At the Brooks factory in Smethwick, England, saddle making brings leatherwork and metalwork together. Experienced workers operate cutting, pressing and shaping machinery. Production is divided into stages: the leather top and metal components take shape separately before being joined into a finished product.
A blank cut from the hide is soaked, pressed into a mould and dried to preserve the saddle’s profile. Its edges are finished, while rivets secure the leather to the metal structure during assembly. The smooth surface and fastenings therefore reveal the outcome of a whole sequence of operations.
Brooks leather saddles use vegetable-tanned leather. As it is ridden, the material gradually adapts to the individual rider’s contours. The factory-made shape is therefore the beginning of the product’s working life: the material continues to change after the saddle is fitted to a bicycle.