Larry Osborn wrote:
>
> And this just in
> >From deep in my personal e-archives:
>
> At 1:05 PM -0700 6/17/00, I recently acquired a Brooks Professional
> "Select" which
> >were originally made for the Raleigh Racing Team and for a short time, maybe
> >1 1/2 years in '79 and '80, Brooks offered the identical saddle to the
> >public but stopped because of the cost of materials and labor involved
> >(this, according to Elaine O'Donnell, Brooks Sales Dept).
Thanks for that, Larry. The Select does have a lower profile saddle frame than the B.17 or the Professional, so the saddle sits lower on the seat post (less frame weight and more seat post showing). But I have to disagree with Elaine in that there is no more labor or materials involved in the making of a Select than with a large rivet Team Professional of the same period. I think they just didn't sell as well as expected and were discontinued.
One thing I wonder about is the purported use by the Raleigh Racing Team in the '79 and '80 period. I think Brooks was deader than a Dodo in the professional ranks by that time with virtually everyone riding on a plastic and leather saddle by then.
Can anyone come up with a photo of a Professional rider on a Brooks after 1980?
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
.