Monday, July 2, 2018

New Old Brooks and a (Slight) Makeover

I just replaced the Brooks saddle on my Rivendell. It had 17 years of use on it and was getting almost a little too soft and saggy for my taste. Now, I've seen people ride them until they looked like swaybacked nags - mine wasn't at that point yet and with proper care it could probably last a good bit longer, but it seemed to me that 17 years is a pretty good run for any saddle.

I applied a bit of Brooks Proofide and took it for a ride.
You know, eBay is a really wonderful thing sometimes. Rather than buy a brand-new Brooks B17, I decided to search the 'bay for one that was barely used so I could save a few bucks. That's the thing about Brooks saddles: lots of people buy them, use them one time, and decide they're never going to get comfortable on it (shocking to me, since I find them comfortable right out of the box), so they sell the Brooks and buy some thick, massive, gel-padded monstrosity. It didn't take long to find exactly what I was looking for - a "barely used" B17 with a "buy-it-now" price of $72. I snapped it up.



When the saddle arrived, it was hard to tell it wasn't brand new. But the funny thing was when I flipped it over to look at the underside. Brooks saddles have a date code stamped into them, and as it turns out, this "new" old saddle had the same date code as my old one - both were made in 2001, also the same year my Rivendell was built. That's right - they were, in a sense, "brothers." In fact, the "new" old Brooks is actually a little nicer than the old one. The old one was a B17 "Standard" while the replacement one is a "Champion Special" - which has the larger hand-hammered rivets, a skivved lower skirt edge, and copper-plated rails. Some say the leather is a little thicker, too. It's hard to imagine finding a more perfect replacement.

Oh - so what did I do with the old one? I put it on eBay where it (shockingly) sold for nearly what I'd paid for the replacement - making the replacement practically free. Better and better.

The Makeover

I have a lot of bikes. I lose count (yes - I really do), but I'm sure it's more than a dozen, and they're all really nice bikes. But if through some strange set of tragic circumstances I had to get rid of all of them but one -- to somehow make do with just one bike for the rest of my life -- I think the one I would have to keep would be my Rivendell. The bike is comfortable and handles well. It's no racer, but I'm fast enough on it to keep up with anyone I care to. It can take racks and some bags for a light tour. It accommodates tires at least up to 35mm with fenders. Overall, it's just a really versatile bike.


Built by Curt Goodrich back in 2001, it's the bike I've probably owned the longest. Back when I got it, I built it up with a great mix of parts that I'd selected for reliability, durability, and service-ability. Shimano Ultegra derailleurs and hubs. TA crank and pedals. Phil Wood bottom bracket. Stronglight needle-bearing headset. Nitto bars, stem, and seat post. Over the years, I've put a lot of trouble-free miles on it.

Recently I've been doing some cleaning and maintenance on the Riv to get it ready for a vacation I'll be taking with it, and I've made a few small changes - replacing parts on it for the first time since I first built it up (apart from things like tires and brake pads, that is).

First thing was the saddle, as already described. The next thing cropped up as I was taking parts off to give everything a good cleaning and lube. I went to remove the front derailleur (Shimano Ultegra 6500) and couldn't get it off. After 17 years, there was some noticeable oxidation on it - but apparently there was some corrosion hidden inside the hinge on the clamp, so the clamp was frozen and wouldn't budge. I shot a bunch of penetrating oil into it and let it soak for a while. Tried that again. Eventually in trying to pry it open, I got the thing off, but found I'd gotten it open only because the clamp bent - the hinge remained frozen. Oh, crap. Back to eBay. Whod'a thought you could find a NOS 17-year-old Ultegra front derailleur? A brand-new (old) component, exactly like the one being replaced - for less $$ than the current edition, too. Perfect. I replaced derailleur cables while I was at it.

