Brooks aren't as good as you think
#1
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Brooks aren't as good as you think
How would you like to be 300 miles from nowhere and have this happen and the bolt was never touched.
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George
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Blasphemy! I call shenanigans. Brooks are carried on clouds by angels from heaven and none have ever broken or given anyone trouble of any kind. Be gone heretic!
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Since this promises to be a roasting of another Touring Forum holy cow, or perhaps holy cowhide in this case, there's a story on Bike Forums about Brooks rejecting a warranty claim - it seems the guy's chamois creme caused the leather to stretch, and Brooks said they weren't replacing the saddle.
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Quit complaining - I'd only had mine for a week when THIS happened...
Edit: this rear rack is a custom job and not available in the shops.
Edit: this rear rack is a custom job and not available in the shops.
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Well, that sucks. How old is it? Were you able to ride on it, after a fashion?
But in general I'd have to agree with you: Brooks quality is not always as good as you'd expect, based on the price and reputation. I have a Brooks I got a little less than a year ago, and I treated it correctly, a little proofide, no radical or violent attempts to soften it, and I didn't let it get rained on... but by July it had softened up so much that I took it off my bike and put it on my son's. He's half my weight and it holds him okay, and I convinced him it's an upgrade. But for my purposes, it just got too broken in (and I'm not a heavy guy). I think there was something wrong with the leather.
That said, these problems seem to be rare.
But in general I'd have to agree with you: Brooks quality is not always as good as you'd expect, based on the price and reputation. I have a Brooks I got a little less than a year ago, and I treated it correctly, a little proofide, no radical or violent attempts to soften it, and I didn't let it get rained on... but by July it had softened up so much that I took it off my bike and put it on my son's. He's half my weight and it holds him okay, and I convinced him it's an upgrade. But for my purposes, it just got too broken in (and I'm not a heavy guy). I think there was something wrong with the leather.
That said, these problems seem to be rare.
#6
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Since this promises to be a roasting of another Touring Forum holy cow, or perhaps holy cowhide in this case, there's a story on Bike Forums about Brooks rejecting a warranty claim - it seems the guy's chamois creme caused the leather to stretch, and Brooks said they weren't replacing the saddle.
I am not a fan of the Brooks saddles, but any saddle can possibly break. I doubt that a lack of reliability is a major problem with Brooks saddles. I just don't ascribe all the magical qualities to them that some do. It is just another saddle in my mind and a heavy one at that.
#7
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Good grief! How much chamois creme were they using!
I am not a fan of the Brooks saddles, but any saddle can possibly break. I doubt that a lack of reliability is a major problem with Brooks saddles. I just don't ascribe all the magical qualities to them that some do. It is just another saddle in my mind and a heavy one at that.
I am not a fan of the Brooks saddles, but any saddle can possibly break. I doubt that a lack of reliability is a major problem with Brooks saddles. I just don't ascribe all the magical qualities to them that some do. It is just another saddle in my mind and a heavy one at that.
"Update to my originating post: I contacted Brooks who said it appeared I had a warranty claim and to send to their US distributor, Highway Two in Olney, IL, which I did. They responded the saddle failed because I used a treatment other than Brook's Proofide. I fired off an intemperate reply that Proofide is all I'd ever used. After a bit of thought, I realized I long ago used too much chamois cream one hot summer which soaked through into the leather. So the saddle failed solely from my carelessness. ...I promptly remounted a new B17 to my seat post."
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"Brooks saddles. There’s your solution, Fatty. I think the light one weighs only about a pounds, although for mountain biking you probably want the three pounder that comes with springs. It looks very well engineered, in a ‘34 Shoebox Ford / steel trestle bridge kind of way and it’s kind of wide - maybe not super efficient but one of your skinny friends could probably sit beside you on the seat as you hammer through Leadville. It breaks in within three or four months of heavy use, so that won’t be an issue for you, plus the oozing from the blisters will help soften the leather up faster. Now, you’ll need to get the waxed cotton bag that goes over the seat if it rains or if you are sweating profusely - wouldn’t want to turn that nice leather into mush. And, if it starts to sag in the middle, you just use the wrench to tighten it back up. Don’t overtighten or you wreck the last! And every so often you can put on some proofride, which will help preserve the leather from rot, sweat damage, rain damage, and leather fatigue.
