So whilst doing a quick service of my round-town bike (an Elswick Lincoln Imp build up as a fixed-wheel), I decided to remove some of the slack in my lovely Brooks Team Pro saddle. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, there seems to be a rather serious issue – the tension bolt has started to shear through:

(you can just about make out the small crack to the right of the tensioning bolt)

The saddle has seen a fair amount of use (and abuse) over the last three years, but this is clearly not ideal! I have sent off a repair enquiry to Brooks, so I’ll just have to wait and see what they say. In the meantime, I think I’ll swap it for another saddle, since it could be quite uncomfortable if the bolt were to snap whilst riding…

Moral of this story: If you have a Brooks saddle, then take good care of it.