Brooks England Ltd.
Brooks B17 (1898)Founded in 1866 in Hockley, Birmingham, Brooks England is a bicycle saddle manufacturer. According to the family legend, the company began in the 1880s when founder John Boultbee Brooks, a horse saddle manufacturer, tried to use a bicycle after his horse died but found the wooden seat very uncomfortable. The fundamental design of a Brooks saddle is a leather top stretched between a metal ‘cantle plate’ at the rear and a nose piece, to which it is attached with steel or copper rivets.
The Brooks B17 saddle was originally launched in the mid 1890s. In 1905 Brooks introduced a new version of the B17, which is identical to the modern Standard model. From the 1920s to the 1970s it was the saddle of choice for most serious riders across the world. For a bicycle part to be still in production for nearly 110 years is really quite unique.
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