Twisted Brooks Swift TI saddle problem

sawston_vulcan

Senior Retro Guru
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The saddle dates from 2012....i am not the original owner and just bought it from another forum.....when i attached the saddle i noticed the front end is twisted see pics below.

I have had many Brooks saddles but no Ti ones......so a few questions [i intend contacting Brooks this week anyway]

[a] Is such twisting normal or is it unusual? [you can see the front top rivet is quite offset] Is it safe or fatally flawed [nothing is loose]?[c] Can a LBS/Brooks easily untwist it? [d] Should i just leave it as it is and not concern myself with the twisted appearance?

1.
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Here you can see the bolt is angled and not straight

2.
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Here you can see the leather looks a bit twisted [saddle held straight on]...the rivet is not square on.

3.
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Here the rails don't look square in relation to the tension bolt.

4.
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Here you can see the rivet is not on straight..the front of the saddle looks like it has a curled lip...the saddle was pointing front and in line with the stem.

5.
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Another shot from the front.

When i set it up on the USE seatpost...i could use a spirit level and get the saddle to be level....so despite the nose being twisted the leather top is straight.....just the nose is twisted.

So, what do you think?
 
My really old one has done it. I think the answer is to back off the tension and see if you can reposition it and re-tighten.

Worst case is you might need to soak the whole thing in hot water to soften the leather, then you'll be able to pull it into the correct position and go through the 'blocking' procedure to ensure the leather dries in the right shape. I've not done it before, but the procedure makes sense.
 
To me, the tension bolt seems wound out a lot if the saddle is only a year old. It looks to be very tight and the tension is skewing the rails over to one side. If its been overtightened it may have distorted the leather. Maybe try loosening it right off and as jonny69 said, soak it in hot water then put back on a low tension while it dries out. Let it dry out naturally, not on a radiator :) Bit of a risk though.

Depends on what you've paid for it but I'd be thinking about a refund.
 
Brooks said the same.....they said and i quote

'The Shackle (the U-Shaped piece) has become dislocated; probably due to incorrect maintenance of the leather tension which has created a generally slackness and has allowed both the Tension Pin and the Shackle to move around.

It SHOULD (he says!) be relatively easy for you to remedy at home. You might need to slacken of the tension by moving the nut all the way up to the head of the tension pin; please make a note of the starting position of the nut, so that you can return it there afterwards. Then, you need to re-locate the shackle so that BOTH of its shoulders are resting on the walls of the metal Nose piece (at the moment one side has slipped off).

If you do have problems with making this repair, then you would best to send it into us to do for you.'


The seller told me he bought it last year and has never tensioned the saddle......Brooks told me when i quoted the number under the saddle as being made in 2010.....the seller has offered me a £30 discount......i paid £110 for it....

i have backed the pin out and repositioned the cradle and the saddle is not skewed now...slight bulge where it was skewed before...but there is play in the pin as perhaps i cannot tighten the nut fully.......so awaiting a further reply from Brooks before i decide what to do...i had the good sense to buy on PP with buyer protection.
 
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