Brooks or Berthoud ?? Who knows... YT to the rescue!

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simonineaston
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Brooks or Berthoud ?? Who knows... YT to the rescue!

Post by simonineaston »

For those still undecided, see here. Some quite useful info. re dimensions, inc . hide thickness, bag loops etc.. Specifically, a B17 and an Aspin Open.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
pwa
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Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Brooks or Berthoud ?? Who knows... YT to the rescue!

Post by pwa »

Yes, quite useful. What he doesn't mention is that the thicker leather of the Berthoud, while initially less yielding, will conform to the sit bones of the user eventually and may keep its shape longer than the B17. And he doesn't mention that replacing the leather top of a Berthoud costs so much that you might get a whole B17 for the same money, so the ability to disassemble the Berthoud is not as useful as one might imagine. It is probably more useful if you break a rail, which is economic to replace.
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simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Brooks or Berthoud ?? Who knows... YT to the rescue!

Post by simonineaston »

I've got both and my personal take is quite straight-forward - that is nice tho' the Berthoud saddles are to look at, and although they do have several differences to the Brooks design, being a modern rethink of the rail / hide top design, in practical terms the differences don't deliver as much as they hint at. In my view they're not worth the extra money.
One example is the positioning of the fasteners further back on the hide top so that they are not sat on. Supposedly, this translates into increased comfort - but I can't say I've ever felt the presence of the Brooks rivets. Another example, referred to already, is the use of bolts instead of rivets - pretty but of ilimited practical use when a replacment hide top is so expensive. The one difference that I have noticed is the extra rail length compared with some (but not all...) Brooks models, allowing a slightly wider range of adjustment.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
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