Mark Chandler wrote:
>
> Greetings CR folks,
>
> I've found it difficult to get Brooks saddles (specifically, the B17)
> back far enough on modern frames/seatposts. Looking at pictures of
> Brooks-saddled bikes from the 1940's-1950's, I see that the seat angle
> is extremely slack. While it's difficult to tell exactly how slack,
> the angles look to be in the very high 60's or very low 70's. I have a
> hunch that the Brooks "geometry" was designed to complement frame
> geometry of the timeframe it was introduced (and vice-versa).
> Some questions:
> * For a typical "road bike" of the 40's-50's, what was the usual frame
> geometry (head/seat angles)?
> * Has Brooks changed their seat frame/rail geometry over the years to
> accommodate more modern geometry (seatposts)?
Well yes, the seat angles in the 1930s were clear down in the mid-high 60s (but also in the low 70s; I'm looking in the California Cycle Supply 1938 catalog for frames), they were using "L" seat posts (picture an upside-down "L") which had a forward projecting tube to slide the saddle along (clamp is rotated to horizontal, rather than vertical). There was also a "T" seat post configuration.
Usually the furthest back you can slide a Brooks saddle on a seat pin with saddle clamp is just short of the seat tube line intersecting the middle of the saddle top. Campagnolo saddle clamp supports have a little relief cut in the front so the rails can be pushed back a little further (front clamp also has a wide "U" shaped opening to accomplish this).
Brooks did make a "Model Campagnolo" version of their B.17 saddle that had narrow, parallel rails to use with the Campagnolo Record seat post (1956 intro) with the narrow clamps. This gave a _very_ large range of adjustment. The drawback that I have experienced in using this saddle is that it can pivot from side to side because the bracing angle of the rails is so narrow.
Chuck Schmidt SoPas, SoCal http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts and Timelines plus Legnano / Bozzi early-1950s catalog, the most amazing piece of bikelit I have every laid my eyes on!)
.