Not to swerve off-topic (I replied to Andrea in the other Brooks thread) but Grandma ain't seeing the big picture at times.

1 Plastic is much lighter, less cost to transport
2 Plastic doesn't shatter when the container is dropped
3 Plastic bottles require less energy overall to manufacture / recycle

Sometime disposable is actually better, assuming we can harness the waste stream and recover that which can be recycled.

Oh you are right, grandma wasn't seeing the big picture but her head was in the right place. The problem we have now a days as people get so behind one thing whether it be "plastics are the only way to go!" or "all animal products are bad!" you have people saying absolutes. Nothing is absolute. There are times plastics rock, and times leather rocks.

Haha, I actually do ride my dad's old saddle and its a Brooks.

The new cover is 100% waterproof. It's available since 1 year, but maybe some shops still sell the old one which was not working very well.

Cool beans. Thanks for letting us know.

EDIT: Hey I have another brooks beef/ question. Why do Brooks saddles (or at least the b17 and the pro, both of which I use) curve up in the back? Lots of users have to point the saddle upwards to avoid sliding forwards and putting weight on our wrists and perinea. But then the saddle still tends to want to press on your perinieum. I have modded mine with tight lacing to flatten out the tops a bit. This works, but it would be cool for me to be able to get a brooks that came pre-flattened. Lots of old leather saddles like Ideales seem to have flat tops, has Brooks ever considered putting out a model with this feature?

I'd like to know what this "new generation" looks like. Any hints?

Sarcasm, I hope.

i missed this initially. i'm curious...

I hope the vinyl mattress saddle is making a comeback.

Yeah, I don't know of any synthetic material that would conform to the shape of someone's ass like a Brooks does, so I'm very interested in seeing how Brooks would make a saddle without leather. Or perhaps they're going to source some kind of free-range or "cruelty-free" leather, though I'm not entirely sure what that would be.

Anyway, what about green issues? I hate that buzzword, but it's apt here. In particular, I'm curious what Brooks is doing or can do about the terrible chemicals used in leather tanning. It sounds minor, but stuff like that is how my girlfriend decides what she buys and doesn't buy.

Fixed.

could you elaborate? i mean, any leather saddle is going to sag eventually, and if you then tip it forward it will go up in the back. i'm not sure if that's a geometrical design in the saddle or just a consequence of riding on a stretched piece of leather.

as you said, lacing the skirts seems to fix the problem. at least it has for me.

True, but why ship them so that out of the box there's a big ski ramp off the back? Why not make them flat to start? For all I know there's a reason for this, but I'm not sure what it is.


Curved


Flat (just ignore the giant cutout)

Your 'curved' picture doesn't look very curved to me, nor do I see how it's a problem. Lots of saddles do in fact curve up slightly in the back by design. I have a Brooks pro on my fixed and a Concor on my roadbike. If the Brooks curves at all, it's nothing compared to the Concor, but I find both saddles comfortable. It's just a matter of personal preference. I've read that lots of racers back in the day liked the feel of the Concor and even more exaggeratedly curved saddles, esp. for time trials, as the design gave them, for lack of a better phrase, something to push against while grinding out big gears.

Yes it is a matter of personal preference, and that is where the problem lies. I would prefer the option of a flat brooks. Thanks for your explanation.

I love your saddles, but loathe your website. It takes too long to load and it extremely difficult to navigate. All the stuff about the company its history and legacy and testimonials is great, but the primary reason people go to the website is to see pictures/descriptions of your various saddles. Right now you have to get through like 3 pages to get to the catalouge, and then it is set as a pop-up so I usually have to conconfig my web browsing options and wait for the page to load again.


IMHO I would make the "catalogue" page the homepage and would use tabs at the top of that page to link to the other different sections.

I just find it odd that it actually taks so long and so many steps to actually view the product--which is the whole reason for the website anyways.

Originally Posted by sp00ki riding someone else's saddle is kinda grody. no one is going to ride their dad's saddle.


Haha, I actually do ride my dad's old saddle and its a Brooks.


I ride an old Brooks Pro. I have no idea who rode it before me, as it came with a used bike that I bought. Generally I'm clothed when I ride and I assume the previous owner had similar habits, so no, I don't find it sketchy. Judging by the prices used Brooks saddles get on Ebay, I'm not the only one.

Oh give me a break! The point of this thread is to suggest improvements to the website--not for some radical anti-animal products rant.

My leather brooks are the most comfortable saddles I have ever ridden and I do not find it "irresponsible" to use a piece of dead animal skin.

What, pray tell, should equestrian's use on their horses???? I suppose yoru response would be that we shouldn't "ride" any animal and should all be eating tree bark and fruits and berries?

I'd like to know what is the differences between the different models. example, what is the difference between the swift, sallow, b-17 narrow, team pro ? I have no idea.

I also don't get the way the site is organized in the products section. Classic, Aged, Collection... what the.

mostly shape. but also rail material, and i've heard they use different cuts of leather but can't verify that.