Cycling UK Forum

Still made in India. I like the roadsters,

https://hercules.in/hercules-roadsters/

21 miles to Henley, then see how many times you can go up and down Liverage Hill.

Ideale are back! That's a big surprise!

Anyone with piles of money and into saddles, please bring back Middlemore, especially if you are from the Middlemore family.

John and reohn

Yes, no-one can know for definate, however good someone else says a saddle is, until they experience it themselves.

John,
Yes, i've got nothing against B17's, I owned a Standard, Narrow, 2 Sprinter reissues, original Sprinter, a Team Pro Classic which are based on the old B17 Competition, also had an actual B17 Competition.
The narrower a saddle is the higher I try to set the seatpost in relationto the handlebars.
My Selle Italia Storica is 147mm, I bought it because it was their narrowest traditional saddle, fitted to a track style frame, comfort is excellent.

Some people will be able to ride anything on anything, but I was just trying to save someone a wasted purchase, the general scientific opinion is that upright should mean wider, which I have personal experience of trying a B17 on a cruiser and being in agony, on more lower position bikes it was always confortable.
https://www.thebikeroute.com/buyers-gui ... -pg152.htm

Sitting upright you need something wider, like a B73 or something else with front and rear springs if you want top comfort.

I bought a B17 Special Copper, rode it for 9 years then sold it for slightly more than I bought it for.
Currently loving my Sella Italia Storica, it's like the saddle Brooks should be making if they were not obsessed with them rubber things.

Thieves steal them. Innocent people collect them, appreciate them, learn the history of the companies and the people who founded companies, are proud they are part of industrial history of the city they live in.
I have endured been called dodgy, must be a scammer, suspicious to have more than one saddle etc. and banned from the sales forum, all because I happen to be a cyclist who collects cycling related items. It's not nice.

Thanks, I couldn't remember where i'd read about it (page 7),

nez wrote:

gxaustin wrote:I have a rather poor example of a Mansfield Saddle. Anyone heard of them?
Also Wrights, Ideale and several Brooks.

Wrights is the cheaper version of Brooks. Same company

Brooks took over two companies; The Leatheries and Lycett. They were amalgamated with Wrights and gradually the Wrights name was phased out, productionwise.
Something I heard about, can't confirm 100% - There was some business manouvering, a struggling Sturmey Archer I think was liquidated and asset stripped, then the assets transferred to Wrights who were then renamed Sturmey Archer.

Wilbyc67 wrote:Hi I am a granddaughter of A.E. Wilby. It's my ambition to own one of their saddles. I had no idea there were any grandsons!!!!???

Hello, I saw your post tonight, I misremembered it was a great grandson, I dug out an email:

"Thanks. Yes actualy he was my great grandfather . My grandfather, EA Wilby also worked there and also my father used to help there on saturdays as a young boy. They used to make the saddles for Brooks and Wrights under license badged up with their names on them. Regards Dave"

Nice to see a family member on here

Sounds like a B190?
Yes, Walsall, Saddle Town, Middlemore & Lamplugh had a factory there, probably mostly horse saddles, bridles etc?
Just remembered, Mr Holden was a leather worker in Walsall, before he went to Australia and ended up with a car brand named after him.

I get them from ebay, depends what happens to be on there, could be barely useable or NOS, on one of my bikes i've got a Middlemore B3 that was NOS.. I've got Middlemore & Lamplugh saddle which is pre-1920 and great condition, but I haven't rode it yet.
If the leather is still strong an old saddle can be given a very quick soak in water and reshaped, padded out with bundled up t-shirts etc and monitored until dry.
There are people out there who can replace a leather top, my most expensive saddle is an old Brooks B32 that was recovered, cost me £175. One of the rails snapped a few days ago but i've had a good few years riding it, getting near the end of the tension adjustment anyway. With a low start auction you might get something for a few pounds.

I have got them around the house and garage, I am aware of 33, there may be a slight few more!