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    Brooks saddles are one time purchases, even in absolute catastrophe.

    I know some people on reddit on this sub aren't the happiest when brooks saddles are brought up (they know who they are). Those posts come from a issue with antiquated design and allegedly poor (for them) fit. This is not about fit (though I do thoroughly enjoy my b17) but rather reparability.

    About a month ago I got into a pretty bad crash and busted my face up pretty badly on the pavement with some stitches (im fine now). Most of my bike was fine, aside from my front bag and most importantly my saddle. It had a large chunk missing from near the top of the nose, and the saddle rails were absolutely jacked up. I'm pretty sure that another saddle would probably just crack or explode on that impact.

    I originally thought that the saddle would be a write off, but I was reminded by a friend that Simon Firth repairs brooks saddles for north america, and hes located only like 5 miles from me.

    Gave him a call, and dropped off the then dead saddle, and he did a rail replacement for 80 bucks. Now i have a fixed saddle with *some* battle scars. Tossed some proofhide over it and it's good as *almost new*

    by alteamatthew

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    22 Comments

    2. FlyinWet on

      I always think about getting one but my seat has a little cushion and idk if I could go full rigid saddle.

    3. mondonk on

      I used a B17 for years. I often sat there wondering if it was a comfortable saddle rather than enjoying the ride. I kept waiting for it to get good. I had to replace the tension nut earlier this year and thought that maybe it was too slack, no, it wasn’t that. It’s a little sad, but it’s finally been put in the parts bin.

    4. handsomeness on

      I’ve broken a rail on a Brooks but that was on the third bike I put it on. Current Brooks is at 9000 miles.

    5. ruffins on

      I understand the appreciation for brooks but sometimes they just look so out of place on a build especially the brown ones on some more modernish bikes. But the do look beautiful on older style frames and more classy bikes.

    6. icangetuatoe on

      Simon is the GOAT – his Hanford customs are amazing too – he built for Bilenky for years.

    7. Slow-Recover-9168 on

      My C17 was stolen Tuesday night. “One time purchase” as in I won’t be buying another $200 loss item. Great seats

    8. Grievsey13 on

      Theres a reason they’ve been around for as long as they have.

      The only saddle I would use barring one other.

    9. Diligent-Advance9371 on

      The people who don’t care for Brooks don’t understand how to set them up. I hated them for 10 years because I tried to mount and use them like conventional saddles. First, you don’t want them rigid. Leave the tensioning screw as it is, until you have years of use into the saddle. You see many used Brooks on Ebay with the screw at the end of travel. Along with the idea the saddle should sag also goes the requirement that the nose is a bit higher than you’d ever mount a conventional saddle to throw your arse back into the saggy portion of the saddle.

    11. otterland on

      And the rails he replaced are still designed for extremely slack pre-war geometry so you can never get proper set-back. Brooks keeps selling saddles with rails that were obsolete a century ago and y’all keep buying this junk.

    13. BassicNic on

      I thought I liked these until I sat on an old Avocet M20 and realized how much I was lying to myself just because the Brooks are so pretty.

    15. Greedy_Visual_1766 on

      I fell in love with my first used B17 and got two more Brooks after. It’s definitely a varied experience. The softened one doesn’t really feel as comfortable as my other plain B17 but I’m giving it time. I’m also trying one of the short ones because it was cheap (and I’m also short) and it doesn’t seem to be as comfortable either. It’s very much a saddle you have to adjust and play with but once it’s set just right, I can’t imagine riding on anything else.

    16. roundholesquarepizza on

      I bought some parts for my Brooks from Simon a few years ago after a wheelie mis-hap. He’s a great dude

    18. turboseize on

      Precise mileage and age unknown, but estimates can be made. Transferred from grandfather’s first “serious” post-war bike, which he trained and raced with from around 1960 or so until 1976, when the bike was relegated to winter and bad-weather duties. Then I used it as my teenage transport from the mid-1990s to 2002.

      Reactivated the saddle in 2024 when I bright my current commuter. Sixtysomething years and a six-figure mileage on that leather…

      https://preview.redd.it/wn6c37mgcp6h1.jpeg?width=816&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dfc8e66ab3b4e2976a3204ddb8df84d0a84719e5

    19. CeldurS on

      A “one-time purchase”, as in you spent $200 for a saddle that costs $80 to repair, if you’re lucky and live within 5 miles of one of the few people in the world that repairs Brooks saddles?

      I dunno my homie, for $80 you could buy like 2 saddles (or more if you buy used). Brooks doesn’t even come with a respectable warranty for the price, and at least Selle Anatomica will sell you replacement leather.

    20. FR23Dust on

      I’ve been considering buying a berthoud saddle. I suspect it’s significantly better than any brooks offering

    21. gumption_boy on

      I’ve already teased otterland once this month about Brooks saddles. I can’t do it again so soon

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