BROOKS ENGLAND Reviews 20

I recently purchased 3 bikes from an old guard UK bike company. Service, product quality and value were top shelf. Given this experience I choose to stay with UK firms and found Brooks. I’ve ordered several items from them, the last of which I have attempted to return. The process has been miserable and are non-responsive, not anywhere approaching their “100% satisfaction guarantee” I’m forced to conclude that they are pushing me out beyond the return policy window and leaving me with a product I don’t want. Sadly, I find, after the fact, that other reviewers have experienced this same poor customer service. I find Brooks products to be very average. There are many competitors out there (Taikfin and Apidura to name two) who offer both superior quality products and excellent customer support. Do yourself a favor by researching your options before you buy.

Mount and tensioner bolt on my Swift saddle disappeared on a cycling trip in Britanny. As I live only a mile or two from their factory I took it round this morning and they repaired it while I waited and free of charge! Fabulous service. Many thanks to Steven and the team at Brooks.

The website looks very good and also a package offer (basket + bag) aroused my interest. But unfortunately the technology and service is absolutely horrible! The newsletter registration does not work due to a technical defect and you can neither register there nor complete an order. So I wrote to customer service asking for help and after more than 2 weeks I am still waiting for an answer. For bicycle accessories costing over €300, the customer service team should perhaps get closer to the customer. What a pity, I have now ordered from another company and have already received delivery within a week.

Fantastic customer service dealing with a snapped tensioner bolt on an old Brooks saddle (nearly 15 years old). Brooks advised sending it back to the factory in Smethwick where they fixed it and returned without charge . . .I’m very impressed! Many thanks to Steven for his prompt and helpful responses!

Over the years I have tried 10-15 different road bike saddles, and my Brooks C17 is by far the most comfortable (even without padded shorts!). I've read that there are better saddles out there but they cost 2-3 times as much. Do yourself a favor and research Brooks saddles before you make your decision. My now happy skinny old backside said I should write this review, lol

Outstanding customer service dealing with replacement of a broken component on a B17 saddle that was over 10 years old. It will now be fixed and probably offer outstanding comfort for another 10 years! Bravo - buy Brooks and help save the planet! Thanks to Steven for his swift and helpful replies.

Looking for comfort (yes) and longevity (no). My tension bolt broke after 15000km. Absolutely no response from customer services when I contacted them but found a bolt from Spa Cycles that was impossible to insert without a press. The bolt is under such huge tension, no wonder they break. Very disappointed. So much for English excellence!

No communication // poor customer service
I was gifted a Brooks saddle aproximately 8 years ago by my mother who also registered the saddle to take advantage of Brooks' 10 year warranty. One of the rails broke and we have tried to get in contact with customer service via email, the customer service portal, the warranty portal and via Instagram. The only response was on Instagram where I was advised to resubmit the query as there had been some technical difficulties. I did so, but have not heard anything further for over a week. I prompted them on Instagram and this message has also not been responded too. Very poor communication, such a shame!

Awaiting a response after using their website contact form nearly a week ago, for a saddle that has split after 1 month of riding. Not the sort of after care I expected.

Edit 18-05-23

Brooks have got back to me and are replacing the saddle with a brand new one.
Will update this review once new saddle received.

Edit - 19-05-23

New saddle arrived a lot earlier than expected, with complimentary rain cover. Turns out I have to eat humble pie. Excellent service in the end.

Bought an expensive leather backpack .
Faulty stitching.they said its normal on handmade stuff.
Big fail: I am an Italian crafter!
It is not, that's a faulty bag. Quality check failed.
Arrogance is not a good marketing strategy.

Very poor aftercare
Bought a £300 backpack, part broke and they refused to supply another part despite my willingness to pay for it.

Great store for cyclists. Here you will find everything you need! I recommend! Snx to the staff for the quick work.

