thedudeabidz

After only three years, I broke a rail on my Brooks B-17 Imperial Standard, rendering it useless. I emailed Brooks about it, and they just gave me an address of some place in Philly that will repair it for $70. I know I'm a ******, and that I ride to work and back every day, but if Brooks can't stand behind their product, I'm inclined to look elsewhere. I'm wondering if there are any other saddles out there that aren't overpriced yet provide the kind of day to day riding comfort I need. Hell, I'd even pay too much if I knew the company was going to guarantee their product for some reasonable amount of time.

fietsbob

... they just dont warrantee it forever.. repair for $70 is decent.. considering the work involved..


visit the LBS and get a 'Take Off' saddle .. they are new , but buyer of the bike wanted something else,

so the stock one was taken off and put in resale .. for less than the new one with a hanger tag.


what is the repair facility's address? others might want to know ..

peterlat

I have a leather Gyes (pronounced jee-us) saddle I like very much. Gyes makes a line of leather saddles that are Brooks knock-offs. Don't know if they're as well made as Brooks (an ironic observation, in your case), but the quality's good. Mine was about $70, I think. Last I checked, only place in the U.S. that sells them is Crow Cycle, somewhere in Oregon. They also sell them on eBay. Good luck.

tcs

Other tensioned leather saddle manufacturers:

Persons
Selle Anatomica
Berthoud
Tops
Selle Monte Grappa


Gyes
Cardiff, made by Gyes
Velo Orange, made by Gyes
Zimbale, made by Gyes
Origin 8, made by Gyes


Torelli
Dia Compe
Spa
Papillionaire
Rivet
(I suspect the Torelli, Dia Compe, Spa, Papillionaire and Rivet saddles are also manufactured to specification by Gyes.)


Lepper (out of business?)
Ideale - definitely out of business


No connection to any retailers mentioned, examples only. There are plenty of places to get any of these.


I started riding tensioned leather saddles in 1979 and have since. I currently own, ride and like my Brooks Pro, two Persons #77 Deluxes, a Selle Anatomica Titanico NSX Watershed (NOT a split saddle, unlike other Selle Anatomica models) and a Gyes GS17A. I'm unimpressed with the construction of the lower frame of the Tops tensioned leather saddle I have.

lungimsam

I'd rather just buy a new one than pay 70$ for a repair on a saddle that'll never be the same again.
I hear good things about Terry saddles. Not leather, but touted as loved by long distance riders.

martianone

Suggest contacting Wallbike, the at one time listed some brooks saddle frames for around $30.
my commuter bike has a Sella Anatomica, it is very comfortable and has worn well.
road bike has a Berthoud Aravis, only had it for one season, also very comfortable, it broke in quickly and seems nicely crafted. Brooks saddles on my other bikes, all have worn well and are comfortable.

zonatandem

My stoker Kay broke a Brooks B-72 back in the early 80s after only about 30,000 miles on it on our tandem with 30 miles to go on a difficult century ride.
Her reply: 'Find a rock and jam it between our carrier and my saddle and let's go!'
Did just that, so she literally rode a saddle 'as hard as a rock' for 30 miles
Got another B-72 for her but she never did get comfortable on it; must've been from a tougher cow!?
Quit riding Brooks' after that.
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

RubeRad

Wow, that's a bigger list than I've ever seen, and you own an interesting variety too. Never heard of a non-split Selle Anatomica -- was that an early model or something?

What's your judgment of various quality? I'm planning (long-term) on a Titanico (San Diego company, so it's local). But I'm intrigued by the lower-price Gyes models. How do they stack up against the Brooks standard?

jputnam

Over 25,000 miles on my Persons now, quite happy with it so far, at least as good as any of my Brooks. Here's when it was new:


20080906_IMG_3982 by joshua_putnam, on Flickr


20080906_IMG_3983 by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

tcs

Nope, it's a current model.

I've ridden only the Persons as much as my Brooks. The Persons #77 looked much spiffier out of the box than a Brooks B17, they have held up well and have remained comfortable (for me). The Gyes is lovely, with beautiful, symmetric blemish-free leather and nicely constructed and finished metalwork, but I haven't put that many miles on it. The Selle Anatomica Titanico NSX Watershed was, as promised, comfortable out of the box and also a looker.

acidfast7

is that copper?

does it oxidize to turn green ... that would be quite cool ... like all of the roofs over here

thedudeabidz

Thank you everyone for your replies. I'll have to do some research before I pull the trigger, but I need to do it soon. The crappy saddles on my other two bikes are killing me on the daily commute.

