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#1
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Brooks saddle finally broken
After about 17 years of, ah, intimate service, my Brooks saddle
finally gave up last night. Not due to the appalling lack of TLC or proofide given to it (nor for that matter to the Essex toerag who set fire to the plastic bag covering it one weekend in Colchester station), but due to the rails snapping in front of the seatpost. I think I rode several miles with it like that, so the vast bulk of one's weight must be supported by the horseshoe at the back. It was a love/hate relationship in the beginning -- perfect when dry but crucifyingly hard if it got wet, even with the nose bolt at minimum stretch. Finally I let it in a sink of water overnight and the shrinking stretched the leather eventually (came out not hard as teak as usual when wet but more like a brass bell). Obviously I'm taking the opportunity to reassess my saddle needs, and am thinking radically, perhaps even to changing the model of Brooks saddle! So what advice? This was a "Brooks Professional" from 1987 or 1988, and the nearest name in the current catalogue is a "Team Professional" -- same thing? In the past the Professional had a rep for being hard to break in due to the thickness of the leather -- still true? What other models should I consider? B17 is about GBP20 cheaper... Brendan -- Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147 http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html |
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#2
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Brendan Halpin writes:
So what advice? This was a "Brooks Professional" from 1987 or 1988, and the nearest name in the current catalogue is a "Team Professional" -- same thing? In the past the Professional had a rep for being hard to break in due to the thickness of the leather -- still true? What other models should I consider? B17 is about GBP20 cheaper... OK, Sheldon Brown and colleagues to the rescue again, with actual saddle dimensions on the Harris Cyclery site. Current Professional at 275mm/160mm is very close to my measured 280/155 but the B17 Narrow matches my saddle exactly. Down to aesthetics vs GBP 20 (I like those big rivets)... Brendan -- Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147 http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html |
#3
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On 12 May 2005 17:25:04 +0100, Brendan Halpin
wrote: OK, Sheldon Brown and colleagues to the rescue again, with actual saddle dimensions on the Harris Cyclery site. Current Professional at 275mm/160mm is very close to my measured 280/155 but the B17 Narrow matches my saddle exactly. Down to aesthetics vs GBP 20 (I like those big rivets)... The big rivets do look nice don't they. As the last one gave you the best part of 2 decades service, an extra 20 quid doesn't seem an extravagance. I think I'm going to buy a Brooks sometime this year, when one of my current saddles gives up the ghost. I fancy something nice in antique brown with Ti rails. Mmmm..... "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped. To reply directly remove the beverage. |
#4
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Call me Bob writes:
On 12 May 2005 17:25:04 +0100, Brendan Halpin wrote: I fancy something nice in antique brown with Ti rails. Mmmm..... Yebbut (to take on some "local" colour) that seems to add of the order of GBP100 to the price. Penny-sized discs of Cu will have to do for me! Brendan -- Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147 http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html |
#5
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On 12 May 2005 17:50:27 +0100, Brendan Halpin
wrote: I fancy something nice in antique brown with Ti rails. Mmmm..... Yebbut (to take on some "local" colour) that seems to add of the order of GBP100 to the price. Penny-sized discs of Cu will have to do for me! Crikey me, no! Spa Cycles will do you a Ti railed B17 for £64.50, they have the Swift Ti also, at the same price. Seems impolite not to buy one at that sort of money. It's more than I'd normally pay for a saddle, but when you consider the lifespan of these things, it's really not a lot of cash. And they look /so/ handsome too... "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped. To reply directly remove the beverage. |
#6
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On 12 May 2005 12:37:15 +0100, Brendan Halpin
