The Team Pro Design came about as a result of cutting away a little but mostly squeezing the rear cantle plate and then re-rivetting. The Swallow was introduced in 1935 and you can't really cut away a standard saddle to achieve the same result it will simply collapse. Brooks saddles were ridden by most of the continental pros (including Italian and French ones) during the 1950s and 1960s. Their use declined with the introduction of the Unica (and later Unicanitor) saddles but I think were still widely in use into the 1970s. Hilary Stone
John Dunn wrote:
> I don't know for sure, Carlo, but my understanding was that it was the
> Swallow which came to be made by Brooks as a result of racers cutting away
> the skirt of the saddle.
>
Carlo Carr wrote: >
>> In the past I've read that the Brooks Team Pro design evolved from the
> Euro
>> racing tour practice of cutting the skirts away from B-17s to save weight.
>> Was the Brooks Team Pro extensively used by the pros, and if so what for
> what
>> era and type cycle would it be period correct?
>>
>> Is it an appropriate saddle for the '70s Colnago Super, Masi GC, Gios,
>> DeRosa, Bianchi, and other Italian marques?
>>
>> Certainly, the English makers carried Brooks, while surely, the French
> would
>> have sported the Ideale brand.
>>
>> I'd appreciate any input, to help me get a handle on this bit of lore.