Brooks B72 Reissued!

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

FYI for anyone that hasn't already noticed the resurrection of the B72 model.

https://theradavist.com/brooks-b72-review/

I know the B68 gets a bit more attention as the wide, unsprung, single rail model that is plug & play with modern seatpost clamps but I thought this was interesting news to share for anyone that might like to find something of a middle ground between the unsprung models and the large coil springs found on the Flyer/Conquest and other sprung, more upright saddles.

Not sure when the new Brooks adapter kit will actually become available as it's not yet on their site (as of earlier this morning) and Radavist only mentions 'next week'  with their 11/30 article but seems they'll be obtainable soon.

I have an old B72 with a condition pretty much matching that of the one installed on the Ritchey in the photos of the Radavist link.  My own came off a mid 70's Raleigh Sports I picked up used.  I treated the leather a handful of times and eventually used it on my Clem with a Breezer double rail adapter until it sagged enough to hit the top of the seatpost clamp on even mild bumps.  I retired it before it broke rather than keep stretching the old leather with more and more bolt adjustments as a few spots started to crack and flake.  I also kind of just like the look of the saddle and unique spring design so wanted to keep an old example intact.

We also have a B18 with the same rail and spring design as the B72 on my spouse's three speed (I had sadly slept on the limited Raspberry color when it was available so we only have a brown.)  That bike gets much less use lately but I built it up as a nice resto-mod using the best condition parts between our two matching Raleigh's, got rebuilt wheels on the original hubs with new alloy rims, etc. so the new embossed saddle was an additional splurge.  My own Sports turned into more of a franken-build but was a fun project, albeit too small and short lived.

I had one of the Conquest re-issues but the narrower shape just didn't fit me even on a more aggressive, bar-below-saddle build so I sold or traded away the Conquest.  I do not necessarily recall a distinct difference in the suspended feeling between the Conquest and Brooks as much as I did in the overall fit, shape, and design.

I have no real need for a new B72 at the moment but might go for the new adapter kit, when available, and play around to see how my old one fits some spare seatposts with the different sets of bolts and see if I find a good match that may offer greater under saddle to top of clamp clearance than I had on the 1-bolt post I used on the Clem with the old B72.

Brian Cole

Lawrence NJ

[James M]

I have a B72 on my Hunq - I 3D printed (well, had an online service do it) a 2-rail saddle adapter in glass-filled nylon, using this pattern - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3143229.  It's going on 2 years and has worked great.  Awesome that Brooks is reissuing this though and making an adapter!

James in North Jersey

[Roberta]

I ordered the B72 in brown with the saddle sandwich directly from Brooks England.  I signed up for their newsletter and since this was my first direct purchase from them, received a 15% discount.  Shipping  is free at this purchase point.  Also, if you register your saddle with them within three months of  purchase, the two year warranty becomes a 10 year warranty. Because of Mark's nose comment and other rail breaking comments I read on the web, I definitely will be registering the B72.  I have an A Homer Hilsen and a Betty Foy, both with B68 saddles, and I'm planning this saddle mainly for my Betty.

I also ordered a tin of Proofide, not to help with the break in (I just ride saddles to break them in), but possibly later on for water resistance.  Obenauf's has been my go-to in the past but not for this saddle;  if I need to file a warranty claim I wouldn't want it dismissed because of the "wrong" saddle treatment. 

When I get the saddle, I'll post some pictures of it next to B68 and B67 saddles I have.

There is also a thread on the iBob board with some additional information:    https://groups.google.com/g/internet-bob/c/syTF_Oq3Kr0/m/ruwkM3UwAQAJ

Roberta

[Will Boericke]

If anybody is B72 curious and needs the adapter for a modern seatpost, I have one in the parts bin from years ago for $20 shipped.

Will

[Kim H.]

@Roberta -

"Obenauf's has been my go-to in the past"

I have been using Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP for a very long time, years in fact for my leather shoes and my Brooks saddles that I did own.  I recently received in the mail a Brooks B-66 saddle from purchasing it on eBay. It is very dried out to say none the least. Have you every used Obenauf's Leather Oil to restore a leather saddle or other leather goods that you might own ?  I am considering buying some and trying it out to moisturize the leather and bring it back to life.

Thank-you,

Kim Hetzel.

[Will Boericke]

I use SnoSeal myself, hard to imagine having a Brooks warrantee issue as all the ones I own are at least 25 years old!

Will

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[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

After a month long cycling hiatus I finally came around to revisit this topic now that I've received my own Brooks adapter kit (from Brooks directly) and decided to experiment with it on my Clem this week.  It's a costly adapter kit at $50 and unless ordering with other items to qualify for free shipping it was an extra $9 in shipping.  I forget the actual turnaround time but ultimately wasn't very long considering it arrived from Italy and during the holidays.

On the plus side, the two piece shims and multiple bolts/spacers should allow functionality with a variety of posts as it completely eliminates interference with the bolts.

On the downside, the separate shims make installation a little more finnicky and in my limited usage I found with my initial installation the two separate shims allowed some lateral movement and slippage.  I'm using an old chromed rail B72 with some pre-existing warping of the rails/frame from prior usage and it's entirely possible I just didn't tighten as much as I could have but just one short ride and the saddle slipped an went off center.

Upon further inspection and comparison of a couple of my available seatposts, I found that I could fortunately use the other Breezer single piece shim with one of the posts that has more widely spaced front to back saddle clamp bolts.  I'll be making another attempt with this configuration combining the Breezer shim with the longer bolts from the new Brooks kit and think that will work a little better in keeping everything in alignment but I also suspect if pairing the new adapter plates with a newer B72 saddle with the black coated rails it could simply be a better fit with less slippage?  I think between my current post with possible oversized cradle combined with the old chromed and slippery narrow rails and my own avoidance of hamfisting the bolts it may have just been a lackluster fit and adjustment so will report back on whether the reconfigured hardware combo is successful or not with pics, hopefully.

Brian

Lawrence NJ