles. The Leather should be hard. Sounds like someone oiled the saddle and ruined it.

bertinjim 

TiHabanero-

Wrights used to be a well known saddle maker that was bought out by Brooks. Brooks then moved them down market by reducing the thickness of the leather and going to painted rather than chromed frames. You would find a Wrights on a Raleigh Grand Prix but the Super Course and higher used B 17s and then Brooks Pros. I had a Wrights W3W which was extremely comfortable but short lived with the leather sagging and deforming much more quickly than a Brooks B 17.

As Velognome suggested, your gift saddle may have been "improved" to uselessness with Neets Foot oil or Proofide. Looks like a display item.

Lascauxcaveman 

rhm

Where "back in the day" refers to the 60's and 70's, also known as The Bike Boom, the Brooks company offered saddles in three shapes for drop handlebar bikes, and offered them in three quality levels. The top of the line was the B17, the middle was the B15, and the bottom of the line was the Wrights. The three shapes were Champion Standard, Champion Narrow, and Swallow.

So the Wrights W3N is the cheapest version of the Narrow. It's the same frame as a B15 Narrow or a B17 Narrow or, for that matter, a Swallow.

In addition to those there was also a Competition Standard B17 on a different frame, between the Standard and Narrow in width. This turned into the Professional, and various other models are one point or another, about which it is harder to generalize.

At this point, 40-50 years later, we have a hard time distinguishing quality from condition. A Wrights or B15 in good condition may now have better leather than a B17 in poor condition. You cannot know what's been done to a saddle over the years.

ollo_ollo

Prior to retirement, a Randonneur co-worker had an old Wrights on one of his bikes. Appearance was better than any of my old Brooks and compared well with the new ones. Don

bertinjim 

ollo_ollo-
Correct. Wrights were highly regarded and offered direct model competitors to Brooks' best. My Wright's W3W was identical in width and length to a B 17, for example. Once absorbed by Brooks, that changed and the brand became 2nd tier as rhm described.

Wildwood 

I prefer mine to many Brooks saddles with thicker leather that I have owned. Butt then i'm not a B-17 fan (or anything sprung).

I don't need a saddle that may last me 40years with care (...if only I could break it in).

clubman 

At one time Wright Saddles were as good as Brooks, as was Lycett. This Wright Olympic is the thickest cut of leather I've see and it's still in really spectacular riding condition. It came on my '37 CCM. It shows in the '52 Brown Bros catalogue but I can't find earlier ephemera to properly date it. Before Brooks bought them out, they were The Wright Saddle Company. I think they did the same branding with Lycett(s) and Middlemore(s).

CKCape

Hello Everyone,

I am currently restoring a 1970 Raleigh Record in team colors. I came across a branding under the saddle that I do not recognize. Can anyone out there identify this? It is clearly original to the seats production. I believe the lettering is I. XACV. Any and all help/input on this mystery is appreciated. I am unable to upload photos until I am at 10 posts so please feel free to message me directly for them. Thank you all!

tiger1964 

Is the model name to be found on the saddle itself -- and, if so, where?

I have one that in 1968, at age twelve, I put on my Hercules 3-speed along with steel drop bars to "improve it"; bike is long gone but the saddle remains and perhaps will be repurposed on some bike. Looks good to my eyes except wear where I leaned the bike against brick walls and such over the years (the Hercules lost its kickstand, along with fenders, chain guard, etc.). No idea which model.

Somewhere in the first few years of ownership I polished it with shoe polish, and buffed to a great shine. Lovely. Then I took a ride wearing light colored pants...

rhm

Yes, on the Brooks and Wrights saddles the stamps give the model name and number. The stamps are on the top of the Swallow models and on the side of the others.