IN BRIEF
Wilde Bikes, a small workshop in Minneapolis, is teaming up with Brooks for an exclusive version of the legendary B17 saddle. The leather, a deep burgundy and thicker than usual, comes from dormant stock bought in small quantity. The rails and the hand-hammered rivets are copper, as on the classic B17 Special. The run is limited to 60 units, at $250, sold direct from the United States. The shade echoes the Spelljammer Rando, the burgundy bike Wilde will put on sale in July.
| Model | Brooks B17 Special — Wilde X Brooks edition |
| Colour | Burgundy (dormant-stock leather, thicker) |
| Rails | Copper |
| Rivets | Copper, hand-hammered |
| Run | 60 units |
| Price | $250 (around €230) |
| Distribution | WildeBikes.com (United States) |
| Saddle made by | Brooks England, since 1866 |
Sixty saddles, not one more. Wilde Bikes, a small builder based in Minneapolis, has got its hands on a leftover batch of burgundy Brooks leather and turned it into a special edition of the B17 — the best-known leather saddle from the English brand. A Wilde X Brooks collaboration, designed to go hand in hand with a bike in the same shade.
Burgundy leather pulled from dormant stock
The starting point is the leather. Wilde got hold of a small batch of B17 saddle tops left in stock, in a burgundy colour absent from the catalogue. What sets this leftover apart: the leather is thicker than that of current B17s. A detail that is anything but minor for leather saddle enthusiasts, who look for precisely these more generous tannages.
On a tensioned saddle, the thickness of the leather determines how long it lasts and the way the seat takes shape. Brooks leather gradually moulds to the rider’s anatomy over the kilometres: that is the whole appeal — and the patience — this kind of saddle demands.
Copper and hammered rivets, the mark of the B17 Special
For the rest, the edition takes up the hallmarks of the B17 Special, the model’s top-of-the-range version: copper rails and hand-hammered copper rivets, where the standard B17 makes do with steel. Paired with the burgundy leather, these copper details give the saddle its character.
The B17 is nothing new: it is one of Brooks’ oldest models, the English saddlery house founded in 1866. Its shape and its leather stretched over a metal frame have come through more than a century virtually unchanged. Here, only the colour and the grain of the leather change.
Sixty pieces, and a burgundy bike to follow
The scarcity is deliberate: 60 saddles, sold at $250 (around €230), direct from Wilde’s website. No European distribution has been announced — a French rider will have to order from the United States, with shipping and customs duties on top. At the time of the announcement, the brand said they were in stock and ready to ship.
The colour was not chosen at random. It picks up that of the Spelljammer Rando, the touring bike Wilde is due to put on sale during July. Which brings up an amusing detail: an American workshop pairing a « bordeaux » leather with a « Rando » bike, two nods — intentional or not — to French cycling culture.
