I Imperialized my Brooks B17 Champion
01-02-10, 06:17 PM
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I Imperialized my Brooks B17 Champion
I recieved a black Brooks B17 Champion Standard for X-mas for my winter commuter
, which is a 1987 Tenax tubed Schwinn Voyager, and what I really wanted was an Imperial, so I decided after seeing a few sites on cutting and lacing your B17, I had a idea that I would like to turn my new B17 into a homemade version of the Imperial.. I proceeded to find a few pics of the Imperial online, scaled it up in PSP and traced the cutout to the taped up area to be cut, and cut away with a sharp razor knife. I filed all of the points in the cutout with a very small round file and finished sanding the rest of it with a nail file and then I colored the edge of the cutout area with black leather dye. I also added six lace holes to each side of the skirt to keep it taught(I'm 220 lbs.)
I used an old leather shoelace to tie it up and then I used glove oil to saturate the saddle both top and bottom and then used a leather water repellant on the underside.. I've included photos of the process, enjoy
Rick
Paramount PDX
, which is a 1987 Tenax tubed Schwinn Voyager, and what I really wanted was an Imperial, so I decided after seeing a few sites on cutting and lacing your B17, I had a idea that I would like to turn my new B17 into a homemade version of the Imperial.. I proceeded to find a few pics of the Imperial online, scaled it up in PSP and traced the cutout to the taped up area to be cut, and cut away with a sharp razor knife. I filed all of the points in the cutout with a very small round file and finished sanding the rest of it with a nail file and then I colored the edge of the cutout area with black leather dye. I also added six lace holes to each side of the skirt to keep it taught(I'm 220 lbs.) I used an old leather shoelace to tie it up and then I used glove oil to saturate the saddle both top and bottom and then used a leather water repellant on the underside.. I've included photos of the process, enjoyRick
Paramount PDX
01-02-10, 06:22 PM
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Nice work, looks just like the real deal.
I might give this a shot with my Pro S because that thing is giving me problems.
I might give this a shot with my Pro S because that thing is giving me problems.
01-02-10, 06:28 PM
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"I might give this a shot with my Pro S because that thing is giving me problems."
I'm very much with you...I far prefer my B-17.
I'm very much with you...I far prefer my B-17.
01-02-10, 07:43 PM
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Very nice!
I got a Zhu Zhu pet for Christmas too...
I got a Zhu Zhu pet for Christmas too...
Last edited by michael k; 01-02-10 at 07:47 PM. Reason: make the sentence more reader friendly. ;)
01-02-10, 09:22 PM
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Nice job. The one thing I see missing is the scoring of the underside around the cutout. (I have two Imperials) This would be quite a challenge though. Get the depth wrong, and it would be a mess.
I recommend an elastic string cinched by a spring-loaded plastic adjuster. (I cannibalized the waist and sleeve drawstrings of a fleece sweater I picked up at a thrift store). It makes it much, much easier to keep proper tension, and the elastic helps to maintain gentle pressure on the flaps.
I recommend an elastic string cinched by a spring-loaded plastic adjuster. (I cannibalized the waist and sleeve drawstrings of a fleece sweater I picked up at a thrift store). It makes it much, much easier to keep proper tension, and the elastic helps to maintain gentle pressure on the flaps.
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01-02-10, 09:30 PM
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Nice job. Never knew about the Imperial until now.
Contemplating it now since I have a rather new B17. Amazed at how you cut it out perfectly. I may need to have someone who works with leather do it for me. Still thinking about it...
USAZorro, do you really feel a difference riding with an Imperial?
Thanks.
Contemplating it now since I have a rather new B17. Amazed at how you cut it out perfectly. I may need to have someone who works with leather do it for me. Still thinking about it...
USAZorro, do you really feel a difference riding with an Imperial?
Thanks.
01-02-10, 09:37 PM
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Absolutely. The caveats with with a B-17 though are that if you have your bars more than an inch or two lower than your saddle, you're going to be more comfortable with another saddle. The additional caveat with the Imperial is that you need to get the angle just right, and be positioned on it so that the opening is directly beneath the perinium. If you're a half inch too far forward, or backward, the Imperial will be no more comfortable than a regular B17. (which is still pretty danged good)
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01-03-10, 12:38 PM
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Thanks 
, and yes I got my daughter a bunch of Zhu Zhu pets for x-mas and I found mself playing with them too... 
, and yes I got my daughter a bunch of Zhu Zhu pets for x-mas and I found mself playing with them too...
01-03-10, 12:57 PM
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[QUOTE=USAZorro;10218227]Nice job. The one thing I see missing is the scoring of the underside around the cutout. (I have two Imperials) This would be quite a challenge though. Get the depth wrong, and it would be a mess.
I couldnt' really get an awl underneath to score it, so I plunged the from the top and slowly cut along the lines. I would recommend using a leather cutting knife that is narrower as it would make for cutting the circular part much easier.
I couldnt' really get an awl underneath to score it, so I plunged the from the top and slowly cut along the lines. I would recommend using a leather cutting knife that is narrower as it would make for cutting the circular part much easier.
01-03-10, 05:40 PM
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very nice looking. I'll have to get one of those brooks and see what all the hubbub is about.
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01-04-10, 08:48 AM
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I just replaced the Brooks Colt on my Serotta with my Imperial (from the original test).
during the test I could never get the saddle set up right, somehow it's almost perfect now, and all
I did was an eyeball leveling.
Zorro, good tip on the elastic and the spring loaded adjuster, I damn near threw the thing out trying to
tie the lacing around a Thompson stem.
Marty
during the test I could never get the saddle set up right, somehow it's almost perfect now, and all
I did was an eyeball leveling.
Zorro, good tip on the elastic and the spring loaded adjuster, I damn near threw the thing out trying to
tie the lacing around a Thompson stem.
Marty
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01-04-10, 09:14 AM
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Nice job. Looks good, even though something is different from my Imperial (which, btw, wore much faster then my B.17).
