I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I first got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I can do with the standard saddle?
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I first got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I can do with the standard saddle?
Ah, old-school Brooks break-in tips. My preferred version is to turn the saddle upside down (close the holes with tape if necessary), pour plenty of linseed oil into it and let it soak in in a mildly warm (75 °C/170 °F/gas mark whatever) oven for several hours. Let it cool down, discard excess oil, apply a new coat of Proofide to the top surface, ride.
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I first got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I can do with the standard saddle?
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I first got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I can do with the standard saddle?
DaveB
Sell it and get a saddle that fits you. If a Brooks isn't comfy in under a hundred miles, it's not the right saddle for you.
"A R:nen" wrote: (clip) pour plenty of linseed oil into it (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Why not neatsfoot oil?
The nearest Hankkija (or Agrimarket or whatever they are called these days) is too far away, if indeed that's even a product that's available in this part of the world. Feel free to use even udder cream for all I care.
In my experience, canola oil works comfort-wise just as well, but its smell is quite persistent.
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
My (very limited) experience is that Brooks' leather quality is inconsistent.
I bought one Brooks saddle that was like a rock - it was so hard I sent it back.
I've been through three others that were pretty much comfortable from day 1 and got totally comfortable within a few hundred miles.
And I have one that's kind of hard (but nothing like "the rock"😉 despite being ridden several hundred miles.
AFIK they were all "standard" and not "pre-aged". -- PeteCresswell
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
My (very limited) experience is that Brooks' leather quality is inconsistent.
I bought one Brooks saddle that was like a rock - it was so hard I sent it back.
I've been through three others that were pretty much comfortable from day 1 and got totally comfortable within a few hundred miles.
And I have one that's kind of hard (but nothing like "the rock"😉 despite being ridden several hundred miles.
AFIK they were all "standard" and not "pre-aged".
Instead of a piece of dead cow, why is a synthetic product, such as the "Lorica" used by SiDi for shoes, not used for saddles? The "Lorica" material does not appear to suffer from wet/dry cycles and is very durable.
-- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I first got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I can do with the standard saddle?
Put the saddle upside down under a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Slather the underside with Proofide. Leave overnight. I use a 2 cm stiff artist's paint brush for the slathering. Proofide will migrate to the riding surface side of the leather. A second treatment in a fortnight maybe called for.
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I first got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I can do with the standard saddle?
"Michael Press" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>,
DaveB said:
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the
other
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was
in
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I
first
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I
can
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
do with the standard saddle?
Put the saddle upside down under a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Slather the underside with Proofide. Leave overnight. I use a 2 cm stiff artist's paint brush for the slathering. Proofide will migrate to the riding surface side of the leather. A second treatment in a fortnight maybe called for.
-- Michael Press
I put Proofide on with an old tooth brush and use a hair dryer to get it to soak in, 15-20 minutes total and I'm done.
I have one early 80s Pro that has leather that's about 1/2 as thick as on my others. It's still pretty hard after all these years.
My experience with about 3 Ideale pre-softened saddles is that they tended to be too soft and started to sag after very little use. I stretched 1 out over an inch with the adjuster trying to get some form back.
I've seen some leather saddles on eBay that had almost 2" of stretch; caveat emptor....
Don't be shy about abandoning the B17 if it isn't fitting you. Life is too short to become fixated on something just because of its obscure (and unwarranted) cachet. Unload it on eBay, maybe somebody will fall in love with it, a total win-win, right? Maybe try some of the other Brooks saddles, the pro is great for me, the B17 not so good.
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the other is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was in a couple of weeks.
My (very limited) experience is that Brooks' leather quality is inconsistent.
I bought one Brooks saddle that was like a rock - it was so hard I sent it back.
I've been through three others that were pretty much comfortable from day 1 and got totally comfortable within a few hundred miles.
And I have one that's kind of hard (but nothing like "the rock"😉 despite being ridden several hundred miles.
AFIK they were all "standard" and not "pre-aged".
Instead of a piece of dead cow, why is a synthetic product, such as the "Lorica" used by SiDi for shoes, not used for saddles? The "Lorica" material does not appear to suffer from wet/dry cycles and is very durable.
Impedance matching. Our connective tissue is made out of the same stuff as leather.
"Michael Press" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>,
DaveB said:
I've got two Brooks B17 saddles. One is the pre-aged model and the
other
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
is the standard B17. I got the pre-aged saddle about a year ago for my roadbike and found it had shaped nicely to me within a couple of weeks riding. About a month later I got the standard B17 for my commuter. 12 months later and it is still not to the shape the pre-aged saddle was
in
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
a couple of weeks.
For both saddles I gave them a coat of the Brooks Proofide when I
first
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
got them and again every couple of months. Is there anything else I
can
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
do with the standard saddle?
Put the saddle upside down under a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Slather the underside with Proofide. Leave overnight. I use a 2 cm stiff artist's paint brush for the slathering. Proofide will migrate to the riding surface side of the leather. A second treatment in a fortnight maybe called for.
-- Michael Press
I put Proofide on with an old tooth brush and use a hair dryer to get it to soak in, 15-20 minutes total and I'm done.
I have one early 80s Pro that has leather that's about 1/2 as thick as on my others. It's still pretty hard after all these years.
My experience with about 3 Ideale pre-softened saddles is that they tended to be too soft and started to sag after very little use. I stretched 1 out over an inch with the adjuster trying to get some form back.
I've seen some leather saddles on eBay that had almost 2" of stretch; caveat emptor....
I used a hair drier but prefer the light bulb. The hair drier is too labor intensive for me.
