Is Brooks saddle quality headed down?

[Beaver Charlie]

Now that Brooks is owned by the Italian saddle maker Selle Royal, its classic quality doesn't seem
to be what it once was. Namely, the leather appears to be thinner and of poorer quality. Workmanship
seems to have also suffered.

Anyone else notice this, or just my imagination? BTW, I've been using Brooks saddles on all my bikes
for over 40 years, so I have some familiarity with the line over time.

 

[Pete Biggs]

beaver charlie wrote:
> Now that Brooks is owned by the Italian saddle maker Selle Royal, its classic quality doesn't seem
> to be what it once was. Namely, the leather appears to be thinner and of poorer quality.
> Workmanship seems to have also suffered.

There were user-reports of the B-17's leather getting thinner BEFORE Selle Royal (only recently)
took over.

~PB

 

[Nick Payne]

I have about ten Brooks saddles in my possession, ranging from almost 25 years old to purchased
recently. I ran a micrometer over them a while ago, and it definitely seems that the older saddles
have the thicker leather. This trend was happening a long time before Selle Royal took over Brooks.

Maybe British cows are more thin skinned these days...

Nick

"beaver charlie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Now that Brooks is owned by the Italian saddle maker Selle Royal, its classic quality doesn't seem
> to be what it once was. Namely, the leather appears to be thinner and of poorer quality.
> Workmanship seems to have also suffered.
>
> Anyone else notice this, or just my imagination? BTW, I've been using Brooks saddles on all my
> bikes for over 40 years, so I have some familiarity with the line over time.

 

[x]

RE/
>I have about ten Brooks saddles in my possession, ranging from almost 25 years old to purchased
>recently. I ran a micrometer over them a while ago, and it definitely seems that the older saddles
>have the thicker leather. This trend was happening a long time before Selle Royal took over Brooks.

I'm kind of surprised that a custom-saddle cottage industry hasn't cropped up yet. "Tailored to yer
tushi" or something like that... Granted that a leather saddle tailors itself...but there are
variations in ichial tuberiosity wideth, thigh thickness... and all that - not to mention one's
imagination... and I'd think that riders that will spend a hundred bucks on a seatpost would drop a
couple hundred on a custom saddle...

Looking at the photos of the Brooks production facilities, it doesn't exactly look like rocket
science...
-----------------------
PeteCresswell