Maybe I should have put this under mechanics but I'm thinking the strong Brooks following here may have an answer for me.

I bought a nice worn in older B17 Champion Special with some sag and I tensioned it some but not too much. On the first ride the bolt cracked ahead of the bracket.

1. Can the replacement bolts be found here in the states?
2. How do you go about removing the old and installing the new? Anyone mastered the task?

tension bolts can be bought through Wallingfords
and how to fit it has been described here

One of my B.17's is pretty much non adjustable. The bolt spins with the nut, so there's not much that can be done, unless maybe I tack weld the bolt on the bracket. I have tried holding the bolt with a set of vice grips, but no dice. I bought the saddle new, and it's been kind of a disappointment since. The leather is oddly thin, and it sags badly. The sag atarted a week after I started using it, and it has been that way ever since. Yes, I still LOVE Brooks saddles regardless.,,,,BD

BD, you should be able to get that bolt to stop spinning. I know, I said should again, . First of all, don't be afraid to hit the nose piece with a hammer or whatever it takes to crush it around the spinning bolt a little bit. Before you do that you might want to hit that end of the bolt itself with a hammer and punch on the anvil to make sure it's not perfectly round. Once you've made sure the bolt isn't round, and the hole isn't round, get some oil on the threads, hold the other end of the bolt in pliers, and try turning that nut. You should be able to get it.

Badger, when you order your new bolt from Wallingford, note that they have two versions. B17s take the longer one, while B72's take the shorter one. Getting the new bolt in will be difficult no matter what; but it will be easier to get the short one in there.

Thanks for the tips and info guys. I ordered the longer 70mm bolt. The saddle is quite stretched and I used up 3/4 of the bolt when I adjusted it so I'm hoping that will make the install a bit easier.

If the bolt snaps, and two of mine have over the years, then the quick an easy fix is this:

Get an 8 mm bolt around 80 mm long. Ideally this should be stainless steel, but I've just fixed one with a plane old mild steel bolt, on the basis of about 10 miles its fine!.

Run a nut right up to the head then insert the rest of the bolt into the u shaped washer that pops over the saddle rail.

The head of the bolt simply pops into the molding at the front of the saddle.

Then its simply a matter of turning the nut down the bolt to tension the leather. the head stays neatly in the molding almost like it was made for the job.

Annoyingly the Brooks spanner is too big for an 8 mm bolt, but long nose pliers do the trick OK. If the bolt turns then a second set of piers will hold it.

It may seem a bit Micky Mouse but it works just fine.