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Brooks saddle finally broken in



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 12th 05, 12:37 PM
Brendan Halpin
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Default Brooks saddle finally broken in

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  
Old May 12th 05, 05:25 PM
Brendan Halpin
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 05:44 PM
Call me Bob
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 05:50 PM
Brendan Halpin
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 06:50 PM
Call me Bob
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 07:44 PM
bobgoon
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 08:16 PM
Naqerj
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 09:18 PM
Brendan Halpin
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 09:41 PM
Tosspot
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Default

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  
Old May 12th 05, 10:12 PM
Brendan Halpin
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Posts: n/a
Default

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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