I have well over 20 Brooks Pro saddles ranging from 1965 to ~2010.
Last year I did a bunch of research on Brooks Pros and posted pictures 15 of mine showing variations in the noses, rivets and other features.
Here's everything you ever wanted or needed to know about classic era Brooks Pro saddles in these 2 BF messages:
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...l#post17797146
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...l#post17797217
Throughout it's history Brooks has made undocumented or poorly documented changes to their product offerings including model numbers!!!
Add that to the the amount of well intentioned anecdotal information based on N=1 or N=2 experiences, consequently there's a lot of cycling urban myth circulating about Brooks saddles.
For example, Brooks Pro vs. Brooks Team Pro, Brooks Pro saddles being called B15 or B17 and vice-versa and so on.... Also, all the confusion about Peugeot
PR-10s and various PX-10 models!
There were very few bike cognoscenti around the US during the 1960's through mid 1970's. A lot of misconceptions and myths developed back then and ore still common today.
Brooks Pro saddles were very scarce in the US during those years. They came on several Peugeots, Motobecane and Raleigh models. Ideale model 90 saddles were standard on even fewer production models.
At the height of the bike boom, European component makers were overwhelmed.
"Les spécifications sont sujettes à modification sans préavis" specifications subject to change without notice was the state of the industry whic opened the door to the Japanese brands - Motobecane switched from Stronglight, Pivo, Huret to SR Sakae Ringyo and Suntour, Gitane from stronglight to Sugino and so on.
Peugeot was one of the bike makers that had the fewest deviations from their published specifications. They must have had more pull with Stronglight, Normandy, and Brooks. In the US Franklin Imports in the east and United Import Sales in the west were the Peugeot importers/distributors until 1976 when Cycles Peugeot, U.S.A. took over Peugeot distribution.
By the mid 70's leather saddles were falling out of favor with many buyers, being replaced with leather covered padded plastic saddles that required very little care and no breaking in.
But... I remember PX-10s being sold with Brooks pro saddles as late as 1975 when the catalog listed plastic Ideale 2001 saddles. Several possibilities, there were still a lot of PX-10s in the pipeline that were built in 1973 or 74. The Bike Boom came to a screeching halt in 1974. United Import Sales got stuck with a lot of unsold inventory of bikes with tubular tires (PA-10,
PR-10, PX-10).
As several folks mentioned above, the original owners frequently switched saddles when they bought their bikes. Also more than a few shady bikes shops where known to switch components on bikes sold to inexperienced buyers! We'd see Campy equipped bikes with cheap steel rimed wheels and so on.
Summing up this novella, = most PX-10s sold in the US from the late 1960's until ~1974 left the factory with Brooks Pro saddles!!!
verktyg
Chas.