Brooks England

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Brooks emblem on saddle B.67 (aged version).
Side view with spring of a Brooks saddle
Brooks Professional
Panniers
Handlebar grip tape

Brooks England Ltd. is an English manufacturer of bicycle saddles and bicycle accessories.

history

In 1866, John Boultbee Brooks founded a horse harness and leather goods company. After an uncomfortable ride on a bicycle (back then they still had wooden or steel saddles) in 1878, he came up with the idea for a bicycle saddle. The first Brooks saddle was subsequently created in the father's stable. The first patent application was filed in 1882. The different models are characterized by their ability to adapt to the individual body shape and their good pressure distribution.

The saddles are made from leather hides and are therefore particularly breathable . Leather absorbs sweat and moisture does not build up. The goal is a comfortable driving experience in all weather conditions and driving times. In contrast to saddle superstructures made of split or synthetic leather , Brooks saddles are bend leather saddles. The leather cover is stretched over a steel frame or, more recently, optionally also over a titanium frame and can thus swing freely and absorb vibrations. 22 employees at the company's headquarters in Smethwick , England, produce around 100,000 saddles annually by hand.

Brooks is one of the last remaining manufacturers of hide leather saddles with a significant market presence. Good saddles are often ridden for a lifetime by their owners. Therefore, at L'Eroica - the old-timer gravel road bike race in Italy - you mostly come across bicycles that are equipped with a Brooks saddle.

Since 1962 Brooks, like Sturmey-Archer , belonged to the Raleigh Cycle Company . After Raleigh got into economic difficulties in 1999, Brooks was first sold and should then be liquidated. Instead, John Godfrey Macnaughtan and Adrien Williams bought the company and kept production in England. In 2002 they sold to the Italian saddle manufacturer Selle Royal on the condition that the production remained in the West Midlands of England. The new Cambium saddle series , which is based on vulcanized natural rubber and organic cotton instead of leather, is produced in Italy, while the leather saddles are still made in England.

technology

When manufacturing a saddle at Brooks England Ltd. According to the manufacturer, everything is done by hand, from the processing of the leather to the assembly at the workbench. The saddle frames are cut and bent from steel or titanium in the factory. Special machines, some of which are over 90 years old, with old tool sets are used for these operations.

The saddles are now exported to over 30 countries. The most famous owners also included some cycling legends such as Girardengo , Bartali , Coppi , Eddy Merckx and Anquetil .

The two letters 'O' are written one inside the other; While in the past the lettering at the end of the saddle consisted of an embossed metal label, today some printed labels are riveted on. The best-known models are the 'Team Professional' and 'Colt' for racing bikes and the 'B-66' for touring bikes, which are produced in versions for men and women.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "The Bugle", Issue Four, page 23, 2012 Edition, Brooks England Ltd.

Web links

Commons : Brooks England  - Collection of Images