Dang, no doubt about it. A Brooks saddle would definitely be the answer to your troubles. And while we’re at it, let me explain to you why the original Campagnolo Double Parallelogram rear derailer is better than SRAM Red…"
#9
You gonna eat that?
#10
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The tensioning bolt just seared off. I have about 5000 miles on the saddle and never touched the bolt. I called Wallingford and they are going to ship me another bolt for $11+ shipping. If this happened with a Terry or Specialized, they would be sending me a new saddle. I asked Bill from Wallingford if this happens a lot and he said a few times a year. That's just his shop, I wonder how many more.
I know a lot of people tour on these saddles, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry an extra bolt or a Terry saddle
I know a lot of people tour on these saddles, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry an extra bolt or a Terry saddle
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Even if you go to the trouble of building a very robust touring bike with heavy duty parts you can still have an accident [crash, be hit by a car, etc..] that will leave your bike unusable until you get replacements.
Unless you plan on carrying a whole spare bike you just have to accept that on tour sh*t can and does happen.
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Well, that sucks. How old is it? Were you able to ride on it, after a fashion?
But in general I'd have to agree with you: Brooks quality is not always as good as you'd expect, based on the price and reputation. I have a Brooks I got a little less than a year ago, and I treated it correctly, a little proofide, no radical or violent attempts to soften it, and I didn't let it get rained on... but by July it had softened up so much that I took it off my bike and put it on my son's. He's half my weight and it holds him okay, and I convinced him it's an upgrade. But for my purposes, it just got too broken in (and I'm not a heavy guy). I think there was something wrong with the leather.
That said, these problems seem to be rare.
But in general I'd have to agree with you: Brooks quality is not always as good as you'd expect, based on the price and reputation. I have a Brooks I got a little less than a year ago, and I treated it correctly, a little proofide, no radical or violent attempts to soften it, and I didn't let it get rained on... but by July it had softened up so much that I took it off my bike and put it on my son's. He's half my weight and it holds him okay, and I convinced him it's an upgrade. But for my purposes, it just got too broken in (and I'm not a heavy guy). I think there was something wrong with the leather.
That said, these problems seem to be rare.
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I had the titanium nose of a Swift break. To make matters complicated, I had purchased it through eBay, a year earlier, and had no recollection of who the seller was. I took the saddle to a LBS, and they sent it in to the distributor. They gave me a choice:
a) Sell me the parts to repair it.
b) Sell me a new saddle at wholesale cost.
Since I had no idea where to find a shop that could do riveting in the tight space of the saddle nose, I opted for "b". So I have a like-new Swift with a broken metal nose in my box of spare parts.
a) Sell me the parts to repair it.
b) Sell me a new saddle at wholesale cost.
Since I had no idea where to find a shop that could do riveting in the tight space of the saddle nose, I opted for "b". So I have a like-new Swift with a broken metal nose in my box of spare parts.
#16
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I had the titanium nose of a Swift break. To make matters complicated, I had purchased it through eBay, a year earlier, and had no recollection of who the seller was. I took the saddle to a LBS, and they sent it in to the distributor. They gave me a choice:
a) Sell me the parts to repair it.
b) Sell me a new saddle at wholesale cost.
Since I had no idea where to find a shop that could do riveting in the tight space of the saddle nose, I opted for "b". So I have a like-new Swift with a broken metal nose in my box of spare parts.
a) Sell me the parts to repair it.
b) Sell me a new saddle at wholesale cost.
Since I had no idea where to find a shop that could do riveting in the tight space of the saddle nose, I opted for "b". So I have a like-new Swift with a broken metal nose in my box of spare parts.
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George
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The tensioning bolt just seared off. I have about 5000 miles on the saddle and never touched the bolt. I called Wallingford and they are going to ship me another bolt for $11+ shipping. If this happened with a Terry or Specialized, they would be sending me a new saddle. I asked Bill from Wallingford if this happens a lot and he said a few times a year. That's just his shop, I wonder how many more.
I know a lot of people tour on these saddles, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry an extra bolt or a Terry saddle
I know a lot of people tour on these saddles, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry an extra bolt or a Terry saddle
The fact that this one shop says they see it a few times a year confirms the point.
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