Spa Nidd Saddle - How to (rapidly) break in.

[rualexander]

I've experimented with a couple of second hand Nidd saddles.

First one was too hard for ages and I suspected the problem was the plastic/fabric bonded to the underside.
So I took a Stanley knife to it and carefully cut a criss-cross pattern through the fabric underside in the area of sitbone contact.
This really worked quite well and dimples soon appeared and the saddle became reasonably comfortable, and I rode it for a year or two, but the nose-bolt frame eventually broke and I binned it.

The second one, I removed the plastc/fabric underside by heating it and carefully peeling it off as the glue softened from the heat. You can't get it all off but most of it comes off with persistence.
It was pretty comfortable straight away, but it very soon suffered from stretching and needed tightening up, I don't think it would last long before it stretched beyond the adjustment available from the nose bolt. I still have it but on a bike I don't ride much.

[mdskids]

I've experimented with a couple of second hand Nidd saddles.

First one was too hard for ages and I suspected the problem was the plastic/fabric bonded to the underside.
So I took a Stanley knife to it and carefully cut a criss-cross pattern through the fabric underside in the area of sitbone contact.
This really worked quite well and dimples soon appeared and the saddle became reasonably comfortable, and I rode it for a year or two, but the nose-bolt frame eventually broke and I binned it.

The second one, I removed the plastc/fabric underside by heating it and carefully peeling it off as the glue softened from the heat. You can't get it all off but most of it comes off with persistence.
It was pretty comfortable straight away, but it very soon suffered from stretching and needed tightening up, I don't think it would last long before it stretched beyond the adjustment available from the nose bolt. I still have it but on a bike I don't ride much.

Thanks so much for this tip. I was about to give up on my Nidd and sell it, then came across this thread. I'd gone back to using my B17 even though it doesn't really give me enough set-back (and isn't the right colour for the bike!). Wasn't totally convinced by the heat gun approach (I imagine the plastic layer just hardens again after cooling, so you can make sit bone dimples but you're still not getting much in the way of give/flex). Thought the Stanley knife approach was worth a go so have just done it - criss cross scoring under the 2 sit bone areas. Could tell straight away that this is an improvement - a nice bit of give in the right areas and looking under the saddle you can see the slits spreading slightly when you depress those areas. Have to be careful not to cut too deep (ie into the leather). I've worked a bit of proofhide into the sliced areas to help stop water seeping in from underneath. The nice thing is that the rest of the saddle stays stiff, hopefully preventing the premature sagging that seems to be an issue with recent B17s. Only done a short cycle since doing this mod, but even that was enough to feel an improvement.

[jimlews]

I have one of the Spa saddles; an infernally hard and unyielding Warfe. I have also "addressed" the underside (in the region beneath the sit bones); in my case with the grinder attachment of a Dremel tool.
To my surprise, under the textured cloth I found what has all the appearance of two quite thick layers of cardboard! One is brown and one is white. Beneath these is a black layer which I assume is the underside of the leather upper*. I've not yet had the courage to proceed further, because I don't want to put a hole through the top. There is a slight improvement in comfort, but not much.

*Edit: I've just had another look at this and I now think it is probably rubber.

I now no longer think of these as leather saddles but rather as leather covered composite saddles.

[gxaustin]

I have a Wrights saddle from over 40 years ago which I have given up on several times and last used a year or so ago when I used a lot of neetsfoot oil. That worked well for a couple of rides and then reverted. It has a plastic stick on layer unde rthe leather and still hasn't worn in. I wondered about slashing the plastic layer - so I may give that a go.

[WrightsW5]

As kylecycler said, them Selle Italia leather saddles. My Storica was comfortable out of the box, and got better as I rode it, brilliant saddle. I have no experience of the others in the range, nor any info whether they still make them?

[SpaceCaptainTheodore]

I have a Nidd that I have used intermittently over around seven years and which clocked up around 2500 miles without becoming any more comfortable.

The width made it more comfortable for short distances than other saddles I own (I have hips like a matronly rhino's) but on hillier routes and anything over about 25 miles the rigidity was absurdly punishing.

It should, by rights, have broken in. I'm pretty heavy, I've toured on it where it has gone days without drying out, the tension bolt has been at full slack and the side laces removed. Nothing has made a meaningful difference.

I was loathe to get rid of it so, having found some time I decided to remove the backing this morning.

My technique was to undercut the liner at the edges, wrap the loose liner around some long nosed pliers, and torque the bugger off. I managed to remove 95% of the material without damaging the leather.

