Shortened Brooks Swift saddles - Does anyone know about these?

[GrahamJohnWallace]

I have aquired two shortened Brooks Swift saddles but can't find out anything about them.



Was this ever a standard short model from Brooks? or do you think they have been modified?

The leather is a sligntly different shape on the shortened version and there are no saddlebag loops.


For comparison, here's a photo of a standard Brooks Swift:

 

[Jonny69]

Not saying it wasn’t a thing but I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere.

A standard Brooks doesn’t have those bullet shaped things on the fronts of the rails. I think what you’re looking at is a modified saddle where the rails have been cut and sleeved, but as for why they didn’t make new rails or weld the originals is anyone’s guess.

 

[ferrus]

Having new rails made would’ve been the best approach I suppose, but including the chroming it’s a lot of fiddling. Likewise welding.
This looks like a decently engineered solution to me (assuming it’s a modification)

 

[KermitGKona88]

Say they are prototypes and sell them on eBay for 1 million dollars... Mwahahahahahaha!!!

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It did cross my mind that they may have been made from standard Swift saddles where the leather had stretched that much that it could no longer be tightened. However, neither of the shortened saddles have the saddle bag loops you would normally expect to find at rear of most Swift saddles.

Even stranger, one of the shortened saddles is made from chromed steel and the other from titanium.

The saddle bag loops on a standard length Brooks Swift...

...are missing from titanium frame and chromed steel shortened versions:


Though both shortened saddles have the Brooks Swift logo embossed either side in the leather the titanium version is missing its riveted on Brooks badge and there are no holes in the leather to suggest it has ever had one. Which fits the "prototypes" that never made it into production idea?

 

[ferrus]

Interesting. Are there any signs of the saddle bag loops having been cut off?