Brooks England is a

bicycle saddle A bicycle saddle, often called a bicycle seat, is one of five contact points on an upright bicycle, the others being the two pedals and the two handles on the handlebars. (A bicycle seat in the specific sense also supports the back.) The bicyc ...

manufacturer originally based in

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, England and now owned by

Selle Royal Selle Royal Spa is a company from Vicenza, Italy, founded in 1956 by Riccardo Bigolin, producing saddles for bicycles. In 1965, a formal establishment of Selle Royal Sp.A. was made in Vicenza for the production and distribution of bicycle sad ...

of Italy. It has been making

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

goods since 1866, when it was founded in

Hockley, Birmingham Hockley is a central inner-city district in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies about one mile north-west of the city centre, and is served by the Jewellery Quarter station. Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter continues to thrive in Hockley, an ...

. In the 1880s, the production of bicycle saddles began, the first saddle patent having been filed in 1882. Homepage of Brooks England Ltd. website, Dec. 2012
In a 2014 interview with

Feel Desain Feel Desain is a blog aimed at the creative industries. It features general articles, inspiration, and visual communications related to categories including Adv, Architecture, Art, Design, Digital, Photography, Events, Fashion & Graphic Design, an ...

, a Brooks spokesperson stated that according to family legend, the company began when founder John Boultbee Brooks, a horse saddle manufacturer, tried to use a bicycle after his horse died but found the wooden seat very uncomfortable. As a result, he vowed to set about solving this problem and Brooks was born.

Raleigh Bicycle Company The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England and founded by Woodhead and Angois in 1885. Using Raleigh as their brand name, it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. After being acqui ...

bought Brooks in 1962. When Raleigh collapsed in 1999, Brooks was sold and subsequently went into liquidation. John Godfrey Macnaughtan and Adrien Williams were able to buy the company and keep production in England. In 2002, they sold Brooks to Selle Royal. Leather saddles absorb and are affected by water, unlike synthetic materials. This lets them absorb and evaporate sweat instead of becoming wet, but requires care after use in wet weather. Brooks produce a dressing, Proofide, which they recommend be applied occasionally. The composition of Proofide is mainly

tallow Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...

, and includes some

citronella oil Citronella oil Citronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of '' Cymbopogon'' (lemongrass). The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and gerani ...

, which gives it a characteristic smell. Leather saddles are two or three times heavier than plastic or carbon-fibre designs (although the titanium versions of the Team Pro, Swift and Swallow race saddles are lighter) but, for some riders, the traditional appearance and long-distance comfort make this a worthwhile trade-off.http://www.ebykr.com/brooks-england-eternal-one/ Brooks England: The Eternal One, Feb. 2018 The saddle companies Lycett and The Leatheries were taken over by Brooks. Also, Brooks were amalgamated with Wrights Saddle Co., which they eventually absorbed.

References

External links

*
History of Brooks B17 models and Brooks Swallow design by Hilary StoneBrooks Saddle Model Guide on EbykrBrooks England: The Eternal One on Ebykr
{{Authority control Cycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Companies based in Smethwick Bicycle saddle makers