Challenge Saddle
Bag

Brooks has always worked with leather. You can see that experience in the handiwork of the people working in our Smethwick factory today. While many have been there decades, no employee can claim to have been there since the start. Instead, they carry forward a tradition of leather-working that goes back a century. The vegetable-tanned leather we use in our bags is much like the material used for our saddles, although thinner and more pliable. It is beautiful to look at, maturing over time and developing a patina; the physical story of your product’s prior existence. Leather like this is also strong, a vital consideration when making objects to be used by cyclists. It will withstand many miles in the saddle, many trips to work, many off-the-path diversions.

Our bags are made to last, built on a foundation of 160 years experience in manufacturing, and especially in leather-working. For as long as there have been bicycles, there have been those that sought to use them for hauling, touring, porting and otherwise moving things about. The Birmingham-based leather company of J.B. Brooks was only too happy to provide bags for cyclists, alongside its burgeoning line in bicycle saddles. Indeed, in the Price List of Cycle Saddles and Accoutrements for 1888, there are as many pages dedicated to the company’s bags as there are to seats. The materials and techniques have moved on a bit since Queen Victoria was on the throne and the result is a line of durable and reliable bags that can withstand a great deal.