Butcherd & Tied at www.wallbike.com

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BUTCHERED and TIED

leather saddles modified for form and function

When leather saddles were the main seat on the market, there was a place for the specialist who would modify saddles, including Brooks models, for style, performance, or both.

Cycling historian Chuck Schmidt, of Velo Retro, has taken note of this historical practice. Chuck has modified a new Brooks Swift saddle in the tradition of the British "path racer" or "club racer" from an earlier era.

The nose and back leather on this saddle have been trimmed and the skirts have been laced. The trimming is for style. Chuck reports that the lacing firmed up the saddle substantially.

Chuck uses a single-edged razor blade for the straight cuts. He uses some of these tools for skiving and shaping the edge.

Hacking a B.17

Take a humble B.17 Standard. . .

Apply a little subtle trimming. . .

And VOILA. . . a handsome "Swallowized" B.17!

George Leakos reports that this saddle works fine for his 160# riding weight. No lacing required.

A tight B.17

Elton Pope-Lance wanted to firm up the B.17 Standard saddle on his Rivendell Atlantis, so he laced the sides.

Team Pro with a new profile

George Leakos again.

George says this Team Pro is holding up well after a year of riding.

More Leakos

George just keeps cutting.
His Swift (left) and Professional (right) both came out rather graceful, don't you think?

Split Flyer


Patrick Theaker (biketheak@yahoo.com) modified a Champion Flyer to emulate a Specialized Body Geometry. Patrick says the first impression is one of comfort.

That was Now, This is Then

Hilary Stone, a British cycle historian, listed this modified Campagnolo B.17 on e-bay. (selling price; $265)

Hilary's auction text:

"Offered for sale is a very good/excellent Brooks/Campagnolo Competition saddle complete with the special fittings for use with a Campagnolo Record seatpin. The saddle’s leather is really excellent with just a few marks; his example has been modified at the rear - flattened and trimmed and also trimmed at the front which was a very common practice at the time. The fittings are also in excellent condition. The stampings are there but a little faint. This saddle was introduced in 1959 and has special long rails allowing much greater forward and rearwards adjustment than standard saddles. It was only available for a few years so is now really rather rare."

UNIQUE SPRUNG SWALLOW: from September '05 ebay auction. There were 18 bidders and the winning bid was $218.50.

Listing text: "This saddle was custom made of Brooks parts by Tony Colegrave, official Brooks repairer. Test ridden only, by Mr. Colegrave. The sole example."

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