Refinement
Posted in Inspiration, Latest - February 27, 2010 - tim
Our perception of refinement – a product or product category’s ability to incrementally improve – seems to be on some type of accelerated (if not exponential) curve like we’re used to with Moore’s Law in the tech world.
But some products seem to defy wholesale refinement on a fast track – and these objects tend to be what we often call “classics”.
Take the bike seat (or “saddle” as they were first called). Weird I know, but stay with me.
I ordered a new bike recently to use as a commuter. It’s somewhat special, and I’ll be writing about it after it comes in (it looks like it may be the first in Marin County, which is interesting given how bike-crazy this place is), but that’s not the focus here. While waiting, I’ve been researching various components that might improve on the stock. Typically with a commuter bike the pedals are crap, because most owners have very particular preferences and replace them immediately (as I will), and the seats aren’t much better, for the same reason.
I’d read about Brooks saddles over the years, and admired clearly old and broken in ones on other’s bikes, but I never thought about buying one until I started digging in.
Brooks (their wonderful website is here) was founded in 1866 in England where they still operate a factory that looks almost Dickensian – it’s an anachronism (in reverse) in that places like this aren’t supposed to exist in this day of automation and high tech (great video here).
After a lot of research I finally settled on the B17 Flyer Special, a “classically sprung saddle for long distance trekking and touring” directly descendant from the B66 Champion, first featured in Brook’s 1927 catalogue.
I ordered the B17 from Wallingford Bicycle Parts, a bike shop in New Orleans that I’ve heard about for years who specialize in Brooks saddles and other specialty touring gear. The word was that Wallingford had great service, knew the gear, and supplemented the Brooks warranty with a return policy as retro as the saddle – six months, no questions asked, if you don’t like it. (I’m also keen to support anything in New Orleans post-Katrina. I have lots of relatives there. Go Saints.)
But, if you read the reviews about these saddles what you see is, for the most part, owners who have been delighted with this product that has largely gone unchanged for almost 150 years. There are many Brooks saddles that have been in use for 20-30 years (or more) – transferred from one worn out bike to another, like an old friend. They aren’t “padded”, there is no “gel comfort layer”, there’s nothing really “high-tech” about these things – they’ve just refined quality steel and quality leather, and a hand manufactured process, to a degree where there is just not much room for improvement. Your butt, to put it delicately, literally trains the seat to you (yes, you have to break it in, but that doesn’t take long).
Brooks revels in their history and it’s a beautiful thing to see. 150 years of focus on saddles and bags and you can tell that they’re delighted that their products have not gone the way of most products from the “industrial age” – they’re as relevant, or arguably more relevant, as they’ve ever been.
Wallingford gets this too. In the box when the B17 came was a handful of Mardi Gras beads “guaranteed to have been caught at a 2010 New Orleans Mardi Gras parade!”). I mean c’mon, how “two centuries ago” is that.
The packaging was classic and really well-done, with lots of history on Brooks and how to care for the saddle (including a tin of Proofide – the crazily old fashioned traditional leathertreatment for Brooks saddles – Tallow, Cod Oil, Vegetable Oil, Paraffin Wax, Beeswax, and Citronella Oil), but to have the thing in hand is pretty great. The construction is beautiful and doesn’t even feel like anything you’d buy today. The leather work is simple, the steel springs are steam punk, the brass rivets (especially against the treated leather) are fabulous. It is truly like going back in time.
I’m looking forward to getting the bike in and reporting on first rides with the Brooks. Stay tuned. But I wanted to write this because I was so struck by how nice it was to find such a beautifully designed product – from over a century ago – in the mail. It’s been like opening a time capsule.
And it has revived my faith that some products can be refined to a point where they can effectively fend off “technology” and change-for-change-sake (or more often marketing sake) for a hundred years.
They are refined.
Update: Someone just sent me a new Brooks ad: Made in Downing Street. Love this company…
Update 2: Here’s the bike.
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