No, thank god I have not. Look at what "wind tunnel design" has done to turn the formerly beautiful automobile into a disgusting egg. Don't ever apply aerodynamics to Brooks saddles - only aesthetics...

My B.15 has to be at least 2mm thicker then the Wrights, and by tapping it, you wouldn't know it from a saddle formed of plastic...

Take care,

-Kurt

I like the minimalist design of the swallow. Wish they weren’t so expensive.

The Colt was Brooks' attempt at an aerodynamic saddle. I have one and I think it's the ugliest Brooks I've ever seen.

I have the B-17 and the Swallow (old style with copper? rails). Not sure why but I like the Swallow only on some bikes and not others. I loved it on my old 56cm '88 RB-1 but not so much on my current 54cm RB-1. The fit of that saddle is very finicky. A little change in height or fore/aft position makes a huge difference while the B-17 seems to be comfortable in almost any situation/position.

I currently have the Swallow mounted on a Panasonic DX4000 and I love it again (different geometry?). I ride B-17's on my other road bikes and a sprung B-67 on my mountain bike so I guess I am not too particular about saddles. Up until I switched to Brooks I used to swear by my Vetta Lite saddles. They just didn't hold up over time.

Here is my '67 Swallow. I don't know why they're so expensive, but I suspect it's the collectors who have driven up the price. I believe the design evolved over 50 years ago based on people cutting away and lacing saddles that had spread out from being ridden after getting soaked in the rain.

Interesting that the Swallow, obviously a high performance, very nice looking, road saddle, has eyelets in the rear for a saddle bag. The professional doesn't come with eyelets. Any thoughts about that?

As implied by its name, the Professional is a racing saddle, presumably used by professional racers who would not need the bike for commuting. My Swallow is a 1967 model, when most cyclists in England still did not own cars and rode their bike to work or school and club runs and races on weekends. That explains the need for saddlebag eyelets. Today's Swallow is a limited edition "show" saddle and does not have eyelets either.

I you get a chance to check out the Brooks Colt, I think you will be glad you did. Its smaller copper rivets and sleek design give it an understated elegance. Pay no attention to those that disparage this fine saddle – this is not the Chrysler Airflow, or Ford Edsel of saddles.

Some of the features of the Brooks Colt:

Wide nose allows one to use that part of the saddle.

Nice curved top -- sort of like a San Marco Rolls

Narrow (152x280) -- The very comfortable B-17 is too wide for fast training/racing, and I find it impossible to ride on the front part of the saddle.

I haven't ridden a Team Pro, but the nose also appears to be too narrow.

The Colt is a finely crafted saddle, with ample, thick leather all the way down the chamfered side of the saddle (like the Campagnolo discussed earlier). The front of the nose of this saddle is also completely covered (also like the Campagnolo). You can still find them at Permaco. I have the Black/Chrome model, but I think the Black rails would look cooler. I didn’t find any thing “Pre-Softened” on the Pre-Softened model.

As technology improves, and bike now struggle to stay over the 15 lb. weight limit, perhaps we’ll see a return of the Brooks saddle to the professional peloton.

Go to:

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Parent-Brooks-Colt-leather-saddle-1868.htm

for nice photos of Brooks saddles.

The only bad thing about the Team Pro is it's a heavy Mo Fo. I took this saddle off the Lemond and put it on my Trek commuter. Now I have some color on the Trek and I'm putting a Swift Ti on the Lemond. I think the swallow is out of my price range.

I made the mistake of showing my wife a picture of the new B18 "Lady" saddle yesterday and now she wants one for her mixte. It's awfully expensive, but I think I'll get her one for Christmas, along with a pair of their new grips.

I said to avoid the Brooks Colt because mine is not comfortable for me and I think it's ugly. It was their top touring saddle at one time, though. Sheldon Brown didn't like them either. He said somewhere that it's the only Brooks they refused to carry ar Harris Cyclery.

I have Brooks on everything, except my Schwinn Breeze, which has an almost mint Schwinn "S," saddle on it that I wouldn't dare change and my Schwinn Suburban, which will get a Brooks one day, but for now, is my never ending work in progress....big sigh! Here's the line up....

'94 Schwinn Sidewinder....Brooks B17 Champion Special....British Racing Green with (hang on Pastor Bob)BIG copper rivets!!!! :-D
'73 Schwinn Varsity....Brooks B17 Champion Flyer....Why not make a tank-weight bike a little heavier?! :-D
'74 Fuji Dynamic 10....Brooks B17 Standard....in Honey color....looks fabulous!

Anyway, obviously, the Brooks B17 is my favorite style of the Brooks saddles. Truthfully, it's the only model I've tried, but I loved it from the first day, not experiencing any of the uncomfortable break in period that some talk about. I must have enough padding of my own that the hard saddle really isn't much of an issue, huh? LOL!

I might be the only one who prefers the Team Pro over the B-17. Both saddles are fine but the Pro really worked nice for me.