Hello everybody!
My Brooks B17 broke under my butt while slowly riding through town. Imagine my surprise when it came off, since I was under the impression this saddle might hold for a lifetime – especially since I only used this for commuting and very short weekend trips (~60 km). I have had it for only four years, but of course the warranty does not cover it anymore. Customer service told me, in very polite words, to leave them alone and go f…ix it myself.
Any idea if this can be repaired within a reasonable cost range?
Thankful for any input you might have!
by HiPeepsImBack
9 Comments
You can buy a new frame, drill out the rivets and rivet the leather to the new frame, but I’m not sure how feasable that would be to diy.
Contact them instead. That should never happen
You might find a good frame with a trashed cover on eBay.
The rivets could be drilled out and the good frame swapped over to the good cover with new rivets installed.
A tack and saddle shop could do the work
At one time there was a US based repair shop but I am not sure if they still exist.
contact Brooks
Contact Brooks. They have a brilliant warranty dept.
Thanks for your replies so far!
I did contact brooks directly and they were the ones that sent me away. Is there any secret customer service better than support@brooksengland.com?
This is the reply they sent:
*”Thank you for getting in touch.Please note that metal frame components for leather saddles are not available as spare parts for DIY repairs.*
*If you wish to have your saddle repaired, we recommend contacting our authorized repair center in [your country]”.*
I was so confused by their answer. They did not even seem concerned one of their saddles would just break away without any warning sign. Really disappointing to be honest.
RIP. This same thing happened to me on two different B17 saddles. Brooks did send me a warranty replacement for my first one, just FYI. I kind of gave up on Brooks after the second one snapped in exactly the same spot though.
It can be repaired but the telling comment is that the frame is not available for DIY repair.
This means that you can not buy the frame and repair it yourself it is a factory only repair so you have a choice to make. Either pay the costs to have the saddle shipped to Brooks and back plus the repair costs or buy a new saddle. The fact you quote distance in KM not miles suggests you are not in the UK so there is a real possibility that the combined costs of shipping both ways plus repair could be over the costs of a new saddle
I had my B17 rails break, just like your issue. I was surprised, thinking, like you, that these saddles were built to go forever.
After trying to direct me to the seller, who was not interested, I asked them directly if they would repair it. They agreed. I posted it to them and they fixed it.