The type of rivets in your saddle is hardly a significant issue. But hand-set copper rivets do look rather nice. And, in theory, they distribute the load better so may make a saddle last longer. When the factory that makes our saddles told us they could install them, I speced them right away. We try to keep making little improvements, just as with the fenders. I think that the models 7 and 8 are now as good as any city bike saddle available.
As we replace models with the new copper-riveted versions we're clearing out the old styles. You can save some money on the older type if you act quickly.
We hope to have our mid-width touring saddle here around the beginning of September. It'll also have copper rivets and be available in brown and black. A mid-width sprung saddle is in the works.
The photo below is of our Model 6 racing saddle.
13 August, 2009
Copper Rivets
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10 comments:
Saddle envy.
Chris,
I know what you mean about the aesthetics, I have an old 1970's B17 with copper rivets (although they don't appear to be hammered) that I really like.
In the pix it appears that the edges of the rivets are above the leather a bit. Is this true? If so, doesn't catching things on them become an issue? The do look nice, though.
Cheers,
hal.
Brooks has two levels of rivet finishing and they clearly do a better job at hammering them flush then the Taiwanese.
Will the number 6 be available in brown?
The Model 6 will come in Brown.
The rivets do sit a little proud, but we have not noticed any problems in use. I will ask the factory to set them tighter on the next run. It's easy enough to tap the edge down with a tiny hammer if it bugs you.
D'oh! I jumped on the saddle deal when I saw you dropped the price to $69, and a day later they're $60. Still a great deal, but damn my impulsive tendencies!
I've had issues with rivets sitting a tad high wearing my shorts a bit, especially with the Swift, which I move around on a bit more.
I saw a leather saddle design not long ago that uses allen bolts to hold the leather to the frame, allowing the skin to be replaced. Might have come in handy for my B67 recently, which snapped off about an inch behind the nose, but I suspect the leather is where 85 percent of the cost lies.
I tried to search the blog, because I thought I remember reading the rails were longer on Velo Orange saddles, addressing one of the problems with Brooks. But I see no mention of this in the item descriptions. Are the rails indeed longer than Brooks?
Our rails are 20-30mm longer than a brooks.
How much does the Model 6 weigh?
Very, very nice equipment! The copper rivets really POP, visually, not literally, of course
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