Brooks B67

The majority of the things I own are decent second hand items, but occasionally when I do buy something brand new I like it to be well worth it. You can’t get much more worth it than an iconic piece of British handmade craftsmanship. Ok I’ve still been stingy in a way, as I could’ve gone for one of the copper hand-hammered specials, but a plain steel riveted Brooks is still a beautiful thing.

I’d been riding the Nexus with my dad’s old B17 for a few weeks, but after installing the swept back bars this bike needed something nice and wide with springs on it (both from an aesthetic and functional point of view). The way up was between a Champion Flyer or a B67. The Champion flyer is a sprung version of the B17 for touring, whereas the B67 is a wider shorter city bike saddle. In the end I went for the B67 because I figured I already have a B17 so it would be best to try something different.

I've never needed to break a saddle in before....and I still don't because it's perfectly comfortable right from the get go.so I'm not too sure about all this breaking-in stuff I think maybe it’s not the saddle, it’s your arse and your seating position. My backside is already well used to cycling, so all it takes is a few miles of cycling with an allen key and a spanner. A few stops to do some adjustments and after 2 or 3 stops the saddle is in just about the right place and hey presto I’ve got a wonderfully comfortable saddle straight out of the box. Over the course of a few weeks it should start to mould to my sit-bones, but the important thing is to have it in just the right position in the first place.

The springs needed a tiny drop of oil at either end to stop them squeaking, but other than that everything is perfect.

I have secure parking at work (back of the office), so spending good money on a good saddle makes sense, but to be honest I would be thinking twice & stick to something cheap and undesirable if I was having to lock the bike up in public all day.

Heres a good video about Brooks. I especially like the machine that makes the springs and the wobbly set-off at 2:40 - something tells me he turns the key in his Mercedes more often than he sets off on his bike.