Another vote for GBs..... Who ever said that copper and leather saddles do not have to be modern.......and light!

stunning bike! add a stem mounted brass Crane Suzu bell as a final touch

^ thanks.

but the bell would have to go on the nds. the cinelli stem is the best part! B^)

(i'd like to see the rest of that pretty bike, though.)

I remember as a youth, over 45 years ago, that all road bikes had Brooks or Ideale or Champion and a few others I can't recall right this second most if not all had copper rivets, so this isn't a new artistic creation.

and change the water bottle ....

get a Klean Kanteen reflect stainless water bottle (I have 2 on my Surly) .... They come with stainless bike cages and also have the sports caps

It's small touches like this that add the final touches to a classy bike ... your bike is stunning

^ i thought the same and i used to use one.

but i began to favor the traditional plastic bottle that road cyclists used in the '70s. it just makes sense to me.

actually sold my klean kanteen on craigs. B^)

Good suggestion.

I prefer drinking from these more than any other bottle.

Camelback insulated are a close second.

I never rode a Swallow that much until I scored one for this Kvale.

I really like them at this point.

So much so, I am considering one of these coppers for a little project I am cooking up.

Swallow on my Kvale.

[IMG]Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr

I like the superior insulative qualities of the stainless bottles but they don't hold as much fluid as a large 24 ounce Polar Bottle, and the stainless ones that do come in a 24 ounce size won't fit in a standard water bottle cage...unless something new has come along that does and I haven't seen it yet.

Frankly, I have been finding the looks of the Swallow saddles a bit strange with the giant space between the leather cover and the rails. Used to really like it, and was dreaming of one day owning and riding one, but after owning a couple of Pros, the Swallow faded from my must have list. Maybe the less radically cut down Swift is still a possibly for me in the future, though....

That's good to know. I've never sat on a Berthoud, and I had heard that they took even longer than a Brooks Pro to break in. Might give one a try next time I am seeking another tensioned leather seat.

I like Pros as well.

They make a great fatbike and gravel saddle.

Work well with an upright riding style like I have on my Fargo.

Just pick up this pro team on CL for $70 and it brand new, it going on my 1986 Cannondale SR800

Golly darn, just simply gorgeous. Interesting choice of seat post with the rest of the build. It works.

Custom steel and Campy two bolt = always works, IMHO

That copper rail and rivets could work just beautiful for the right classic.

I like the Brooks Swallow shape, yet depends on where it'll be used. Would've preferred large hammered rivets and no bag loops for the Colnago project, but this likely will be the cockpit. The Cinelli crit bars / stem need a little cleaning up and maybe some darkening color tone work to match the saddle.

Decided on the single bolt Campy post and then replaced the honking large clamp bolt with a tapered socket head. Smack me now purist, I might even zing off the saddle loops.

I think the Swift is the most elegant saddle they've made. Not as comfy for me. B17 Narrow is the cats arse. Or my arse, meow.

That Swallow design is the way a lot racing saddles use to look like in the 30's all the way up to the late 60's days of road racing, so in reality it isn't strange just a forgotten look, oh and they used copper rivets. Back in those days it was called a B17 Swallow. There was a company that made a similar Swallow looking saddle called the Mansfield Bath saddle. I don't own a Swallow but I do own a Swift with TI rails and it is a very nice saddle and very comfortable, but the weird thing is I kind of like the Swallow looks better! It looks more like a racing saddle with a minimalist appearance, with the Swallow they come in a huge variety of colors, white, black, red (wine color), dark navy blue, and British racing green which really looks cool but is limited in production. The Swift comes in a variety of colors too but more classic colors, the British racing green is there, antique brown (dark brown), honey (light brown), and black.

The Swallow saddle is narrower than any other saddle they sell, this is a good saddle to get if you have problems with chafing against the sides of a saddle, while the Swift is a tad wider it is however the lightest leather saddle Brooks makes at this time.

You won't go wrong with the Swift or the Swallow if you decide on it, keep in mind they do take about 500 to 800 miles to break in. Also as a word of warning, DO NOT follow anyones advice on how to either break in a Brooks saddle or how to care for one, follow only the manufacturer's care instructions, they've been making these saddles for over 100 years I think they know how to best care for them and how best to make them last a long time. If you use someone else's suggestion as to how to break a Brooks in, like the famous bicycle guru Sheldon Brown who said to use oil, it will void the warranty, and oil will break down the leather and cause the saddle to sag more which means you have to tension it more which means it will fail sooner, also oil will cause the rivets to tear through the leather. A saddle is not a leather baseball glove, a saddle has to perform like a hammock, if you oil a saddle that hammock effect will fail due to the oil over softening the leather which is something you may want a baseball glove to do so you can flex the glove better to catch balls with. These saddles do need to be taken care of more than a plastic saddle but it will also last 10 times longer too. I no longer use Proofide due to the fact it is now quite expensive, instead I use neutral (neutral so you don't get color on your shorts) Kiwi paste shoe wax, I think it works better than Proofide and it shines nicer too, but my saddle is out of warranty so the warranty problem isn't an issue, but after 12 years of owning it it still looks new so I think the Kiwi works just fine, just don't get the liquid version this stuff won't last near as long. Sno-Seal is a beeswax formula that works great too, you can use it instead of the Kiwi if you want, but Kiwi is the closest to the formula of Proofide but with a bit more wax. Apply the Kiwi the same way you would with your shoes.

Water and sweat can destroy a leather saddle over time, this is why I use the Kiwi, if you know you're going to be out in the rain riding on a Brooks saddle it's best to get a saddle cover.

Leather saddles are a lot like leather shoes, with wearing they eventually break in to your foot, or butt, also leather saddles being smooth reduce the effects of chaffing and shorts last longer vs plastic saddles, in addition leather breathes better then plastic and thus are actually cooler than plastic saddles.

Hah! Thanks for noticing.

Just sitting on the shelf here and I thought it would be fun to use.

I do like these posts though. Set once and never worry again.

Agreed.

So very hard to go wrong with this mix.

Good eye.

Yes, I believe you're right. I wasn't looking for a saddle, but one in the for sale sub-forum had copper rivets, and I was smitten.

not a brooks, but i like my $50 gyes with its chromo rails, and this one's copper posh looks to be well worth another $30:


Gyes Leather Saddle GS 17ACU Brown Leather Copper Rail Classic Vintage Fixie | eBay

As always, great minds think alike.

There is also this alternative to Brooks too: https://selleanatomica.com/products/...xG_RoChTjw_wcB These saddles you do have t be careful about which one you get because they make them with different stiffnesses based on a persons weight range, I heard from other users it's best to pick out the stiffest one because it will last the longest, and also the color white is for some reason not as stiff as the other colors and won't last as long. It is supposedly a very comfortable saddle, so much so most people said they didn't have to wait for it to break in like the other brands. If I didn't have Brooks already I would have seriously considered these.

By "Brooks-Copper Editions" you are referring to saddles with copper rails and not just saddles with copper rivets, right?