Since 1866

How the legend began

It all began in 1866. John Boultbee Brooks moved to Birmingham and set up in business making leather goods. The firm of J.B. Brooks & Co. ticked along, without making any really startling progress, and no thought of bicycles whatever, until 1878, when a minor tragedy gave rise to the most momentous of changes in perspective.

Brooks had been commuting to work on horseback all this time, but sadly one morning when he went to its stable, he discovered that his faithful horse had died. So, he borrowed a friend’s bicycle and made his way into the City of Birmingham. Given that pneumatic tyres were yet to be invented, and the saddle of this borrowed machine was carved from solid wood, it will not surprise anyone to learn that Brooks’ first journeys by bicycle were extremely uncomfortable. So much so, in fact, that he was inspired to create something better. The first Brooks leather cycling saddle was born very soon afterward.

The B17, an icon.

The B17 saddle, intended for the touring and trekking cyclist, has been our best selling model for over a century. First introduced in the 1890s, the B17 has survived virtually unchanged, and has firmly established itself as the longest-lived bicycle product in the world.

On the Rivet

It should not be forgotten that in the earliest days of the sport of
professional cycling, Brooks was an enduring favourite among
the world’s fastest bike racers.

Being “on the rivet” means being close to the limits of one’s
capability, pushing the body as hard as one can, in the attempt
to keep pace, or to escape from one’s pursuers.

“On the rivet” has remained in the parlance, long since the
hand-hammered metal rivet itself made its exit from the sport.

Not just leather

The most momentous change: the launch of the Cambium. A range of saddles that bear the Brooks name, but are not made from leather like their antecedents of the last century. Something quite revolutionary, in its own small way. Launched in 2013, the family has been broadened to encompass grips and bar tape, as well as saddles, but it is the saddle that really defines the range.

Essence

It is the dirt beneath our fingernails that proves our skill.
It is our belief in a small number of concrete principles that guides us.

A Brooks saddle, like any of our products must do more than simply appear inventive.
It must embody the spirit of ingenuity entirely.

Saddles we have produced since the 19th century are built in the same way today as they were one hundred years ago.

You could dismantle such a saddle, line up the pieces and jot down a list of parts that would cover no more than three lines.

In so far as it has been possible, we have always used high-quality materials which guarantee the long life of our products.

Vegetable-tanned leather, natural rubber, organic cotton, steel, aluminium and, of course, copper. In the way we combine these elements, we always endeavour to follow the most elegantly effective path.

"It is not the name of BROOKS which makes the saddle good, but the saddle, and its excellence, that makes the name supreme.”

John Boultbee Brooks, The Book for Cyclists, 1921