wrote: After about 17 years of, ah, intimate service, my Brooks saddle finally gave up last night. Not due to the appalling lack of TLC or proofide given to it (nor for that matter to the Essex toerag who set fire to the plastic bag covering it one weekend in Colchester station), but due to the rails snapping in front of the seatpost. I think I rode several miles with it like that, so the vast bulk of one's weight must be supported by the horseshoe at the back. It was a love/hate relationship in the beginning -- perfect when dry but crucifyingly hard if it got wet, even with the nose bolt at minimum stretch. Finally I let it in a sink of water overnight and the shrinking stretched the leather eventually (came out not hard as teak as usual when wet but more like a brass bell). Obviously I'm taking the opportunity to reassess my saddle needs, and am thinking radically, perhaps even to changing the model of Brooks saddle! So what advice? This was a "Brooks Professional" from 1987 or 1988, and the nearest name in the current catalogue is a "Team Professional" -- same thing? In the past the Professional had a rep for being hard to break in due to the thickness of the leather -- still true? What other models should I consider? B17 is about GBP20 cheaper... Brendan Why not go with a saddle that is comfortable both wet and dry? Or is it really the case that "Brooks" is more a religion than a rational choice? a) Top posting. q) What's the worst thing about UseNet? |
#7
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Brendan Halpin wrote:
After about 17 years of, ah, intimate service, my Brooks saddle finally gave up last night. Not due to the appalling lack of TLC or proofide given to it (nor for that matter to the Essex toerag who set fire to the plastic bag covering it one weekend in Colchester station), but due to the rails snapping in front of the seatpost. I think I rode several miles with it like that, so the vast bulk of one's weight must be supported by the horseshoe at the back. Dreadful, isn't it? These Brooks saddles don't last the way they used to. I had a rail break on my Brooks Professional Select last year - I bought it in 1978, so it would be about the same age as yours. In my case, I didn't want to break in another one, so I got a friend to weld the rail back together, then used a different seatpost so that the repair was in the middle of the clamp rather than on the edge. What other models should I consider? B17 is about GBP20 cheaper... I don't know a lot about the current range, but the B17 will be the same shape as your old Professional, but without the big rivet heads - that may not be a bad thing: the small rivets won't need their edges hammered back down every so often to stop them ripping holes in your clothes. -- Andrew |
#8
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bobgoon ,uk writes:
Why not go with a saddle that is comfortable both wet and dry? Haven't found one yet. Though the Brooks, once broken in, is not too bad wet unless it gets really soaked. My last experience with a non-Brooks saddle was a few hundred miles on the more fashionable thing that came with my Dawes Horizon about 7 years ago. After putting up with penile numbness after as little as 15 mins into the trip, I said enough was enough and rescued the Brooks. It's like the reverse of Guy's mantra about speeding -- keep using the non-Brooks saddle and you feel like your willy actually has fallen off :-/ Or is it really the case that "Brooks" is more a religion than a rational choice? Blasphemy! Brendan -- Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147 http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html |
#9
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Brendan Halpin wrote:
After about 17 years of, ah, intimate service, my Brooks saddle finally gave up last night. 'Kinnel, I thought 7 years was ok. I salute you Sir, or at least your arse. Streuth, how much did it cost in, errrr, 1988? |
#10
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Tosspot writes:
Brendan Halpin wrote: After about 17 years of, ah, intimate service, my Brooks saddle finally gave up last night. 'Kinnel, I thought 7 years was ok. I salute you Sir, or at least your arse. Streuth, how much did it cost in, errrr, 1988? Honestly can't remember, except that it was ex-display in a shop that wouldn't sell much of that sort of stuff (Dublin, in the Sean Kelly/Stephen Roche era, when the LBS money was all in the serious racing scene) so I got it dirt cheap. Put it with my first 531 frame and components mostly cannibalised off my previous really-crap 10-speed, to make a bike that lasted ten years (until it met someone who thought it was a good idea to drive on the wrong side of the road without checking to see if it was empty first). Now that I think of it, I'm getting remarkable value for money from cycling equipment -- tens and tens of thousands of miles for what is retrospectively a pittance! Brendan -- Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147 http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html |
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