Saddle replacement - Brooks

[don1]

Hi. I'm looking to replace my existing charge spoon saddle on my new Croix de Fer with a Brooks.
Do Brooks saddles have a good range of fore/aft adjustment ? I seem to recollect a while ago reading complaints that they don't go back far enough. I've currently got a 25mm offset seatpost.
Have any of you guys had any issues like this?

[pete75]

If you want a Brooks type leather saddle and are concerned about fore/aft movement why not get a Spa leather saddle http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s204p0 . They have a greater range of movement than Brooks and will save you a bob or two as well.

[don1]

I had considered the spa saddles but bike-discount.de have the Brooks saddles at a good price so I was leaning towards the brooks, but for the potential that it might not go back enough for me. I'll probably nip over to spa to check them out.

[freeflow]

A brooks B17 has approx 60mm of rail. A Spa Nidd has approx 85mm of rail. I'm not sure where the sitting point is in relation to these distances.

[tatanab]

Which model of Brooks? The rails are not all the same length.

I do not like modern Brooks and gave taken to Gilles Berthoud Aspin which have longer rails than B17/Pro/Swift and suit me perfectly. http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 8s204p2684 So if you are going to Spa to look at their saddles then look at Berthoud at the same time. Spa still have some Brookes saddles on offer so you could compare the whole lot in one go http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s144p0

[don1]

Thanks, I hadn't realised spa did brooks too. I'll pop down with the bike and check them out.

[JohnW]

...........Do Brooks saddles have a good range of fore/aft adjustment ? ...........

No.

[Brian73]

Brooks prices have gone up steeply since they became trendy.

I've got 2x Selle Rolls and a Selle Regal (the Regal I bought new for £15 as it was missing a rivet which cost 50p to replace). The Rolls' are super comfy, the Regal is a little hard though. They can be had for very reasonable money new and even better off fleabay in slightly used condition. Expect to pay £25-30 for either the Rolls or Regal in excellent used cond.

The Spa and Velo saddles also come up on fleabay too.

[DaveMcK]

I've got 2x Selle Rolls and a Selle Regal (the Regal I bought new for £15 as it was missing a rivet which cost 50p to replace)

I've been searching everywhere for a replacement Regal rivet. Where did you find them?

[greyingbeard]

I have to agree that Brooks prices are now excessive, seems that its how they choose to meet demand for a retro-beardy-trendy product. Presumably the profits will see them through when they go back out of fashion. Its no surprise that someone is making an alternative in the far east for 28 pence and selling them at half Bs price. Are they as good ? Close look at the photos suggests gaps beneath the rivets, meaning the holes are too large and poorly located. The leather si even thivcker, making the saddle even harder when new - suitable for a 25 stoner perhaps, but my bott cant take it.

Will someone who has one please comment !

What value Hand-Made in England ?

[JohnW]

I don't think you can beat a B17 for comfort - in younger days I used to say the same about Brooks Pros.

I have a B17S that has just demised. The leather has begun to split vertically across the middle of the nose rivets, which lengthens the saddle and makes in into a slack hammock..........this brings certain parts into contact with the nose. I can't tension it to remove the sagging because it only widens the splits.

Whilst I've had the saddle for 10 years, it's only done 30,000 miles (I do keep records) and mainly in the dry. I am still using a Brooks Pro that's about 33 years old and been in use on a bike that's been ridden similarly to the B17s referred to above - I can't be sure of the mileage because I bought it before I started keeping component records and I rested it for about 7 or 8 years between bikes, but probably over 150,000. I had another pro, bought about two years previously, but in constant use and not limited to dry days - that went across the rear rivets but after all that time and after such a mileage (again, it was before I started recording component mileage, but make your own guess), I don't think it owed me anything. Recent Brooks don't seem to be what Brooks used to be.

I've intended getting a Spa, but there was never a desperate need. Now I do have a need for another, and that's what I'll do. I know a few people who have Spa saddles and all the comments except one are good. One cycling colleague who I rode with on Sunday had fitted one to his tandem, and he says that he didn't know it was there. Some say that their Spa took a little longer that their previous leather saddles to get comfy, and some say theirs was comfy straight away. I feel confident in getting one.

Beware the 'honey' finish, because that appears to be an applied colour and I've seen one that has the applied colour breaking up and looking shabby whilst still very new. Apparently it's perfectly comfortable though.

[pwa]

I like Brooks saddles for their comfort (when all goes well), their traditional looks and the fact that they are hand made in Britain. And I can even tolerate high prices. But I do feel that they are being overtaken by, on the one hand, cheaper brands producing similar stuff in the Far East (Spa) and, on the other hand, Gilles Berthoud producing improved designs that take the Brooks leather saddle and remove long standing problems. My last saddle was a G Berthoud, which I bought reluctantly because I felt it to be better than any Brooks, but I wished it had been Brooks that had made it. It completely disassembles to allow each component to be replaced separately by the owner. So a damaged top can be replaced within 5 minutes of the replacement being delivered by the postie. The horseshoe shaped part of the frame, which is rigid metal on a Brooks, is made from a plastic that has a bit of flex to add a bit more comfort. Again, it can be replaced if it ever develops a problem. The lovely screws with shaped bronze washers that are used instead of rivets are over the back edge, away from your bum. And the whole thing oozes neatness and precision. Compared to my previous Brooks Swift my GB Aravis took quite a bit of breaking in, but it is now a joy to sit on. It has thicker leather than Brooks use, so it is not instantly comfy out of the box. But I hope that translates into a long lived top. I know Brooks have been marketing Italian made latex saddles lately, but I do wish they would look at GB to see how they could improve their own leather saddles and guarantee their future.

[tatanab]

Compared to my previous Brooks Swift my GB Aravis took quite a bit of breaking in, but it is now a joy to sit on. It has thicker leather than Brooks use, so it is not instantly comfy out of the box. But I hope that translates into a long lived top.

I use the Aspin, the steel railed version of your Aravis. For me they are instantly comfortable, so much so that I have 4 of them. The one with the most mileage on has about 10000 with no sign of the sagging and misshaping that my Swift suffered after only 1000. Between them my 4 Aspins have about 16000 miles. The price is similar to Brooks, but for my taste it is a better product. Have you seen this video of how they are made?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0OeHK6sVEw

[greyingbeard]

very like how a brooks is made, which one would expect given the similar nature of the product. Brooks use more people that automation though, I see that as a good thing

[blackbike]

I can't see the point of Brooks saddles.

They are expensive and need breaking in.

Technology has provided us with cheaper, better quality saddles which last for ages and don't need breaking in.

Saddles have not been left behind in the vast improvement in quality of cycling gear over the last few decades.

To me Brooks saddles are a retro nostalgia item. I'm pleased they are still going but they are not for me.