Brooks is now owned by Selle Royal Group S.p.A., Via Vittorio Emanuele, 119,POZZOLEONE, 36050, ITALY. This is a big company & they believe in doing business with other big companies, DHL is their carrier. There are many thousands of customers who have come to know & hate DHL but their malign influence now turns otherwise respectful businesses into their lackeys. My case. 1st Brooks, a Swift leather with chrome rails bought Jan 2018 from the once great Chain Reaction (since ruined by Wiggle ownership). By far the best of about a dozen saddles I had tried, so when both rails snapped a month ago I didn't look for a warranty claim but just went for the closest saddle with an upgrade. I ordered the Brooks Special Titanium B7, their most expensive product. By the time it was delivered, several days late of course, the experience became immensely irritating. DHL operate by using extortion, they believe in squeezing the customer you see, which is why they always get your email address correct but never your actual home address! They are basically buying our email addresses for resale on the open market. I've a rural address & for people like me, DHL think they can eventually also force us to get in the car, drive to where DHL find a more convenient place, so saving them that cost. So they keep sending emails demanding the correct address while holding onto the product, which they will do for as long as possible (extortion). If you fight back, as I always do, by directing their demands back on the seller (logically they have provided the correct address already) you will find that, for eg. Selle Royal, then lies on behalf of DHL claiming they must have got the address wrong (an impossibility of course), basically enabling extortion. So, a great product (I hope), but companies like DHL are now so big that they play a large part in what was once a simple purchase & deliver contract & use their position to squeeze the customer. I ordered from another company a week later who also use DHL, & guess what? DHL did not have my address again & the rigmarole started over. It is the last time I will buy anything from Selle Royal or from BIKE24 or if I can help it from any business using one of these corrupt delivery agents.

Got one of their bike bags as a gift and after only a few rides. I hit a typical bump on my commute home from work. The thin material ripped open and my very expensive laptop was destroyed. Never have I seen a bike bag fail so easily. The material they used has no business as a bike bag.

Is there anyone who is able to explain the Brooks' Commercial and Distribution strategies?

As for the commercial approach, on the Brooks official website the price of the B67 Aged saddle has been increased by only 20 euros (from 125 to 145 euros); in this way we have a single-rail saddle with non-chromed springs and without clamp at a more expensive price than the B66 double rail with chromed springs and clamp included, and this is the first contradiction.

As regards the distribution criteria the situation is much more serious, at the end of September 2021 is as follows:

- on the Brooks official website the B67 Aged saddle is not available for delivery (out of stock); even the Distributor in Italy does not have one and has no idea when the product will be available again

- The great professionals present on that famous distributive sewer overflowing with junk, tax avoidance and exploitation of labor that normally sell without invoice the second choices (in this case the 'S' version that never buys anyone) learned about the lack of availability and went wild proposing the B67 at almost 190 euros; it is nice to see that when you select the Brooks saddle, the distributive sewer always suggest to buy the carton-Indian-clone available at 20 euro, this is surely the best way to enhance the product and surely the Brooks’ Marketing manager is aware of that.

- and then on Hollandbikeshop you will find the B67 Aged saddle at 74,22 euros, less than the purchase price of the so-called hypothetical official dealers, who will thus have fun trying to sell a saddle to the end user for 145 euros when the same end user can quietly buy at half price.

It is really a shame that a historic and prestigious brand like Brooks has been sold to an Italian company that is managing the activities in this completely wrong way; a company that sells to the end users at a price lower than the price theoretically reserved for retailers deserves nothing more than to fail.

Not only do Brooks make the best saddles, they give the best customer service. When I sent my B17 in for repair (after 30k+ kms) it had some fit issues on return. Straight away, it was replaced. Thank you, Steven and the Brooks team!

I was given the brooks saddle for my birthday. A slight discoloration appeared after 300km. I contacted them and here is a shoutout for Steven at Brooks, he was absolutely superb. I sent some pictures of the old saddle and despite the fact that I had no receipt he agreed to exchange it instantly. The replacement arrived within a few days and I cannot recommend brooks saddles enough. The last time I had one was 39 years ago and they are still without doubt the most comfortable saddles you can buy and worth every penny.

What a lovely customer service team - I had ordered a specific item that was not in stock and would no longer be produced, which was disappointing but the lady who contacted was just so lovely that it did not matter much and she ensured that my refund was arranged without any fuss - thanks.

Wish you were still making red leather saddles though :-(

Their saddels destroy your pants within weeks.