Re: Leather Saddle Repair?

[Tim McNamara]

Steve Sr. > writes:

>> I also noticed that this saddle tended to stretch a lot on use and
> then tighten up once it dried out. I never tightened it while it was
> wet. It would almost stretch so much that it would contact the top
> of the seatpost. Is it supposed to stretch that much?

No.

> Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold
> up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much
> larger copper rivets.

I have two Lepper saddles which are on bikes I don't ride a lot of
miles on. I have several Brooks saddles, one of them- a Team Pro-
I've been riding since 1977 with probably 50,000+ miles on it. It's
my favorite saddle.

[E. Willson]

Take it to a good cobbler. Most likely he will be able to fix it.

HTH,
Ernie

"Steve Sr." wrote:

> My Lepper Voyager saddle has failed after only a little over 3 years
> and about 10K miles. The 3 rivets at the nose of the saddle have
> sheared off but the leather is still intact. The two outside (out of
> 5) rivets at the rear of the saddle are also showing signs of
> corrosion. The saddle has been well maintained with proofhide and
> never exposed to rain.
>
> I suspect that the rivets were weakened by corrosion caused by
> perspiration and our humid summer weather. The rivets used were just
> brass plated steel and once the brass plating was gone the rivets just
> rusted until they were weak enough to shear off one by one.
>
> I also noticed that this saddle tended to stretch a lot on use and
> then tighten up once it dried out. I never tightened it while it was
> wet. It would almost stretch so much that it would contact the top of
> the seatpost. Is it supposed to stretch that much?
>
> Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold
> up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much
> larger copper rivets.
>
> Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.
>
> Steve

[[email protected]]

Tim McNamara wrote:
> Steve Sr. > writes:
>
> >> I also noticed that this saddle tended to stretch a lot on use and
> > then tighten up once it dried out. I never tightened it while it
was
> > wet. It would almost stretch so much that it would contact the top
> > of the seatpost. Is it supposed to stretch that much?
>
> No.
>
> > Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles
hold
> > up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with
much
> > larger copper rivets.
>
> I have two Lepper saddles which are on bikes I don't ride a lot of
> miles on. I have several Brooks saddles, one of them- a Team Pro-
> I've been riding since 1977 with probably 50,000+ miles on it. It's
> my favorite saddle.

If you can't fix your saddle, Thorusa is closing out its lepper ti
leather saddle for $75:
http://www.thorusa.com/lepper.htm

Seems like a good deal.

[Donald Gillies]

Steve Sr. > writes:

>Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold
>up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much
>larger copper rivets.

Maybe you can get some new copper rivets from brooks and fix your
saddle : www.wallbike.com.

Rivet head size does not influence the life the rivet. Older brooks
saddles had small (pea-sized) steel rivets (e.g. regular brooks pro,
not today's brooks pro.) The large head size is to prevent the rider
from feeling the rivets beneath him / her.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

[Zoot Katz]

Thu, 21 Oct 2004 21:56:08 -0400,
>, Steve Sr.
> wrote:

>Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold
>up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much
>larger copper rivets.
>
>Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.

Wallingford sells replacement rivets in three sizes. They're for
Brooks saddles but they might be made to work.

http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/partsandaccessories.html#rivets
--
zk

[Kenneth]

On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 14:06:33 -0400, Steve Sr. >
wrote:

>I don't know what the manufacturer
>does to the leather to soften it up for working and then make it hard
>and stiff for use.

Howdy,

They soak the leather in water...

HTH,

--
Kenneth

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