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Have you ever thought about forming a new leather cover for your old Brooks? “Big Block” did it and he posted a nice series of pictures showing his process from beginning to end on the London Fixed Gear and Single-speed Forum.
At the 1933 Olympia (London) Cycle Show Brooks displayed advanced technology in saddle construction. I found this article(PDF) in the Nov 24, 1933 edition of Cycling magazine. The Brooks piece was a part of a larger article about highlights of the show.
There are some interesting concepts here for Brooks wonks. I have never seen one of these saddles.
Interesting vocabulary:
“roadfarers” kitbags” “Champion Duralumin” “B.16 Champion” “castalumin formation” “automatic tensioning device” “fabric-cum-leather-cum-felt surfacing” “dome-headed rivet” “Plyflex” “constructional alteration”
Tags: duralum
Are you a snake, a chameleon, or a bull?
Saddlemaker Fi’zi:k illustrates a theory of saddle fit they call “spine concept. They have neat flash graphics of see-theu riders on bikes. If you are prone to analyzing your interface with the saddle it might be good food for thought. Maybe you can “Find the animal within you.” Just don’t ask me how it all relates to the Brooks models.
(Fi’zi:k is Brooks’ sister brand)
A lot of customers are frustrated by the length of the clamp area on Brooks saddles. They wish for more setback.
The setback is determined by the front curve of the clamp area on the chassis. Look at these two leather saddles. You can see that the width of the clamp area in front is dictated by the shape of the nose. If the clamp area were extended towards the front of the saddle it would distort the skirts or require that the mid-section of the saddle be wider. Either of these changes would probably compromise the performance of the saddle.
This is why saddles with higher skirts (Swift, Swallow) can have longer clamp areas.
“Certain motorcyclists, by the way, are displaying a distressing and somewhat slangy habit of calling a cycle a “push-bike.” The cycle was christened as a “cycle” many years before athletic young men became addicted the strenuous sport of sitting on a can of petrol.”
“Cycling” magazine; 29th February, 1912
Do you lock your saddle to your bike?
Steve, from New York city (“I live 3 miles from where the World Trade Center used to be and 3 miles from Times Square.”) sent me this picture of his new saddle on his bike and I asked him about the chain around the saddle rails. Steve says it’s a pretty common way to foil thieves in the city.
I’ve spent my adult cycling life in Seattle and New Orleans. I have seen the occasional little cable for this purpose but I have never seen this bicycle-chain solution before. It got me wondering; how many of you feel the need to lock your saddle to your bike?
Please answer yes or no in the poll and if you want to elaborate add a comment to this post. Thank you.
4/1 FOLLOWUP: Yesterday’s online New York Times had a blog post titled “The Bike Thieves Among Us.” There are three pages of comments.
Tags: security lock
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Bill Laine started Wallingford Bicycle Parts in 1995.