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Anyone got any tips?  All I can think of is clamping the back of the saddle down, softening the leather with water for an hour, and fashioning some device to pull the nose piece forward and stretch the leather so that I can get the front of the bolt in position.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E8Z99Nrh-urE3NtIKzvnaGylSNaouce3/view?usp=share_link

Doing this because the previous bolt snapped on a ride.  I’m not the first this has happened to, you’d think they’d use stronger steel.

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Yeah I’d thought of doing

Yeah I’d thought of doing something like that.  For now I’ve handed it to my very LBS to play with, but a standard hex bolt and nut had occurred to me.  You’d think Brooks would have improved the design by now.  But do they care?  I doubt it.  I have a Selle Anatomica saddle on another bike that is much easier to adjust.

[Woldsman]

As you say, this is a common

As you say, this is a common failure.  The best advice I’ve found (with explanations, photographs and links to appropriate videos) is on the CTC forum thread “Brooks bodge”:

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=147400

I also bought a replacement Brooks tension bolt, and found it impossible to fit because the thread doesn’t tighten close enough to the head of the bolt – it isn’t threaded close to the head.  You need a Brooks factory tool or ridiculously strong hands. 

However, if you can source a suitable non-Brooks bolt you can reuse the nut from the broken bolt, tighten (effectively re-tap) the nut as far as the head of the new non-Brooks bolt.  

Then you can slot the bolt in place within the saddle’s metalwork, hold the nut firmly with the Brooks spanner and turn the M8 bolt anti-clockwise (mine needed a 5mm hex wrench) so that it tensions against the metalwork of the saddle’s nose.  

Carefully read the instructions in the CTC forum thread.  And here is a copy of the invoice for the bolts I picked up.  Around a fiver.

[ edit: here is an Amazon link if you’re interested: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SN3SR1A/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ]

 

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