A Brooks in Halfords ?

[beachcaster]

Lucky me I was given £50 in vouchers to spend in Halfords.

I decided this was my chance to get a Brooks B17.........They got me one in in 2 days I picked it up yesterday together with a penny change.

My initial thoughts after opening the rather well packaged box was WOW
its so HARD !!!!...followed by WOW what a fantastic bit of design it is .

Simple though ....A bit of thick leather rivetted onto a simple and strong metal frame...with a tension bolt at the front.

BUT it reeks of class.....and tradtional values.

The big moment came today...I put it on my Dawes Super Galaxy
and set off for a short ride.

I made a few ajustments over the first half mile.....and then it just sort of felt right.

17 miles later.....and it was like I had been riding it for years...very comfy
rock solid..........hopefully it will get even better with minor tweeks and time.

My only disapointment was they didnt put a small tin of the goo that they say you need to rub into the leather ....
Please Brooks...if I need to put it on .....then give it to me with the saddle!

Apart from that Im hoping I have a natural Brooks shaped bottom
it certainly looks classy on the bike .( the saddle that is...my bum looks like two boy scouts wrestling in a bell tent !!!!!) )

barry

 

[Arch]

Excellent! I rode mine for the first time in 4 or 5 years this weekend, after rebuilding my Galaxy, and it felt great, straight away. And yes, sooooo classy.

 

[skudupnorth]

I've got a Brookes B17 on my Hybrid and i love it ! Need to do a decent run with it but initial feeling is that it is going to be fine.I have kept the box because it looks so old world and classy.

 

[Garz]

Pictures please.

 

[Arch]

My problem is, now I want the bar tape to match. £30!

 

[amnesia]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_751553_langId_-1_categoryId_165588

Wow - I didn't realise they were so cheap... was looking on the Brooks website a while ago and they were a lot more than that !!

 

[upsidedown]

They are indeed a beautiful piece of kit, you just need a nice Carradice bag now to use those loops on the back !

 

[jimboalee]

Brooks B17 came standard on my 1974 Pug 531.
I bought a Pro for that bike almost immediately and put the B17 on my hack.

The B17 has been passed from bike to bike over the last 35 years.

I had a big tin of Proofide. My Dad got Eczema on his hands. He used the Proofide and the Eczema was cured. I called it 'Pink butter', but it is really 'melted horse skin'.

 

[Garz]

Jim which saddle would best suit a modern bike out of the brooks range mate?

oh and proofide cured his eczema? Must be grest stuff!

 

[dodgy]

They are lovely to look at, and no doubt sit on, but 525g!

 

[jimboalee]

Jim which saddle would best suit a modern bike out of the brooks range mate?

oh and proofide cured his eczema? Must be grest stuff!

The one which is most comfortable when YOU sit on it.

 

[bonj2]

They are lovely to look at, and no doubt sit on, but 525g!

you want a swift ti beautiful

 

[Landslide]

They are lovely to look at, and no doubt sit on, but 525g!

Let's say that's an extra 300g over a lightweight saddle.

Most estimates suggest that the human bladder can hold approximately 600ml of urine, and that the urge to urinate normally occurs at 300-400ml.

Therefore, simply go to the loo before your ride, and you'll be no worse off in terms of total weight (bike+rider).

 

[jimboalee]

I bought a Team Pro to put on my Pug 531.

I took a sharp knife to it and chopped off 80g of leather.


Brooks say the Finesse Titanium is 370g, so it should be possible to shave it down to less than 300g.

But would you do this to a £160 saddle?

 

[Davidc]

They are lovely to look at, and no doubt sit on, but 525g!

Worth every μg if it's comfortable for you. having a sore &/or aching bottom will slow you down a lot more.

If it isn't comfortable then try something else and sell it. There's bound to be one saddle type among the hoardes on offer which matches your bum!

Had my first one (actually a B15) in 1967 on a Holdsworth Cyclone as original kit. My initial thoughts were also that it seemed a bit hard, but I've been using them ever since and over the years have done 10s of thousands of miles sitting on them. The only time I've had any soreness in the backside have been when I've been temporarily using something else.