Originally Posted by
CravenMoarhead
There certainly is a bigger price differential than 10 bux between your Model 3 and a B.17 special but its not really an apples to apples comparison. Comparing the Model 3 to a standard B17 is much more fair, and that is a 10 dollar difference if you go by Velo-Orange prices...
The only reason I can see comparing a Model 3 to a B17 Special rather than a Standard is the "copper" rivets. The important distinction is that the copper rivets on a B17 Special are really copper (and yes, they can corrode) the Rivets on a Model 3 are copper anodized, and you can take a look at my Model 3 and plainly see that the anodizing wears off on the rivets that are in contact with your butt the most.
I don't the prices on the various B17 Brooks knock-off saddles are very attractive now, when the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound is good enough to get an excellent deal on the time-tested original Brooks saddles themselves. Most American Brooks dealers have kept their Brooks prices high. However, I recently bought a Brooks B17 Special from wiggle.co.uk for a listed price of $93. That price was for the model with skived sides, real copper rivets, and also included both the Brooks spanner wrench and Brooks saddle cover. You can get a further ~ $8 discount at checkout by signing up for the wiggle newsletter. And shipping to the US was free for orders above $83. Compare the $85 price of a delivered Brooks B17 Special, with wrench and cover, to the current price of the comparable Cardiff or VO models. Brooks is a bargain right now, and comes with a 100 years of history and product testing that is not yet there for the imitators.