B17 Standard

Name: Brooks B17 Standard
Brand: Brooks

accessories

Origin

Brooks was founded in 1866 in Birmingham, England by John Boultbee Brooks, a leather-goods maker who turned to bicycle saddles after (per company lore) his horse died and he was forced onto a punishingly uncomfortable early bicycle. The B17 — a vegetable-tanned cowhide top tensioned over a steel frame — first appeared in the J.B. Brooks & Co. catalogue in 1898 and has been in continuous production with essentially unchanged design ever since, making it the longest continuously produced bicycle saddle in history. Now owned by Italy's Selle Royal Group (since 2002), it is still handcrafted at the historic Smethwick factory in the West Midlands.

Specifications

Weight: kg

The verdict

+Strengths

Genuine 20-50 year lifespan and repairable by Brooks — owners report saddles still in service after 30+ years
Once broken in, exceptional all-day comfort over 100-200+ km thanks to a hammock-like leather flex that moulds to your sit bones
Develops a personalised, individually moulded fit no plastic/foam saddle can match
Holds resale value — patinated second-hand B17s sell near new prices
Works across many upright-to-moderate bikes: touring, commuting, gravel, randonneur, classic city bikes

−Weaknesses

Break-in is genuinely uncomfortable (board-stiff) for the first 200-500 km — many riders quit before the reward
Heavy at ~520 g vs 140-300 g synthetic equivalents
Requires an ongoing care regime — Proofide conditioning, a rain cover, occasional re-tensioning
Vulnerable to weather: soaked or neglected leather can deform permanently and bleed dye onto clothing
Wrong saddle for aggressive aero/race positions and MTB descending (cantle plate can snag); tension nut and bridge are known long-term failure points, and short rails limit fore/aft adjustment