FYI for anyone that hasn't already noticed the resurrection of the B72 model. https://theradavist.com/brooks-b72-review/
I know the B68 gets a bit more attention as the wide, unsprung, single rail model that is plug & play with modern seatpost clamps but I thought this was interesting news to share for anyone that might like to find something of a middle ground between the unsprung models and the large coil springs found on the Flyer/Conquest and other sprung, more upright saddles. Not sure when the new Brooks adapter kit will actually become available as it's not yet on their site (as of earlier this morning) and Radavist only mentions 'next week' with their 11/30 article but seems they'll be obtainable soon. I have an old B72 with a condition pretty much matching that of the one installed on the Ritchey in the photos of the Radavist link. My own came off a mid 70's Raleigh Sports I picked up used. I treated the leather a handful of times and eventually used it on my Clem with a Breezer double rail adapter until it sagged enough to hit the top of the seatpost clamp on even mild bumps. I retired it before it broke rather than keep stretching the old leather with more and more bolt adjustments as a few spots started to crack and flake. I also kind of just like the look of the saddle and unique spring design so wanted to keep an old example intact. We also have a B18 with the same rail and spring design as the B72 on my spouse's three speed (I had sadly slept on the limited Raspberry color when it was available so we only have a brown.) That bike gets much less use lately but I built it up as a nice resto-mod using the best condition parts between our two matching Raleigh's, got rebuilt wheels on the original hubs with new alloy rims, etc. so the new embossed saddle was an additional splurge. My own Sports turned into more of a franken-build but was a fun project, albeit too small and short lived. I had one of the Conquest re-issues but the narrower shape just didn't fit me even on a more aggressive, bar-below-saddle build so I sold or traded away the Conquest. I do not necessarily recall a distinct difference in the suspended feeling between the Conquest and Brooks as much as I did in the overall fit, shape, and design. I have no real need for a new B72 at the moment but might go for the new adapter kit, when available, and play around to see how my old one fits some spare seatposts with the different sets of bolts and see if I find a good match that may offer greater under saddle to top of clamp clearance than I had on the 1-bolt post I used on the Clem with the old B72. Brian Cole Lawrence NJ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e10e30dd-55a3-492e-b8ef-fff9de786302n%40googlegroups.com.
