Brooks saddles and rain and care

Last year, I had a Brooks saddle and thought it was very comfortable.
However, the leather moved away from the rivets, which then became quite
painful. I'm thinking that I did not take care of the saddle. Can you
ride a Brooks in the rain? Do you need to put a cover on a Brooks when
riding in the rain? Also, I never used anything on the saddle. Would
using something like proofide have prevented the leather from separating
from the rivets?

Thanks!

--
Bob in CT
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"Bob in CT" wrote ...
Last year, I had a Brooks saddle and thought it was very comfortable.
However, the leather moved away from the rivets, which then became quite
painful. I'm thinking that I did not take care of the saddle. Can you
ride a Brooks in the rain? Do you need to put a cover on a Brooks when
riding in the rain? Also, I never used anything on the saddle. Would
using something like proofide have prevented the leather from separating
from the rivets?

Thanks!

--
Bob in CT

Just like any good leather, it will last longer if you protect it from the
elements. I usually put a plastic supermarket bag over mine if I'm out in
the rain, and I put on a coat of proofide about once a year, or after it's
gotten wet enough to dull the finish of the leather.
mark

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 14:00:21 GMT, Mark Felber
wrote:


"Bob in CT" wrote ...
Last year, I had a Brooks saddle and thought it was very comfortable.
However, the leather moved away from the rivets, which then became quite
painful. I'm thinking that I did not take care of the saddle. Can you
ride a Brooks in the rain? Do you need to put a cover on a Brooks when
riding in the rain? Also, I never used anything on the saddle. Would
using something like proofide have prevented the leather from separating
from the rivets?

Thanks!

--
Bob in CT

Just like any good leather, it will last longer if you protect it from
the
elements. I usually put a plastic supermarket bag over mine if I'm out in
the rain, and I put on a coat of proofide about once a year, or after
it's
gotten wet enough to dull the finish of the leather.
mark



Thanks, Mark. I'm thinking of getting another Brooks because -- other
than the leather coming away from the rivets, which may have been my fault
-- it's the most comfortable saddle I've owned.

--
Bob in CT
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Bob in CT wrote:
:: Thanks, Mark. I'm thinking of getting another Brooks because --
:: other than the leather coming away from the rivets, which may have
:: been my fault -- it's the most comfortable saddle I've owned.

What makes it so comfortable? I've heard they need two years to get broken
in. And aren't they just leather over a metal frame?

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 10:59:06 -0400, Roger Zoul
wrote:

Bob in CT wrote:
:: Thanks, Mark. I'm thinking of getting another Brooks because --
:: other than the leather coming away from the rivets, which may have
:: been my fault -- it's the most comfortable saddle I've owned.

What makes it so comfortable? I've heard they need two years to get
broken
in. And aren't they just leather over a metal frame?




Mine was fine the first day I rode it, although it did get better over
time. It's hard to describe why it's so comfortable. It just has the
properties of leather, which conforms to you (as opposed to every other
saddle I've had, which has you conforming to it). It is just leather over
a metal frame. It's easily the most comfortable saddle I've had.

After some time of riding, you could see where my "sit bones" hit the
saddle. However, I thought my Brooks (and I had the narrow version,
although I think I'm going for the wider version this time around) was as
good as the saddle it replaced from the first day I rode using it. I'm
thinking of getting the B17 Champion Special:

http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/standardsaddles.html


--
Bob in CT
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On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 10:59:06 -0400, Roger Zoul wrote:

What makes it so comfortable? I've heard they need two years to get
broken in. And aren't they just leather over a metal frame?

Two years is nonsense--my newest, a Champion Flyer, was comfortable from
day one, though a little firm. It was perfect after a week. It's
comfortable because little softer "dimples" form where your bones meet the
saddle. The leather acts like a spring, insulating you from road shock,
but unlike foam, you don't sink in and get your bits squished. The leather
will keep your bum dry and cool in the summer as well.

Though Proofide is nice, I like to use a liquid leather conditioner on the
Saddle a couple of times during break in, but no more than that since you
don't want it to get "too soft"

I protect mine with regular old Kiwi shoe polish and have been using it
for years without a problem.

I had a bike with a Brooks stolen and recovered (and stolen again, grrr) ,
which spent an entire Chicago winter exposed to the elements. The saddle
had been "Kiwied". It needed a little conditioning, but was more or less
fine. Eventually though, the leather did pull away from the rivets a
little because of drying out--I was able to mitigate this with a hammer...