A note on the 'cardboard' layers mentioned by a previous comment.

The brown layer is not cardboard, it is a leather fibre textile. A lot of shoes billed as 'genuine leather' are made this way and it is one the reasons why, for instance, the uppers on Clarks shoes though visually similar to earlier models tend to fail prematurely. I suspect this bonded layer is what gives the saddle its resistance to deformation.

The white layers is some kind of thick interfacing used between the leather fibre and the out textile layer.

Previously, while winding up the person who gave it me, I demonstrated that I could break two by four timbers against the saddle without leaving any impression. As soon as the bonded underlayers were removed, there was noticeable flex in the leather.

I'm popping the saddle onto the tandem later so I can ease it in on local rides with my children and hope to give a longer term report toward the end of the summer.

The leather surface with bulk of liner pulled off

[bikes4two]

• Shocked by the price of new Brookes (my last one died after 10+ years) I was putting off buying another and was considering one of those from Spa.
  • Having read through this post and having had a new Brooks for my 70th, I'm very glad I delayed my spend at Spa.
  • I've always been lucky with my anatomy and Brooks saddles in that I've had new and used ones over the years and all have been comfortable more or less from the start.

[simonineaston]

I've always thought that hide-top saddles are a complete lottery. Of the many I've had, the wearing-in experience has ranged from a second-hand B72 (instantly awsomely comfy from the first journey) to a brand new Pro, which was painfully hard from day one and never ever got any better...
A Gilles Berthoud I bought in France accidently got a soaking from a torrential overnight rainstorm, followed by a day-long ride on its soggy wet floppyness and I feared it was ruined, but actually it's turned long-term into one of my most comfy saddles. So there's an idea

[gazza_d]

I bought a Spa Wharfe saddle about 18 months ago after the back plate on my 3 decades old Brooks Team Pro cracked.

The saddle has been comfortable from the first ride.

The Spa Nidd I have on a second Moulton and the Brooks both took about a month to 6 weeks to "break in".
So they are indeed a lottery, but that period is worth it. All my leather saddles have been so damn comfortable

Gaz

[JohnR]

Here's a photo of 4 saddles. Left to right:
1. A Nidd with the backing. Over 2000 miles but the sitbone depressions aren't forming
2. A Nidd without the backing. Over 2000 miles and the sitbone depressions are forming
3. A Nidd Open without the backing. Over 1700 miles and the sitbone depressions are well developed
4. A Gilles Berthoud Aravis that's been sat on for 4,300 miles.

The Nidds were all well fed with Neetsfoot oil (which John @ Spa Cycles said would destroy the leather - no sign of that happening!) but I suspect that they needed to be sat on by someone heavier than my 10 stone to soften them up. The Nidd Open became nearly OK. Look carefully and you'll see that the right side depression is better than the left one - I've concluded that my bone structure isn't symmetrical. At that point I decided that I would probably be better off with a slightly narrower saddle and bought the Aravis. This saddle claimed to be pre-softened but must have been baked hard again after the softening. However, the shape was more comfortable from the start but after a few hundred miles I decided that assistance was needed so I smothered it with some of the Berthoud saddle wax and put it in a warm oven to get it to soak in. That helped a lot and I've pedalled all day without significant discomfort to my unpadded backside.

Some months ago, however, I decided to seek perfection and bought the open version of the Aravis. That saddle received the saddle wax and oven treatment before being put on the bike and was close to comfortable from the outset. It's now done over 1,000 miles and is reaching the arm chair comfort stage and has developed the asymmetry I had previously noted with the Nidd Open.

[gazza_d]

but I suspect that they needed to be sat on by someone heavier than my 10 stone to soften them up.

To be fair I am gravitationally challenged which may mean I break saddles in quicker and easier.
Maybe you lot just need to eat more pies

[SpaceCaptainTheodore]

Update from my earlier post - I got impatient and chucked it straight on my road bike

Did my first Imperial century last night without anything that could be meaningfully described as training, nor having quite refound the position I want the saddle in.

My bum, while sore, has been substantially worse over about a fifth of the distance when saddle fit has been poor. Seems that removing the backing has been the answer to my (buttocks') prayers!

[atoz]

My Dad advised a small amount of neatsfoot oil on the underside of my then new B17 narrow back in 1984. It worked, but being caught out in a downpour on Holme Moss (is there any other sort on Holme Moss?) helped a bit. Not sure about the Nidd saddles though.

Every Brooks I've had took some time to break in. My guess is the Spa Nidds will be no exception..