Smiley
05-05-2004, 02:20 PM
The most eagerly awaited saddle of all time
The greatly anticipated return of THE classic racing saddle, the New Swallow, created by Birmingham based manufacturer Brooks, is causing a wave of expectation throughout the cycling world.
The New Swallow has been faithfully recreated utilising the original patent books and is still stitched by hand, in time honoured fashion. The first Swallow was patented on August 20th 1936, a time when all Tour de France riders used Brooks saddles. Legends such as Girardengo, Bottecchia, Bartali, Coppi and Anquetil all rode Brooks saddles to victory and the coveted yellow jersey.
Back then the arrival of the handcrafted Swallow was heralded as revolutionary as it was the first specific racing saddle, tailored to give greater freedom of leg movement to the sportive cyclist.
The New Swallow features titanium metalwork, although the tensioning plate on the underside of the saddle is still manufactured in steel, and features the original patenting information.
Demand will undoubtedly exceed availability. Each Swallow is extremely labour intensive to produce and as such only 999 will be released worldwide, with an RRP of £175.00. Each new saddle will contain an individual serial number and certificate of authenticity.
The demand for the Swallow has been highlighted by the fact that original models often change hands on auction web sites in excess of £500, as vintage bicycle and componentry collecting increases in popularity. The high end, hand-stitched B.17 Swallow, which was available in the 1950s and was the most expensive saddle Brooks ever produced, is always the most popular saddle with cycling purists. Brooks believe this new issue will go someway to satisfying this exceptional demand.
The new Swallow will retain the word DEPOSÉ, meaning REGISTERED in French, on its tensioning plate. Originally this was added as so many of the saddles were exported to the continent for the use of racers and tourers alike.
Despite the fact that the original manufacturing processes for the Swallow proved to be very labour intensive, the same processes remain in place today. It is impossible to automate such quality.
The skiving, thinning of the leather on the sides of the saddle, to enable that the leather be folded, is undertaken with great care by Brooks’ craftsmen. The leather has to be skived in it’s three dimensional form, subsequent to which it has to be sewn.
The sewing is even more complicated. Each stitch has to bite into the leather. It may not be raised, and the leather has to be dampened to accept each stitch precisely. The stitching is performed solely by Robin Coleman, a member of the Master Saddlers, with over 30 years experience of the manufacture of the highest quality bridle saddles.
Each new Swallow has taken in excess of 90 days to cut, form and manufacture and the result is a saddle of extreme beauty which is true to the spirit and heritage of the world’s oldest established manufacturer of bicycle componentry.
…..ends…..
Brooks Facts
• Brooks was founded in Birmingham in 1866 by John Boultbee Brooks.
• Annual turnover is £1m
• The saddles are exported to over 30 countries world wide
• Brooks produces 80,000 hand crafted leather saddles a year.
• Many of the cycling legends used a Brooks saddle - Girardengo, Bottecchia, Bartali, Coppi and Anquetil and until the 1960’s over 90 percent of the peloton employed a Brooks.
• Brooks has one production facility and 22 employees
For further information, samples or visuals please contact:
Kevin Gannon or James Dunne at
The Impact Agency on 020-7580 1770
kevin@impactagency.co.uk
The greatly anticipated return of THE classic racing saddle, the New Swallow, created by Birmingham based manufacturer Brooks, is causing a wave of expectation throughout the cycling world.
The New Swallow has been faithfully recreated utilising the original patent books and is still stitched by hand, in time honoured fashion. The first Swallow was patented on August 20th 1936, a time when all Tour de France riders used Brooks saddles. Legends such as Girardengo, Bottecchia, Bartali, Coppi and Anquetil all rode Brooks saddles to victory and the coveted yellow jersey.
Back then the arrival of the handcrafted Swallow was heralded as revolutionary as it was the first specific racing saddle, tailored to give greater freedom of leg movement to the sportive cyclist.
The New Swallow features titanium metalwork, although the tensioning plate on the underside of the saddle is still manufactured in steel, and features the original patenting information.
Demand will undoubtedly exceed availability. Each Swallow is extremely labour intensive to produce and as such only 999 will be released worldwide, with an RRP of £175.00. Each new saddle will contain an individual serial number and certificate of authenticity.
The demand for the Swallow has been highlighted by the fact that original models often change hands on auction web sites in excess of £500, as vintage bicycle and componentry collecting increases in popularity. The high end, hand-stitched B.17 Swallow, which was available in the 1950s and was the most expensive saddle Brooks ever produced, is always the most popular saddle with cycling purists. Brooks believe this new issue will go someway to satisfying this exceptional demand.
The new Swallow will retain the word DEPOSÉ, meaning REGISTERED in French, on its tensioning plate. Originally this was added as so many of the saddles were exported to the continent for the use of racers and tourers alike.
Despite the fact that the original manufacturing processes for the Swallow proved to be very labour intensive, the same processes remain in place today. It is impossible to automate such quality.
The skiving, thinning of the leather on the sides of the saddle, to enable that the leather be folded, is undertaken with great care by Brooks’ craftsmen. The leather has to be skived in it’s three dimensional form, subsequent to which it has to be sewn.
The sewing is even more complicated. Each stitch has to bite into the leather. It may not be raised, and the leather has to be dampened to accept each stitch precisely. The stitching is performed solely by Robin Coleman, a member of the Master Saddlers, with over 30 years experience of the manufacture of the highest quality bridle saddles.
Each new Swallow has taken in excess of 90 days to cut, form and manufacture and the result is a saddle of extreme beauty which is true to the spirit and heritage of the world’s oldest established manufacturer of bicycle componentry.
…..ends…..
Brooks Facts
• Brooks was founded in Birmingham in 1866 by John Boultbee Brooks.
• Annual turnover is £1m
• The saddles are exported to over 30 countries world wide
• Brooks produces 80,000 hand crafted leather saddles a year.
• Many of the cycling legends used a Brooks saddle - Girardengo, Bottecchia, Bartali, Coppi and Anquetil and until the 1960’s over 90 percent of the peloton employed a Brooks.
• Brooks has one production facility and 22 employees
For further information, samples or visuals please contact:
Kevin Gannon or James Dunne at
The Impact Agency on 020-7580 1770
kevin@impactagency.co.uk