As mentioned here and here, I've been wanting a Brooks for my "road" bike. In desperation for the comfort I have on my touring / commuting bike I've mounted my Honey Team Pro with copper rails to my LeMond Zurich. I ordered a Brooks Swallow from Wallingford Bicycle Parts, and it arrived today.

I'll post a review after I get it mounted and postitioned, as it is a bit narrower than the Team Pro.

Why do I love Brooks, aside from the comfort? The box it comes in, the presentation, the apparent care of every last detail... and yes, this is not a cheap addition to my bike - but having somehting functional and beautiful... that I think is worth it.

Looks great!!! Anxiously awaiting your review.

Very nice! Thanks for the profile shot....I can use it for my next butcher job...
I'll be anxiously waiting for your review as well.
Even for a Brooks, this saddle definitely earns a few OCP points....

I didn't know Brooks made such a beautiful saddle...that must have gone for about $250.00US, yes?

Wow, pics of his saddle while it's still in the box. I thought only us rabid Mac fans did that!

Great looking saddle! But no carbon! :-)

I'll shoot it again once I get it on the bike, from the side, so you'll have a better view of it.


(my LeMond is a bit OCP, but I can't claim to be in the club)

I used to be a Mac guy... I've been in PC land do to "industry standard" software for the last 6 years.

$320 from Wallingford Bicycle Parts.
Ti Rails.

Comes with the Proofide, wrench, saddle cover, and some sort of buffing cloth with the Brooks logo on it. Free FedEx shipping. (ordered it Monday, it arrived today, Wednesday!)

I found it cheaper on the web... but with wallbike's return / exchange policy on Brooks saddles (this is narrower than my Team Pro) I thought it a smart buy, and I also want to see Wallbike succeed - they are in post Katrina New Orleans - and doing OK from the sounds of the folks I talked to when I ordered.

I'd really like to have one of those on my next road bike. But dear Gawd! The Price! It's about double what it should be. Dead sexy, though.

Not the real thing but you could, for about a third of the price, butcher a Pro.

I've had this saddle mistaken for a Swallow by a few retro-geeks....

Alas, I'm not that skilled.

Or you can do the SWIFT for half of the $320

I've a Pro, and thought about the Swift.
If the Swallow is too narrow, I'll move to the Swift... or maybe another Pro, and chop it.

......and butcher it, but just a skosh bit and nothing radical on this one....I kept the Swift logo in tact....

I wonder what they do with RETURNED saddles that folks did not like - do they have "used" on their website?

I had a Brooks Pro on a road bike and it was broken in wonderfully. Then I was rear ended by a pickup truck and the saddle was destroyed. Since my sitting bone was also maimed, I was not able to break in another Brooks - felt like plywood. But maybe a returned saddle would have been tamed a bit even if the user's anatomy varied somewhat. (G)

Ah, I see that they do have USED stuff listed.

Fell for the marketing eh?

It's always interesting that people in the US think of Brooks as a ultra-exclusive gentleman's product. Remember the high price is because of the weakness of the dollar. Remember our manufacturing industry collapsed because we are a nation of lazy workshy shirkers.

Here, you can get a Team Pro for the price of a cheap meal for two. People always ask me why I have one, seeing as they are so old fashioned, even the old fellas (who mostly ride San Marco Rolls, which cost as much as a cheap mean for one!)

As a New Orleans native I say "Thank You". I grew up there and have been back there several times (my folks still live in Slidell) since the hurricane and the city is pretty messed up except for the tourist areas (fortunately).

You could say I'm a sucker for the marketing - but when I got my Team Pro last summer, I had no idea how it was "packaged". Coming from an architecture / design industry background, I was surprised when I opened the shipping box.

In the past I've fallen for the marketing of the "body geometry", the cutout, and the miracle gel. I was pleased with my Pro, so I decided to try another...

