Is this a real Brooks saddle or knock off?
03-18-23, 05:20 PM
#1
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Is this a real Brooks saddle or knock off?
The portland bike swap was amazing today.
this was there. Tried google-ing the numbers and got nothing.
plus that lil sticker looks asian
any help is appreciated.
robert
this was there. Tried google-ing the numbers and got nothing.
plus that lil sticker looks asian
any help is appreciated.
robert
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03-18-23, 05:28 PM
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clip appears french
clip and saddle unlikely to be of same nominal brand
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clip appears french
clip and saddle unlikely to be of same nominal brand
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03-18-23, 05:53 PM
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Do any Brooks saddles have woven fabric laminated to the leather? Is the leather itself a laminate?
03-18-23, 05:59 PM
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The leather looks laminated, the number's printed, and there's some kind of pattern on whatever's on the inside, which points to a knockoff. What does the outside look like?
03-18-23, 06:19 PM
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Brooks or not, I’m definitely curious to see the flip side of the saddle.
03-18-23, 06:28 PM
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I wish you would use fewer photos for an identification. I mean, why go through the hassle of pressing a button?
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03-18-23, 06:42 PM
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Maybe his phone ran out of film
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03-18-23, 07:01 PM
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informed guess.
I shouldn't care but I'm weak so I do.
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03-18-23, 09:26 PM
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I think it’s a Cardiff knock-off.
03-18-23, 11:18 PM
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I posted this, went for another beer. Wanted to post more pics, but someone bought it for $20. I'm now convinced more than ever this was not a brooks saddle based on the pic I took, no number correspond to brooks.
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03-19-23, 01:53 AM
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Is that a hand or a foot? Sorta looks like one of those hairless cats. Maybe a knockoff hairless cat.
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03-19-23, 02:21 AM
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Gyes saddle is my guess.
Edit: auto correct
Edit: auto correct
Last edited by Senrab62; 03-20-23 at 10:11 PM.
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03-19-23, 08:25 AM
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Why "knockoff"? It's just a tensioned leather saddle manufactured by another company. Brooks might be the only tensioned leather saddle company a newby has ever heard of, but it's not like Brooks 'owns' tensioned leather saddles or has or ever had any sort of exclusive.
Cardiff --> Gyes
Cardiff
Cardiff --> Gyes
03-19-23, 08:41 AM
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Well, I was going to say it was a Middlemore knock-off, but that might have been too obscure.
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03-19-23, 11:35 AM
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Is that a hand or a foot? Sorta looks like one of those hairless cats. Maybe a knockoff hairless cat.[/QUOTE]
My mom was told thalidomide was good for pre-natal. Guess we all know better now.
My mom was told thalidomide was good for pre-natal. Guess we all know better now.
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03-19-23, 12:13 PM
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Omg, wtf. One pic. Come on Rob, you are freaking trolling
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03-19-23, 02:03 PM
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Not a troll. But I recognize I should’ve known better.
No riverts said “brooks”
the sides of the saddle were free of markings
there was no plate on the back.
I stopped by the bike shop on Hawthorne (portland) that sold brooks saddles and they said, “Asian look alike”.
I need to improve my picture taking. And maybe stop going to bike swap meets at my favorite brewery. (Baerlic).
No riverts said “brooks”
the sides of the saddle were free of markings
there was no plate on the back.
I stopped by the bike shop on Hawthorne (portland) that sold brooks saddles and they said, “Asian look alike”.
I need to improve my picture taking. And maybe stop going to bike swap meets at my favorite brewery. (Baerlic).
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03-19-23, 02:30 PM
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03-19-23, 04:19 PM
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Brooks says made in England inside the frame And honestly, the rivet work looks cleaner on the knock off. For $15, wish I bought it now. (The brown one)
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03-19-23, 06:12 PM
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My Gyes Ti is, curiously enough, embossed 'Gyes'.
Field guide: At one point or another, Gyes has private-labeled saddles for Cardiff, Dia Compe, Fenix, Fyxation, Lekker, Origin8, Papillionaire, Shinola, Sobdeall, Spa, Torelli, Velo Orange, Zimbale and probably other bike companies. IIRC they are manufactured in Taiwan using Australian leather.
Field guide: At one point or another, Gyes has private-labeled saddles for Cardiff, Dia Compe, Fenix, Fyxation, Lekker, Origin8, Papillionaire, Shinola, Sobdeall, Spa, Torelli, Velo Orange, Zimbale and probably other bike companies. IIRC they are manufactured in Taiwan using Australian leather.
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03-20-23, 02:51 PM
#25
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This vendor declares "leather from the USA"
I am from Australia, yet the leather I use for tensioned leather saddles is from Argentina.
I would be concerned about the role of the fabric cover. If it is in any way to add structural support then it defeats the very purpose of a tensioned leather saddle ie to mold to your individual seating position including your sit bones.
I would not judge a saddle on the neatness of the rivet not on display. This needs to do a job, to hold the leather in place firmly.
I find that saddle unattractive as, to my eye, it looks like an engineered product not a crafted one by an artisan. The Gyes corporate video reinforced my view. And at 1min 58 sec you can see the number being applied.
I made another 30 rivets a fortnight ago, this took a few hours. They ended up as I wanted them, each one crafted, not identical. Then each hammer stroke in setting the rivets will further add to the individual character of the rivet.
If I wanted mass-produced clones for my riding, I would buy another bike off the shelf. With vintage bikes I have the opportunity to choose what I want, in my case also choosing the saddles.
I also recover saddle frames to use as seats for work in my garage. They are Brooks frames, but recovered with new leather. So these are a Brooks 'knock off'.
I am from Australia, yet the leather I use for tensioned leather saddles is from Argentina.
I would be concerned about the role of the fabric cover. If it is in any way to add structural support then it defeats the very purpose of a tensioned leather saddle ie to mold to your individual seating position including your sit bones.
I would not judge a saddle on the neatness of the rivet not on display. This needs to do a job, to hold the leather in place firmly.
I find that saddle unattractive as, to my eye, it looks like an engineered product not a crafted one by an artisan. The Gyes corporate video reinforced my view. And at 1min 58 sec you can see the number being applied.
I made another 30 rivets a fortnight ago, this took a few hours. They ended up as I wanted them, each one crafted, not identical. Then each hammer stroke in setting the rivets will further add to the individual character of the rivet.
If I wanted mass-produced clones for my riding, I would buy another bike off the shelf. With vintage bikes I have the opportunity to choose what I want, in my case also choosing the saddles.
I also recover saddle frames to use as seats for work in my garage. They are Brooks frames, but recovered with new leather. So these are a Brooks 'knock off'.
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