landsurfer wrote:The Patina of Use ..... be proud of it .....
+1
No ... the standard of the leather Brooks saddles has declined recently .... ever since the Italians got involved in the company
if you want a decent leather saddle, look at the Gilles Berthoud .... they are quality and thicker leather... mine was comfy out of the box (no break in required)
[youtube]K0OeHK6sVEw[/youtube]
That’s a very enjoyable promotional video. Thanks for posting.
Surely that's just not normal? Back when I was commuting all year round, my brown Swift (proofided top and bottom) got wet on a regular basis. I never thought anything of it. After 10ish years there is some slight discoloration on the very tip of the nose which could well be water damage but it's probably not even 10% as bad as what you're seeing over a much larger area.
A saddle that can't be taken out in the rain (once!) and come back looking the same simply isn't acceptable. Good luck with Brooks.
cjchambers wrote:Surely that's just not normal? Back when I was commuting all year round, my brown Swift (proofided top and bottom) got wet on a regular basis. I never thought anything of it. After 10ish years there is some slight discoloration on the very tip of the nose which could well be water damage but it's probably not even 10% as bad as what you're seeing over a much larger area.
A saddle that can't be taken out in the rain (once!) and come back looking the same simply isn't acceptable. Good luck with Brooks.
Well thank you, I don't think it's normal either, and it is genuinely the only time it has seen rain. Rode on it today, looks just the same. I will post Brooks reply if and when I get one.
I often treat my Brooks Pro with a bit of olive oil after rain
It seems to drive out the moisture and keep the leather supple. I've had the Pro for 25 years this year, and apart from a few scrapes to the big copper rivets its as good as new
If Brooks don't 'come good' you can also get leather renovating creams aimed at furniture/ classic car trade. But you shouldn't have to be doing this on a relatively new saddle.
From personal experience and that of many of my fellow cyclists, Brooks are a very good company with excellent after sales. You posted this on Saturday and its now monday so I assume this happened recently. Give then a call and ask their advice. Did you 'proof' the saddle before use?
PeterT wrote:From personal experience and that of many of my fellow cyclists, Brooks are a very good company with excellent after sales. You posted this on Saturday and its now monday so I assume this happened recently. Give then a call and ask their advice. Did you 'proof' the saddle before use?
Yes it happened last week and have used it since about August/September. I proofed the underside and top before fitting, and the top once since. I will give Brooks until the end of the week probably and then phone them, but from what I have heard their customer care is not what it was. Fingers crossed on that one.
For what it's worth I left a Brooks saddled bike outside for 6 months. The saddle broke only 10 years later, but to be fair the leather was still OK. Mine was a black one
Initially I hadn’t thought about returning the saddle until someone mentioned it, I was planning on renovating it in some way, and after reading comments here was going to used renovating polish. I hadn’t considered contacting SJS Cycles, but thinking about it did so and spoke to a helpful Ed, who after seeing a picture of it decided it wasn’t normal wear either and contacted Brooks on my behalf. Very soon Steven from Brooks contacted me and advised me to return the saddle for replacement, no fuss or bother, so no stress involved…which was nice. I posted the saddle on Thursday and the new one arrived this morning, so posted before they received mine, which is pretty impressive, I think. So, a big thanks to both Ed and Steven for excellent after sales service, its always good to know that customer care still exists with some companies. Thanks also all those who commented, and the good advice (mostly) given.
Greetings from Canada. I have four Brooks on various bikes and am a long time touring guy, about 30 years. Given that you are starting with a new saddle, just a little heads up on not overdoing the proofide initial treatment. I've found over the years that if you overdo it, it softens the leather a bit too much, and over time you'll get more sag. They don't need much, so err on a small amount. Long life and long term comfortable riding on a Brooks comes from dimples forming to you, but keeping rest of leather body in good firm, supporting shape. I've ridden my models like yours in long trips and general use and they really don't need much proofide... Mind you I don't ride a ton in the rain and always put on a Brooks rain cover, before getting one always had a plastic bag to use. Cheers
djb wrote:Greetings from Canada. I have four Brooks on various bikes and am a long time touring guy, about 30 years. Given that you are starting with a new saddle, just a little heads up on not overdoing the proofide initial treatment. I've found over the years that if you overdo it, it softens the leather a bit too much, and over time you'll get more sag. They don't need much, so err on a small amount. Long life and long term comfortable riding on a Brooks comes from dimples forming to you, but keeping rest of leather body in good firm, supporting shape. I've ridden my models like yours in long trips and general use and they really don't need much proofide... Mind you I don't ride a ton in the rain and always put on a Brooks rain cover, before getting one always had a plastic bag to use. Cheers
Thanks djb. I'm sure you're right, I certainly won't be over softening it. I and my bike don't often see rain either though we get plenty of it here, I was just unlucky enough to be caught in an unexpected downpour. If I sniff rain again while out riding the cover will go straight on.
While a plastic bag works, the Brooks rain covers are handy because they fit on fairly well shape wise, are comfortable to ride on and the Velcro system is good. I bought a newer one for my wife and it is better than my older one in that there is more material and uses a pull string to tighten, with more material it covers the underside of the seat much more than my older one, which is better if you don't have fenders\mudguards. And the pull string does a good job of cinching up underneath.
Early on I just got in the habit of making sure I always had a plastic bag with me, and then making sure I had the cover with me after I got it.
When camping, I always put plastic bags on seat over night, in case rain or just lots of condensation, just becomes a habit.