Brooks England: A Timeline of the Eternal Saddle Maker

5 minute read

Founded in 1866 in Birmingham, England to make horse harnesses and leather goods, Brooks pivoted toward bicycle saddles in the winter of 1882-1883 and became the most enduring name in that trade. Its 133-plus-year run under one original name, through military and motor-saddle side ventures, four short-lived saddle sub-brands, changes in ownership from the Brooks family to Raleigh/TI to independent investors to Selle Royal, and chassis materials running from steel to aluminum alloy to titanium, traces the fuller history of the bicycle saddle itself.

Here is a chronological timeline of key corporate and technical events at Brooks England, spanning from 1866 to 2016, based on the sources used for an accompanying Ebykr article on its history, “Brooks England: The Eternal One.”

37 events

1866

Company Founding

John Boultbee Brooks founded his namesake company in Birmingham, England to make horse harnesses and leather goods.

1878–1882

Founder’s Pivot

An oft-cited chain of events, J.B. Brooks’s horse died, he could not afford a replacement, and he borrowed a friend’s bicycle whose saddle he disliked, set the company on its path toward saddle-making.

October 28, 1882

Patent Milestone

J.B. Brooks & Co Ltd. filed its first patent for a sprung bicycle saddle.

winter 1882–1883

Strategic Pivot

The company began manufacturing bicycle saddles, moving on from its original horse harness and leather goods business.

1883–1899

Brand Identity

Black enamel paint on steel was the only chassis finish available on Brooks saddles during this period.

1890

Product Innovation

Brooks issued its inaugural catalog featuring twenty-seven saddle models, including the original B. 70 designed for the sloped backbone of high-wheel bicycles, alongside three ladies saddles and a Climax model.

1896

Product Innovation

The B. 17 was introduced, the model that would go on to become the most popular saddle in the Brooks Classic range.

1900

Product Diversification

Nickel plated steel chassis finishes became available across the saddle line at a 15 to 20 percent premium over enamel, the same year Brooks began producing motor saddles for motorcycles and motorized tricycles.

1901–1903

Product Diversification

Brooks introduced its Zapho sub-brand, the Z. 20, Z. 20L, Z. 21 and Z. 25, as economical loop, coil and straight wire saddles offered only in black enamel.

1903

Product Diversification

Brooks introduced the No. 1 and No. 2 Military Saddles, practical models adopted by His Majesty’s War Office for use on military bicycles.

1907–1935

Product Diversification

Brooks published at least fifteen catalogs dedicated exclusively to motor saddles, covering over a dozen models made for motorcycles and motorized tricycles.

1911

Product Diversification

Brooks produced the Brooks-Triumph saddle, one of several motor saddles made on behalf of specific motorcycle manufacturers.

1913–1914

Product Diversification

The No. 3 Military Saddle was introduced alongside the No. 2 in the Military Saddles range, then reintroduced the following year in the same pairing.

1916

Product Diversification

Brooks military saddles disappeared from civilian catalogs after being co-marketed alongside general cycling saddles through at least 1914, though the No. 2 quietly remained in production into the late 1930s.

1920s

Acquisition

Brooks absorbed the saddle maker Lycett into its corporate family, one of several such acquisitions over the decades.

late 1920s

Brand Storytelling

Brooks began marketing several additional sub-brands, including Challenge, Flexal, Legion and Royal, none of which received coverage in the company’s own catalogs.

1925

Product Innovation

The B. 185 motor saddle was introduced, featuring Brooks’s “supple mattress” skeletal frame system and, a rarity at the time, rubber buffer shock absorbers to dampen high speed pot-hole impacts.

1927

Product Innovation

The B. 28 brought rubber buffer shock absorption from motor saddles onto a bicycle saddle for the first time, while the No. 3 Military Saddle was recast as a Commercial and Carrier Service model.

March 1928

Brand Storytelling

The CTC Gazette is said to have carried a Brooks advertisement declaring, “Brooks Saddles are Guaranteed for Ever,” reflecting the company’s confidence in its saddles by the late 1920s.

1930s

Acquisition

Brooks absorbed The Leatheries Saddle Co. into its corporate family.

1933

Product Innovation

Brooks introduced its only full-aluminum chassis models, the Duralumin Champion and Supplex S. 30 Duralumin Extra Narrow, alongside three new sub-brands, Impervia, Kaydex and Plyflex, offering weatherproof, non-cracking alternatives to its leather-topped saddles.

1934

Brand Identity

Brooks dropped the French-sounding “duralumin” name in favor of “castalumin,” renaming its two full-aluminum models the B. 16 Champion Patent Castalumin Frame and Supplex S. 40/N Patent Castalumin Frame.

1936

Manufacturing Shift

Brooks’s full-aluminum chassis line ended, giving way to hybrid aluminum alloy and steel chassis designs introduced two years later.

1937

Product Innovation

Chromium plated steel chassis finishes made their first catalog appearance, while Kaydex sub-brand saddles disappeared from the line after this year.

1938

Product Innovation

The hybrid-chassis B. 17 Champion Flyweight Narrow and B. 17 Champion Flyweight Flyer were introduced, the lightest saddles Brooks had made to date, the same year motor saddles disappeared from Brooks catalogs entirely.

1940–1949

Corporate Disruption

A ten-year gap in available Brooks catalogs spanned this period, by which point the Plyflex sub-brand had faded from the line, and possibly earlier.

1948

Product Innovation

Brooks introduced its last hybrid aluminum alloy and steel chassis saddles, the B. 27, B. 37, B. 47 and B. 57, featuring stainless steel rails mounted to heat-treated aluminum alloy cantle plates.

1950s

Production Peak

Brooks employed 1,500 workers producing 55,000 leather saddles and 25,000 mattress saddles each week, making it the most productive bicycle saddle manufacturer on earth at the time.

1958

Corporate Reorganization

The Brooks family sold the saddle division of Brooks Industries Ltd. to Raleigh Cycle Company, stepping away from the core saddle business it had run since 1866.

1962

Acquisition

Brooks, under Raleigh ownership, absorbed the Wright Saddle Co., whose product line would go on to form an economy range at Brooks, most notably the B. 15.

1999

Corporate Liquidation

Raleigh and its parent British Tube Investment Group (TI) filed for bankruptcy, leaving the subordinate Brooks/SA saddle division to fend for itself.

1999–2002

Corporate Reorganization

Investors John Godfrey Macnaughtan and Adrian Williams carried the company through this period.

c. 2000

Product Innovation

Titanium chassis were introduced to the Brooks line, with brushed titanium finishes following soon after.

2002

Acquisition

Brooks England Ltd. was sold to the Italian saddle conglomerate Selle Royal, under whose umbrella it remains today alongside brands like Fizik.

2005

Product Innovation

Copper plated steel chassis finishes were introduced on the B. 17 Champion Special and Team Special models.

2013

Product Innovation

Brooks introduced the C. 17, first of its Cambium line, breaking from a leather-only seat top tradition with a vulcanized natural rubber base and stretched organic cotton canvas top.

2016

Centennial Milestone

Brooks marked 150 years of manufacturing in the West Midlands with its 2016 Book for Cyclists, celebrating an unbroken tradition dating to 1866, by which point the company distributed saddles to more than 30 countries.

Join the Brooks England Heritage Discussion!

From the B. 17 to the Cambium C. 17, Brooks saddles have shaped generations of rides. Share your saddle finds, dating questions and restoration tips with the community.

Visit the Brooks England Forum