After a good cleaning, degreasing, inspecting, and tuning, the last change was fenders. I had ridden this bike for the first few years I had it without any fenders at all, but for the past nine years or so, I've had it equipped with Velo Orange hammered-look fenders. Other than the fact that they were starting to rattle quite a bit (which I'm sure I could have solved) there was nothing wrong with them. But recently I was reading Jan Heine's book on René Herse's bicycles, and in those pages, bike after beautiful bike was equipped with fenders bearing a ridged or "faceted" finish - looking almost like the surface of a zeppelin. It was a great look and I took a bit of inspiration from it. Velo Orange sells fenders with that pattern on them, so I picked up a set and installed them. I'll set the hammered ones aside and re-use them when I build up a new bike for one of my daughters.

OK, maybe "makeover" isn't the right word here since the bike's barely changed. It's kind of funny to think that on a 17-year-old bike, even the new replacement parts are as old as the rest of the bike.

Incidentally, on my Sunday morning ride with the newly-freshened Riv, I stopped off at the little produce market in the valley - it's a popular stop for all the cyclists riding through the national park. When I came back to the Rivendell after buying some sweet corn and other fresh treats, I found a small crowd standing around admiring my bike. Many weren't even familiar with the name or brand, or even classic steel-framed bikes. They just knew they liked it. "Wow - that is a beautiful bike," I heard several people say.

Got to say, I was feeling a little lighter on the ride home.

10 comments:

  1. I have that saddle and an identical 'banana bag.' Works so well.

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  2. Thanks for sharing a story of a beautiful bike and your relationship with it. Keeping an old bike is like keeping an old dog. Both are true & faithful until the end. Sorry to say my banana bag has faded from a once bright green to the lightest dull olive drab.

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    1. My banana bag was always that khaki color, but it was originally a little darker than that, I'm sure. Funny, I hadn't even noticed that until just now. I have a Carradice bag that was a fairly deep green, but today is (like your banana bag) a very light, dull, olive.

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  3. Yep, if I had to keep only one bike (heavens no!) it would be my Riv All-Rounder as well.

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  4. What is the current Riv model that is closest to the bicycle you have pictured here?

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    1. When this was made, they called it " the Long and Low" (long wheelbase, low bottom bracket - as compared to their "standard") - but later, all the Rivs started going more in that direction anyhow. Among the non-custom Riv models, the Rambouillet was probably the closest, but with sidepull brakes, not cantilevers. Now that model is gone, as you know. Today, I'd say the Hilson is probably the closest - but again sidepulls, not cantis - and a double top tube in larger sizes. The Hillbourne is probably second closest, has cantilever brakes, and even more tire clearance than mine has.

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  5. I had a honey coloured special like that once. It nearly ate my ass alive. I loved that saddle but I couldn't get it to love me back. It soured me on Brooks for a long time. Ironically I have a Brooks C19 Allweather on my rando bike and it's one of the most comfortable (to me) saddles I own. I guess every butt is a law unto itself.

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    1. Phillip, you are right - every butt is different. If you like the C19 but not the B17, I'm betting you simply need a wider saddle to be comfortable. I have a C17 on my commuter bike, and it feels almost the same to me as the leather B17 - the top is a similar shape, and they're both about 17 cm wide. The C19 that you have is, I believe, about 2 cm wider than the 17. Logically, the C15 is about 2 cm narrower.

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  6. So you know one of my secrets: The best way to buy a Brooks leather saddle is in barely-used condition! Not only has the breaking-in process begun; those saddles sometimes even look better than brand-new saddles.

    Congratulations on getting a "perfect match"!

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  7. I have had many Brooks saddles (and still do) but with too many bikes to ride, they never really get broken in properly. Even after a week-long bike tour, the Brooks I used still looked (and felt) brand-new. They really need to get damp - either from the usual UK rain or rider's perspiration - to break-in.

    And while I appreciate their longevity and variety of styles, the smooth leather finish of many (much more slippery than a Gilles Berthould, for example) actually changes the way I fit on a bike. The leather is so slippery against some fabrics (like Lycra) I slide around much more. The Cambium models offer a much more "planted" feeling, although that may not be preferred by others.

    So just to point out (as you well know) that a saddle fit is very personal and someone selling theirs on eBay may moving to an SMP Selle or Fizik or Charge and not necessarily some GelThing :-)

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