The Beacon Message Board

Recently, the Birmingham Brooks works replaced a broken frame on my neigbour's B17 for £12. They rivetted it on while he waited in reception and in time for our mini-tour in Yorkshire Dales. This B17 was on a second hand Galaxy I bought for commuting in about 1975 and he got it when he bought my "best bike" off me in about 1998. He's used it regularly since for commuting on the tow path and the leather is faded and worn - but still very comfortable. Brooks have become a retro marketing "brand" recently but the virtues of their saddle business still seem to be real. I did a quick check and the frame and Shimano 105 brakes are the only other original bits to survive.

My Brooks Professional has been giving me armchair comfort for the last 15 years and will probably be doing so in another 15 if I last that long. It drew several admiring comments from quite young people (under 50) in the club audax, no doubt seduced by its copper-rivetted charms. Not entirely aesthetically compatible with todays alloy/carbon new geometry machines though