Brooks Bicycle Saddles

Established in 1866 by John Boultbee Brooks

In over a century J.B. Brooks & Co. grew from a small workshop to a major factory in Birmingham, Great Britain. The product line ranged from cycling and motorcycling components and accessories to cycle and travel bags, car trunks, luggage in general, oilskin clothing, leather cycle shoes, etc.

Brooks England is now mainly known for its handcrafted leather bicycle saddles, but there is much more to understand about the heritage of our company and a lot more to be done to honour the work of our founder.

Recently we received a letter from Brian Yates, great grandson of John Boultbee Brooks, who revealed the true story of how the Brooks legend began. The facts were reported in writing by his father, Henry Bertram Yates, grandson of J.B. Brooks and last member of the family managing the company from 1941 to 1958.
In 1866 J.B. Brooks moved from the small town of Hinckley to Birmingham with £20 in his pocket. He established himself as a dealer in General Leather Goods under the name of J.B. Brooks & Co. The firm was only making steady progress until something happened in 1878. Mr Brooks had been in the habit of riding a horse to and from his business, but this horse died. Mr Brooks felt he could not afford to buy another horse, so a friend lent him a bicycle to make the journey.

This introduced J.B. Brooks to cycling, but he found it so uncomfortable that he vowed he would make something more comfortable for the rider to sit on. On 28th October 1882, John Boultbee Brooks filed his first patent on "Saddles for Bicycles and Tricycles".

The rest, as they say, is history.

Imperial

Designed in the 1890's, Truly Anatomical, Gender Dedicated Cutting
In 1890 Brooks presented the ultimate line of saddles with "registered cutting, a sure preventive to all perineal pressure".
In the 1890 catalogue, the oldest we preserve in our archives, Brooks presents most of the saddles with "registered cutting, a sure preventive to all perineal pressure". Over 100 years ahead of today's saddle manufacturers, John Boultbee Brooks had already found the solution to a nowadays well known problem. Eventually this line of saddles went out of production in the 1950's. We reintroduced it on our most successful models with an improved and dedicated solution for men and for women.

Classic

Lifetime Comfort, Shapes to Your Body, Cool in Hot Weather
We wish to impress upon you that EVERY BROOKS HERITAGE SADDLE is manufactured in England with the traditional process developed by our forefathers.
The Classic range includes many of our best selling models for the modern cyclist, since all saddles have single rails and are thus compatible with micro-adjust seat posts. The B17 is the most popular saddle in the BROOKS Classic range. It is certainly the oldest Brooks model and longest living saddle in cycling history. This icon has been sold as far back as 1896 and for over a century never went out of production. Most of these models are available also in the Aged and Imperial lines.

Special

Hand Hammered in England by Skilful Craftsmen
Copper rivets not only add class to these Brooks Saddles, but quality and durability, being more gentle to the leather. Historically Brooks Saddles were all made with small copper rivets. Racers in the tours would have their Brooks Saddles conditioned and riveted with larger ones to make them last longer. Large copper rivets in fact are gentler to the leather top, so a few decades ago this practice was adopted in the manufacturing at Brooks. This is how the Special range was born. Each of the 9 copper rivets on the Special Saddles is hand hammered with great care by skilful craftsmen.

Unique

Hand Made in England in the Spirit of Our Forefathers Preserving traditional construction techniques and unique workmanships are imperatives for the Craftsmen who build these Leather Saddles. Spanning more than a century of history we have preserved some models which are unique in their construction. Each saddle in this range needs a different workmanship or frame construction which is specific to that particular model, making it Unique. Most of the models have a double or triple rail construction, like the B66, our most popular model in the Brooks Unique range, dating back as early as 1927. The Swallow has single rails, but a very peculiar construction of the leather top.

Aged

Comfort from Day 1, Quickly Shapes to Your Contours, Laced to Retain the Shape
Skilfully blended oils and waxes, massaged into the hide, result in a softer leather from your very first ride. "Comfort from Day 1" and "Immediate Break-In" well define our Aged Saddles. This range has been recently added to the Brooks Heritage selection to address the needs of those cyclists who are eager to ride on a Leather Saddle, but disinclined to take time to gain the lifetime comfort of our traditional models. The Aged Saddles have skilfully blended oils and waxes, massaged into the hide. This vegetable tanned leather guarantees a softer saddle from the very first ride.

I'm now using two Brooks saddles: The Swallow, a traditional racing saddle which is the narrowest model they make, and the Flyer, a classically sprung saddle designed for long distance trekking and touring. I've also given the Swift Titanium and Team Pro Copper a try.

I've been the most satisfied with the Swallow. Despite its small size, it was surprisingly comfortable from day one. I'm using it on a Bianchi sport bike which the Swallow suits perfectly in terms of both looks and performance. I also love the Flyer. I've been using it for years now and so it's very well broken in. The Flyer's springs make a difference in the level of comfort, but mainly, it's the extremely pliant leather that make it incredibly comfortable even on very long rides. Actually, the secret to the comfort both of these saddles deliver is the soft, pliant leather they are made from. I wouldn't recommend the Swallow for extended rides though. Because it's so narrow, it doesn't provide enough support. I find the Swallow perfect for commuting, and the Flyer ideal for more extended rides.

I've found that one of the most important things to consider when your choosing a Brooks saddle is the type of leather, stiff or pliant, It's made from. The first Brooks saddle I ever used was the Swift. I chose it because it was lightweight and really cool-looking. It turned out not to be the best saddle for someone like me: a commuter who is not in peak Tour De France shape; my body mass index is probably a bit higher than Lance Armstrong's was when he won all his yellow jerseys.

My second saddle was the Team Pro Copper. It was wider, which I thought would make it more suited to my riding style, and actually the main reason I replaced it was that it got badly scruffed up in a crash, but it never seemed to me to be really broken in. I now realize that the real problem was that both the Swift and the Team Pro are made from stiff leather. Brooks uses the stiffer leather from the back of the cow for their racing saddles (except the swallow) and the softer leather from the belly of the cow for their other saddles. I definitely prefer the softer leather.