The Brooks Compendium of Cycling Culture, edited by Guy Andrews

The Brooks Compendium of Cycling Culture, edited by Guy Andrews, does exactly what a good compendium should do, and provides a varied and unexpected mix of 'fascinating contributions by leading creatives from a broad cultural spectrum'. Not many cycle brands could be successfully associated with such a quirky compendium, but Brooks is surely one of them.

Italian saddle manufacturer Selle Royal bought Brooks back in 2002; questions are sometimes raised as to whether it is a good thing to allow foreign business to be able to buy a great British business (such as was the case recently with ARM Holdings), but it seems to have been only a positive thing in this case.

Buy The Brooks Compendium of Cycling Culture, edited by Guy Andrews

I feel that Brooks now appreciates its Britishness and considerable heritage more than it ever did, and takes full advantage of it: this compendium of 'riveting stories and curiosities from cosmopolitan Great Britain' is surely evidence of that.

Most of the book is not about Brooks – although it is generally about cycling, in which Brooks has played a part since the beginning. There is a well-illustrated and informative chapter by Guy Andrews that contrasts the development of cycle racing in the UK with that in the rest of Europe; this is followed by a delightful explanation of the less obvious words and phrases that can be used to describe so much of cycle racing – starting (of course) with 'on the rivet'.

Another article gives some background to the charitable aims of the MTN-Qhubeka team, along with the story of Matt Brammeier's Africa Kit Appeal. Like so much else in the book, this was unexpected, informative, and welcome.

As the preface says, 'This book is not solely about Brooks. It's about the world around Brooks', so there is a Brooks presence, but certainly no 'hard sell' of the brand.

The most Brooks-specific chapter is several pages of photographs by Martin Parr showing aspects of the leather saddle production process – which look to be far removed from the beautifully polished and presented end product we know.

The Brooks name also makes an occasional appearance when one is least expecting it. In an excellent chapter by Jack Thurston about the role of the cycle in adventure and touring, we read that 'a good reason for riding a bike with a Brooks saddle is that, if things get really tough, you can always eat it.'

In another chapter there are several pages of inventions that represent 'Great British ingenuity', but only one, the Brooks saddle, 'is still used and loved worldwide in an essentially unchanged form 151 years [later]'.

There is nothing else quite like this book sitting on my bookcase: there are some parallels with Paul Smith's cycling scrapbook, and if you are a fan of Rapha's equally idiosyncratic Mondial magazine you should enjoy this book.

For those who like to comment on road.cc's curious desire to feature the weight of books, you will be pleased to see that this one has been drilled for lightness, with holes in both the cover and some pages. Only kidding: the holes are there to echo the design found on some saddles. Still, it all helps to keep the weight of the book under 1 kg – and not every saddle can manage that!

Verdict

Unusual, entertaining and surprising mix of stories about the culture of cycling and its place in history.