The Radavist

After 145 years in the business, Brooks England is closing their doors. It’s a sad day but there’s a beacon of hope at the end of that tunnel. Head over to the Brooks blog to read more.

Brooks England put together a behind-the-scenes video for their newest print ad. I enjoyed watching it as someone who’d love to get into shooting photos for bicycle companies. That ad came out awesome.

Spoke Sniffer is always coming up with weird and obscure bicycle parts. Take these Brooks double toe straps from the 1930’s for your sick path racer. Literally minutes after I started to type up this post, Kyle posted the same image. I guess we both are Flickr fiends. What I wanna see are the toe-strap brake pulls that racers used to use.

Check out more from Spoke Sniffer here.

World renown saddle manufacturer Brooks England had a massive booth at the 2011 NAHBS and I overheard the rep saying that this year there were more Brooks saddles on show bikes than ever before. Bottom line is, Brooks is here for world domination!

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Brooks England booth below.

When I post an Initial Reaction, I get trace amounts of anxiety. What if I post something and everyone bashes it? Well, unlike the bars I was riding, this Brooks leather bar tape has been holding up just fine to daily abuse. Yep, no “Zombie flesh” here, as one commenter pointed out. I’ve actually put a solid month and over 400 miles on this stuff and it’s still alive and kicking.

Check out more photos below.

Brooks will be showcasing a series of new bags at Bread and Butter in Berlin next week. One of the items on their agenda is the Islington Rucksack. Matching Brooks’ aesthetic and functional requirements, the Islington has vintage flair with modern sensibilities. Check out more info at the Brooks blog.

Last week I ripped the shit out of my bar tape and started to contemplate a replacement brand. I have been using Ambrosia wrap for a few months and wanted something with more tactility. I wanted something white and perforated but with a good amount of grip. After seeing the Brooks Leather Bar Tape around, I figured I’d give it a try.

Check out the finished product below.

Photo by Eric Rihlmann

The EF 50mm f1.4 lens is my favorite for this very reason. This is one lovely photo.

Brooks knows that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and #youmighbeacyclistif you only date girls who ride bikes. Looking for something to get the lady cyclist in your life? Check out the new Brooks B18 Lady with matching Plump Grips. Available at select Brooks Dealers.

Tokyo Fixed Gear took some great studio shots of the Vans Vault x Brooks collaboration. If you’ve got big paper, go swoop this! Also, Superb in Boston has a size run in stock if you’re looking for another venue.

Even though I don’t like riding in Vans, I would love to break in that Brooks saddle. The ornament on it is divine and only a few other collaborations come close to matching a creative surface treatment like that. Now the question is: is it worth the price tag? Head on over to NYC Velo to find out how much this pack is retailing for. Ouch!

Well well well. If this isn’t the best thing to come from Brooks in a while then I don’t know what is! First Tracko posted about it then Hypebeast came in with the detailed photos. I’m in love with this plate! I might just have to swoop on one of the saddles for the Nature Boy! As for the shoes, I wrote off Vans as a riding sneaker a while ago. Price for the saddle is €230 and the sneakers is €100.

Diggin it!

While this isn’t the exact saddle I showed you earlier, it is a sample from the project. But from what Maceo from Kinfolk said, there’s no noticeable difference between the two. I took this photo the other day and it gives you a better look at that Brooks saddle Kinfolk made for Wallpaper*‘s International Bike installation.

Pretty killer. I’d ride it!

Previously:
Kinfolk for Wallpaper* Magazine

I was going to do a little write up about the significance of the Brooks Colt saddle but Bens Cycle already did a bang-up job:

First produced in 1979, the Colt became famous among Brooks fans for its strength and durability. The Colt was discontinued amidst mysterious circumstances occurring with the sale of Brooks in 2001, but still remains a common sight on roads and avenues around the globe, a testament to its aforementioned qualities. Oddly many a Colt found its home atop BMX bicycles during this time, an unusual deployment for a Brooks saddle, but certainly not inappropriate.

Today the Colt will appeal to a new generation already romanced by the 80’s retro look, and will therefore be introduced in colours that will appeal to this younger, style-conscious demographic. The Colt is now available in Black, Violet, and Mustard, with Pink and Turquoise being presented at Eurobike 2010. The vibrant colours are achieved through natural vegetable dyes, as are all leathers in the Brooks product line.

I had one on my mountain bike in college and it took a real beating. I’m half considering mounting one on my Bruiser. Joking of course. Grab one here or at your LBS!

Tweed anyone? This year, for the original Tweed Run in England, saddle manufacturers, Brooks England was there to document the fun. Like a flashback to the olden days, over 400 riders showed up on their classic steeds, dressed in timeless tweed and took to the streets of England.

Photo by Graham for Wired Magazine

In an age when most companies are out-sourcing to Taiwan or China, Brooks Saddles continues to hand make each of their saddles at their facility in Smethwick, England. Wired Magazine toured the Brooks factory and has a great gallery showcasing the process. Really awesome photos of hand-made products. Sounds like something up Tracko‘s alley.

I don’t usually get into the whole custom saddle thing. Mostly because I tend to ruin saddles all the time and why spend a lot of money on some “limited” art piece only to trash it in a few months?

I will however say the design intent behind these custom Brooks saddles is really nice. If you watch the Tour every year, then you’ve obviously heard of The Alpe d’Huez. It’s been a stage finish of the tour since ’76. Back when the tour was ridden on steel bikes and no one even knew what carbon fiber was, the racers were all riding Brooks saddles.

Now that time has passed, but Brooks commemorates those racers by collaborating with a wallpaper artist. Dan Funderburgh is an artist from Brooklyn and he used the topography map from the Alpe d’Huez for the design. Dan loves bicycles and I’m sure he was stoked to have Brooks approach him.

Oh hell yes. Limited edition Brooks Saddles! This is rad. First COG now the NACCCs. Not to mention Greg Ulgade killing it with the artwork.

Who’s going? Mr. Fast and I will be there… be very afraid!

Previously:
COG and Brooks