Managed to get an hour+ on the trainer with the new saddle.
Needs a little work - not as comfy as my Pro with 6 months of riding on it, but it feels wide enough, and I like the narrow nose, with the aggressive sidecut. When riding the Pro in the drops it always looked and felt a little tight between the legs. (I'm now considering cutting the Pro - although it is now properly mounted on my touring / commuting rig, with a more upright position)

The Swallow has much longer rails. I eyed and mounted the saddle too far back - and as I warmed up my spin felt all bouncy and strange. (I checked the height and it appears to be the same as the Pro - so I didn't quite know where to start adjusting) I watched me knees as they came around and noticed that it looked like I was significantly further behind the pedals than on the Pro. After sliding forward a few times, and making some adjustments, my legs felt "normal".

I rode on the hoods and in the drops at a tempo pace for about 1/2 hour. Everything felt fine, if a bit stiff. Warm up and cool down was done on the tops and hoods. After 1 hour I started to feel some soreness on the sit bones - nearly the same feeling as I broke in the Pro.

I may tweak the fore aft position a bit, and I'm not sure on the nose position (up a bit or level). Initially I think it is going to work... but time will tell. How I feel after 1 hour may be very different from 3, 4, and 6.

More later... as I get more time into it.

Sounds good! I'm just about convinced to get one.

How does the Swallow feel for comfort as compared to your Pro for comfort when your Pro was new?

How is the leather on the Swallow as compared to the leather on your Pro?

Yesterday I did my own little experiment to see if perhaps the Swallow would work for me. I put my Selle Italia Flite Saddle on my Tri Bike. The Flite is, I believe, a little narrower than the Swallow, and the rail length and cut-away design are about the same. My Flite saddle has never been all that comfortable for me, so I've opted to continue to ride my Brooks B15 - even in Ironman. But, I loved the position I could get in with my Flite as compared to my Brooks B15. I just can't get the B15 back far enough or positioned right for a good aero position on my Tri Bike (On my Trek roadbike, it was fine). Result of my experiment: I rode for about 50 minutes in the aero position - no problem. (It's not all that comfortable when I sit upright, though).

I'm thinking that maybe the Swallow might be the answer to my Tri bike woes.

Very nice indeed... I love the Swallow !!!... But I also love butchering!!!... I would spend $320.00 on a swallow if I knew I could butcher it further... Butchering just makes a saddle all the more valuable to the one who has butchered it... Too bad there is no room to make the swallow even prettier...

I would not sell my butchered Brooks for twice what I paid for it - but at the same token, I would not buy the coolest butchered Brooks for half the price of the original cost... Unless it was butchered by Brooks... In that case it would be a $320.00 butchered Swift... I'd buy that... Maybe I should buy a Swallow.. I'm not too sure if I'm making sense... It's almost 3:00am and I'm drunk... maybe I should just go to bed...

Jason

They feel about the same. Rock hard and solid. As compared to the Selle that I took off the LeMond, these are a world of difference. The Selle had padding or something. After 1/2 hour I would get numb and have "hot" seat. On both Brooks I can feel my sit bones, and after 1 hour any discomfort I feel is in the sit bone area, not with any of my male components. (This is nearly gone on the Pro - it is comfy for 3 hours+)

The Swallow is much more comfortable in the drops and on the hoods. The Pro was comfortable on the hoods and tops. I'm picking some aerobars we discussed in another post - so in a week or two I should know how comfortable the Swallow is on the bars. My guess is with the narrow nose, it will be fine.



The leather seems to be about the same thickness, and of the same quality. It seems harder, but this may because it hasn't been ridden. If you check my original pictures, the Swallow is "tied" underneath with a metal badge, and leather flaps. I think this may be helping in the stiffness department.

I thought about butchering a Swift or Pro... but really liked the shape of the Swallow... and to be honest, couldn't really live with half of a Brooks logo chopped away. Seemed disrespectful somehow.

(I know The Fixer managed to save the logo on one of his chops....)

$300+ for a saddle!? Wow, can I come live at your house!? And can I have some of what your smoking. For $300 it better give you a butt massage and clean your bike after every ride!! Crazy....To each his own.... :-)

Wow, $5,000+ for your bikes!? They better be fast.....