The weak part of a Brooks is the underside, which is highly absorbent.
Fenders are a natural combo with a leather saddle. If you think that
fenders are only good in the wet--I had to remove them temporarily from my
road bike (broke the brake bridge bracket) and found that my chain and
bike in general got filthy 3x faster even in the dry--fenders keep road
dust off of everything as well.

For those who insist on breaking in a Brooks with a hammer or other
violence: don't. I've tried the ball peen method years ago, and it just
broke down and ruined the fibers of the leather. You're better off
conditioning the leather moderately, even though Brooks says not too.

FWIW, all rumps are different, so a Brooks is not the saddle for
everyone--you'll only find out if you try. They're the cheapest thing
around if you consider how long they last. Then there is the "wow"
factor--whenever I ride to my LBS, somebody goes nuts over the Champion
Flyer, usually thinking that it's some weird antique.

-max "mines got springs" o.

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:30:58 +0000, Bob in CT wrote:

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 10:59:06 -0400, Roger Zoul
wrote:

Bob in CT wrote:
:: Thanks, Mark. I'm thinking of getting another Brooks because --
:: other than the leather coming away from the rivets, which may have
:: been my fault -- it's the most comfortable saddle I've owned.

What makes it so comfortable? I've heard they need two years to get
broken
in. And aren't they just leather over a metal frame?




Mine was fine the first day I rode it, although it did get better over
time. It's hard to describe why it's so comfortable. It just has the
properties of leather, which conforms to you (as opposed to every other
saddle I've had, which has you conforming to it). It is just leather over
a metal frame. It's easily the most comfortable saddle I've had.

After some time of riding, you could see where my "sit bones" hit the
saddle. However, I thought my Brooks (and I had the narrow version,
although I think I'm going for the wider version this time around) was as
good as the saddle it replaced from the first day I rode using it. I'm
thinking of getting the B17 Champion Special:

http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/standardsaddles.html

The B17 is a fantastic all rounder, but do consider the Champion Flyer--A
B17 with springs. I've got one on the road bike, and it looks a bit odd,
but feels dreamy.

The springs are very firm, so there's no "doing" factor like some of the
wider and cushier sprung models. What the springs seem to do is soak up
road vibration. You'll get a tiny bit of bounce if you spin really high
rpms (over 70rpm in my experience) with bad form--LOL, the saddle tells
you to "do it in circles" by bouncing.

http://www.wallbike.com/championflyer.html

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:48:15 GMT, maxo wrote:


[cut] I'm
thinking of getting the B17 Champion Special:

http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/standardsaddles.html

The B17 is a fantastic all rounder, but do consider the Champion Flyer--A
B17 with springs. I've got one on the road bike, and it looks a bit odd,
but feels dreamy.

The springs are very firm, so there's no "doing" factor like some of the
wider and cushier sprung models. What the springs seem to do is soak up
road vibration. You'll get a tiny bit of bounce if you spin really high
rpms (over 70rpm in my experience) with bad form--LOL, the saddle tells
you to "do it in circles" by bouncing.

http://www.wallbike.com/championflyer.html


Interesting. I'm also thinking of putting a Brooks on my racing bike,
which is where my previous one was. One problem I had with my last Brooks
was the saddle rails were too short. This is why I ended up sitting on
the rivets -- I would push my butt back to get proper positioning. How is
the Champion Flyer in this regard?

--
Bob in CT
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On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:34:20 +0000, Bob in CT wrote:

How is
the Champion Flyer in this regard?

I'm using it on a slightly relaxed 70s steel frame (don't have a
protractor handy) and have about 15mm of travel left. I don't think it has
any more travel than the regular B17, but it seems to have the same amount
of travel as a cheapie foam saddle I've got laying around.

FWIW, you can get a new post with more setback for a twenty or so, if
you're not wanting uber-fancy. Shop around. My post has very little
setback as it's an odd duck 1979 SR alloy job with two nuts for clamping.

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:30:56 GMT, maxo wrote:

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:34:20 +0000, Bob in CT wrote:

How is
the Champion Flyer in this regard?

I'm using it on a slightly relaxed 70s steel frame (don't have a
protractor handy) and have about 15mm of travel left. I don't think it
has
any more travel than the regular B17, but it seems to have the same
amount
of travel as a cheapie foam saddle I've got laying around.

FWIW, you can get a new post with more setback for a twenty or so, if
you're not wanting uber-fancy. Shop around. My post has very little
setback as it's an odd duck 1979 SR alloy job with two nuts for clamping.


Thanks for the info! I have a LeMond, which has a setback seat post
(though perhaps I could get one with more setback). I'm going to order a
Brooks regardless, as I liked my previous one so much. I think the width
of the "regular" Brooks might be enough to prevent me from going back too
far.


--
Bob in CT
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