KMC X1 Missing Link

[mickeg]

Several years ago when I heard that Brooks discontinued the Conquest model, I wanted another one and could not find a new black one for sale anywhere.  But found a honey one, so bought it.  When I toured, I always used the honey one since I assumed that a tour was teh most likely way to damage or ruin a saddle since it might get wet or damaged in transit.

But now that the honey one has seen several tours, it is getting quite dark in color and is getting quite comfortable.  It might be my most comfortable saddle now.

First photo is in 2012.  Second photo last month. 

It now however has some deep scratches in it.  I carefully packed it in my luggage with clothing surrounding it, but air security personnel ransacked my bag and repacked my saddle next to a sharp part of my Tubus Logo.  The damage is mostly aesthetic, does not appear to be structurally weaker.

That said, I concur that a black saddle looks best on a red bike.  Third photo.

A side note:  The Conquest has returned to the Brooks lineup.

[in4]

Great photos and I agree re. the saddle colours. I rather like the fenderless Nomad look too. Practicalities acknowledged there is something 'authentic' about a Nomad without fenders photographed in a wild place.

[mickeg]

...Practicalities acknowledged there is something 'authentic' about a Nomad without fenders photographed in a wild place.

The only reason that it was fenderless in the above photo was that fitting fenders in the S&S case would have been quite difficult with everything else I was hauling onto the plane.  I wore my down vest onto the plane in part because it had huge pockets that were full of stuff, and wore my bike helmet onto the plane too.

The attached photos shows what happens on a wet day on a gravel road to a fenderless Nomad.  Late in the day so much mud was built up on the rear brake (V brake), that it stopped releasing.  I had to stop and get off the bike to push the brake arms open each time I used the rear brake.  I am not sure but I suspect that my Travel Agent adapter was where there was too much mud building up.

At the end of the day when I got to the campground, I found that the showers were outside.  (There was a partition to block visual view.)  Outdoor shower was great, I just brought my Ortiebs into the shower to clean off the mud.