Brooks Swift Ti saddle

The saddle is 6 weeks old and has done a max of 400 miles. I ‘broke’ the saddle in over the last 6 weeks on my commute and a few weekend 30 mile blasts. I did the West Highland Way over Friday and Saturday and by the end of it this is how it looks.

Brooks swift Ti by Rosscopeco, on Flickr

I’m thinking this should qualify as a warranty claim?

Before I jump in with both feet…your collective thoughts would be appreciated.

Looks reasonably fine to me.

And like you’ve ridden it wet a bit.

(Cheeky wee stealth ninja edit)

Looks like you’ve ridden it wet – a no go.

Did you proof it?Looks like its got wet and stretched.

Definitely looks like it’s been ridden wet

you did have your mudguards

good news is that once its dry you can proofide it and tension it up and itll get a few more miles in. Dont tension it when wet or it will shrink when it drys and burst

Looking at the pic you appear to have mudguards which should have helped to keep water off. However that looks like it has stretched after being ridden when wet. Did you proofide the top and bottom of the saddle?

What’s so special about this saddle that it’s worth having but can’t be ridden in the wet?

🙄

I had the same trouble with a standard Swift. I built a robust training bike and a Brooks seemed an obvious choice. After a wet 100km it was sagging badly.
It seems they mustn’t get wet. So if you are on a multi day ride and it gets soaked on day one, you’ll have to abandon or carry a spare saddle.
But actually what you do is spend £200 on the saddle and then another 5p on a Tesco carrier bag.
They are high maintenance. I find it’s okay if I have guards, the thing is treated and a small saddle pack (heavens forbid) helps keep that rare old British thing at bay.
Not sure if it’s rose tinted specs or what, but my old ones were as tough as old boots.

Anyway I let mine dry, with a bit of paper stuck up there. Then tensioned it and added more Proofhide. Mine still looks saggy, but it is comfy and still resides on my winter bike

Edit; I think all we’ve done is speed up the breaking in period, though mine was a delight out of the box. And though I feel your anguish I don’t think a mountain bike is a place for a Brooks.

creamegg – Member
What’s so special about this saddle that it’s worth having but can’t be ridden in the wet

+1

Stylish and British as they are, a saddle should be fit and forget. I’ve long since given up on them though ,my dad still swears by them.

Brooks waterproof covers are £5

I’ve got a cover, and it’s horrible in use.

If you’re sat on it and you have guards it should stay dry, the cover is good for transporting or stops.

They seem like a right old faff! But granted I have never blessed my backside with sitting on one so they may be bliss.

I would have thought some decent waterproofing would be standard, after all you are likely to get sweaty riding too which won’t be good for it.

It looks a bit like a sad dog.

Nips outside to re proof my own Brooks saddle.

The saddle was coated with brooks proofhide 3 times on the top and 1 thicker layer on the underside. I used the propriety waterproof cover when it rainied. As you can just see in the photo mudguards were used and it didn’t get wet. I have 2 x other b17’s and they are the best things since sliced bread…this on the other hand, because the leather has sagged such that the metal frame is ‘protruding’ is the sorest things I’ve placed my arse on!

send it back then.

this is my experiance with the swift also – i have 2 b17s – one is used daily in all weathers and has been great for 4/5 years now.

my swift lasted less than a year before i started taking it off before wet rides !

I had a B17 Champion Narrow in the 70s on a tourer (with mudguards).

It was regularly proofed and lasted about 18 years of steady use.

It weighed over 500g with steel rails and bag loops.

Now I have Flites that are approx 1/3rd of the weight and survive in the mud and wet….and sacrilege….they are more comfortable.

Brooks pander to the retro market with an outdated product made of aesthetically lovely but unsuitable materials.

PaulD

One of these is needed. (Not the mannequin’s head!)

Available from most mediocre to good hotels for free. I can send you one for free, plus £10 P + P 😉

My B17 gets wet regularly – for several hours at a time. It has certainly never gone like that, although I did take care to tension and treat it occasionally over the first few thousand km.

The only issue I’ve really had with it is doing something like Glentress as the grit from the tracks gets ground in to it a bit, removing the surface.

Still the most comfy saddle I’ve ever tried. If they weren’t so heavy and gash looking, I’d have them on more than just my tourer/CXer.

What have the retailer/Brooks said when they saw it?

My own experience is good; have one on my commuter for 4 years (approx. 8,000 miles) in all weathers (full mudguards fitted) and no problems.

Nothing yet…I called the retailer this morning but didnt get through (bank holiday) so I dropped them an email with photos respectfully asking for their guidance. It’s a bank holiday today so i’m guessing they’re off enjoying the weather.

It’s a bank holiday today so i’m guessing they’re off enjoying the weather.

Hope they looked outside and fitted some cheap Charge Spoons… 😉

My brother showed me round the Defender production line when he worked at Land Rover in Solihull; before we went in he warned me that the most frequently-employed tools were the big rubber mallet and the pry bar. He was right – blokes were beating the vehicles together using brute force, so wide were the tolerances.

More recently I saw a magazine article about Brooks saddles somewhere in the Midlands and for a moment I thought it was the Defender line; blokes were hammering rivets and bending bits of steel and shaving bits of cow skin. Then I realised it wasn’t a car factory, it was a medieval chastity belt factory that, with the increase in sexual freedom, had turned to making bicycle saddles using the same medieval technology.

WHAT SHAPE IS YOUR AR*E ?

I think you need to do some glute exercises.

D.

Still the most comfy saddle I’ve ever tried. If they weren’t so heavy and gash looking, I’d have them on more than just my tourer/CXer.

The comfort will be worth more than the weight – even when you are “racing”.

It looks proper painful.

How many miles did you ride it in this state?

I think a warranty claim against damages to your anus would be wise.

I have a Brooks Profesional and it has been on my hardtail for five years without a problem. It gets wet most rides – as I live in the west of Scotland, I proof it once in a blue moon and it is regulaly wet for days on end in the winter when I am in training mode and doing lots of night rides.

Oh, it is also the most comfortable saddle I have ever had.

I’ve had the same problem with my Swift. I think the leather is just too thin on it so it sinks quite quickly as mine is only about six months old. However, it’s very comfy so I’m sticking with it.

WHAT SHAPE IS YOUR AR*E ?

It’s changed somewhat over the last few days!

How many miles did you ride it in this state?

It looked ‘saggy’ at the beginning of the ride so more or less the full 100 miles. Compared to my other B17’s it never ‘felt’ as comfy and I just thought it was still ‘breaking in’…so my thinking was “…this wee trip will break it in for sure…”

I dug out my 10 year old B17 yesterday and swapped it over…what a difference…it’s like sitting in a lazy boy chair. It’s not pretty, it’s ugly, it’s heavy but it’s the comfiest saddle I’ve ever had. What possessed me to get the Brooks Swift I just dont know. Live and learn…

*UPDATE*

Sent the aforementioned dead Ti swift saddle directly back to Brooks with a nicely worded letter extolling the virtues of my other 2 x B17’s and expressing my disappointment re the Ti swift.

A nice new shiny Ti B17 arrived in the post today 😀 It’ll be moulded nicely by the end of next week…after a liberal coating of proof hide 😉

Looks like a warranty claim to me but as i recall they were a nightmare to deal with direct.

I’ve had B17’s and Pro saddles and never came across that, i used mine in all weathers touring Scotland and the like so wet/dry/wet, etc

Strange……