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Attention Brooks owners!!

Old 03-06-18, 01:54 PM
  #26  
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Something is wrong, beyond what we've already discussed. Perhaps your leather is stretched out?
If your tension bolt is
shorter than 65mm, perhaps it is broken?

The reason it's hard to put the tension bolt in, in most cases, is that it's too long.

I agree, the design has its shortcomings, even though this is the improved design. The old design (pre-1950, yes, really!) did not let the tension bolt rotate in the nose, but didn't support the nose as well.

At this point all I can think of is: try to hold the bolt with pliers while you turn the nut.
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Old 03-06-18, 03:37 PM
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Thanks. I have the feeling that something is unusual. I used to ride an old BMW motorcycle and enough of the problems I had due to old age and use - one of the last conditions they usually covered in the shop manual. This kind of reminds me of that except that the saddle is 9 years old and it's had a pretty easy life compared to some of the other Brooks saddles I've seen.

I'll measure the bolt before I try and put it back in. The rear edge of the adjuster doesn't even come through the front portion of the shackle, it seems much shorter than the ones in the link you posted. But the threaded end is smooth and doesn't appear to have broken off either. The threads on the tension bolt were inside the adjuster, I don't see how they could have broken off like that.

If I can't get this fixed somehow I'd like to ship things to you and let you take a look at it - I'd love to hear what's wrong and how things got that way.
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Old 03-08-18, 09:27 AM
  #28  
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Not having seen it, my guess is the leather has stretched out. That happens sometimes, due to a combination of motor, provide, regular riding, etc.
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Old 03-08-18, 03:06 PM
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After taking everything apart I see that the original tension bolt sheared off inside the adjusting nut. I couldn't find anything at the hardware store that would work without grinding, and am just going to give up on this. I've used it 8 years and have been wanting something more comfortable the last couple of years, this sure seems like a sign to try something else. PM to follow on shipping etc...
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Old 03-09-18, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by no motor?
After taking everything apart I see that the original tension bolt sheared off inside the adjusting nut. I couldn't find anything at the hardware store that would work without grinding, and am just going to give up on this. I've used it 8 years and have been wanting something more comfortable the last couple of years, this sure seems like a sign to try something else. PM to follow on shipping etc...
Or just replace what is broken, then be sure to keep it tensioned properly to prevent it from happening again.
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Old 03-20-18, 08:37 AM
  #31  
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So... @no motor? sent me his saddle. It turns out the nose piece is tearing in half.



The tension bolt is broken off very near the head and had not been tightened much, if at all. I shouldn't speculate what caused the nose piece to tear this way, but I assume it was defective.
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Old 03-20-18, 09:12 AM
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Originally Posted by rhm
So... @no motor? sent me his saddle. It turns out the nose piece is tearing in half.



The tension bolt is broken off very near the head and had not been tightened much, if at all. I shouldn't speculate what caused the nose piece to tear this way, but I assume it was defective.
Hmm. I weigh about 200 pounds and ride pretty sedately after breaking some spokes years ago. I'd guess it was defective too, I sure didn't do anything to the nosepiece.

Thanks for looking at that rhm, I'm embarrassed to say I didn't notice that before I sent it to you.
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Old 03-20-18, 11:36 AM
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Of the three Brooks saddles I've owned one had the saddle rail crack after a few thousand miles, another had the rivets pop and another bent similar to the pic above. As I said earlier in this thread they lack in quality control. Nothing but trouble for me.
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Old 03-21-18, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by noisebeam
Of the three Brooks saddles I've owned one had the saddle rail crack after a few thousand miles, another had the rivets pop and another bent similar to the pic above. As I said earlier in this thread they lack in quality control. Nothing but trouble for me.
What was/were the replacement(s)?
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Old 03-21-18, 01:56 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by no motor?
What was/were the replacement(s)?
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Old 03-23-18, 08:56 PM
  #36  
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My Cambium C17 Carved is the most maintenance free saddle I’ve owned - gave away my B17.
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Old 04-12-18, 02:37 PM
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rhm fixed my B17 for and I finally got to go for a ride with it today. It was great, kind of like seeing an old friend with a tan after they came back from a long vacation. The same, but just a little different.
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Old 04-13-18, 12:20 PM
  #38  
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I once made a tension bolt for an old Brooks by cutting and filing a 9mm front axle, worked OK. I made a notch on the front tip so you can use a screwdriver to hold/turn it.
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