For anyone interested, here is the contact info for the shop that Brooks referred me to for the fix:
Hanfordcycles@gmail.com
Firth & Wilson transport cycles
933 spring garden street
Philadelphia, PA.
19123
267-318-7285

Their site is cool to check out even without the need for a Brooks repair. Lots of cool bikes on there.

asmac

My Flyer frame broke recently, also after about three years. I ordered the replacement parts from the Brooks website -- frame plus 2 extra tension pins and a tension shackle as spares -- and the total bill was US$40. It arrived from Italy about 10 days after I ordered online. One box wrench and a bit of puzzle-solving skills were all that I needed to put it back together. My frame has springs, so your frame will likely cost less and maybe need rivets, about $25-30. Here's a link: https://www.brookssaddles.com/catalog.../#sidecontents If you have any question as to the exact variant you need they are quite helpful via email.

BTW, I see their online shop is closed til Tuesday, Aug 20 and this is probably what accounts for the absence of pricing on their website right now.

I would prefer that these last longer but a well broken in leather saddle is something to hang on to, much better than a new one. I've put a three year reminder in my calendar to proactively order a new frame and replace it. I'll have to suck up the $12 per year.

jputnam

The rivets are copper, the frame is copper-plated steel. No green.. Copper that gets touched stays bright, the rest is old-penny brown.


Persons 77 saddle, 5 years on by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

Bigbo

Hey, just thought I'd give my 2cents, haven't put miles on a brooks but I have a selle anatomica titanico that is freakin sweet! I put many miles on it and after long rides the only part of my body that isn't hurting is my rear! Was soft and supple from day one and although its past its prime, its still soft yet firm. I did have to tighten a lil here and there but not halfway up the bolt yet so still more room for stretch. White might have not been the best color, especially since I wear jeans, a lot, but it matched the white lettering and cable housings on my trek. Might try to dye it white again but not too worried about it since it feels sooooooo good. They make different versions for different weights also. I love mine

Bigbo

The same thing happened to a friend of mine, he had his way close to the rear of the rail though. I hear that you want a good cm or so from the end of the rail.

Bigbo

[QUOTE=Bigbo;15983232 selle anatomica titanico [/QUOTE]

and I've heard they have very good customer service. I've never had a problem or reason to contact them but I hear they are good about standing behind their product. Good luck

thedudeabidz

Yeah, I've read that in older posts on here, but there was plenty of room between the end of the rail and where it's mounted. It's probably just because I'm a fat-a$$ and the city streets suck so bad.

fietsbob

The Heavy rider and rough streets caused enough metal fatigue to crack the steel rail ..

Perhaps you should look at one of the spring suspension saddles , that will give the rough road vibrations some place to go

Flexing a Coil Spring, rather than bending the saddle rails ..

dejock

Charge Spoon: https://chargebikes.com/products/spoon/

Randolfo

I purchased the Terry Liberator Y, and it has been pretty good. I got a nice deal on it, which sealed the deal.

kookaburra1701

I have one of the wide, non-spring Cardiff saddle in white. I used it like twice and then realized it wasn't the right one for me. So if you want a good deal on a saddle, drop me a line.

lungimsam

I see there are seams on it. Can you feel them or not? Is this the one: https://www.terrybicycles.com/Saddles/Mens-Endurance
I am thinking of getting one in the future.
I am getting a Terry Cite saddle for my wife to replace her cheapy Avenir sprung saddle on her comfort bike.

Randolfo

Nope, once I got it adjusted properly, all the pain pretty much disappeared.

rhm

You can buy a new frame and six rivets for under $35 and make the repair yourself. It is not difficult, and the result will be a saddle that's every bit as good as yours was before it broke. You might be able to find an old trashed Brooks saddle with a good frame; those typically go for less than new frames. But they're hard to find; there are people (like me ) who buy them and repair them.

Why it broke, well, that's a good question and I'm kinda surprised Brooks isn't curious about it as well. But I won't speculate.

If you don't want to fix your busted saddle... want to sell it to me?