Cycling UK Forum

Penny for your thoughts please gentlemen.
My Spa Nidd has started a mini mountain the the back and it's causing a bit of grief. I've hammered it down with a rubber mallet today but fear it'll rise again. At the back of the cutout it's rising like a molehill between certain parts of my anatomy. Not nice.
Any ideas?

Maybe extend the cutout further back?

Persist with the manipulation, and do a little bit of manipulation on a regular basis. Try inserting a screwdriver through the hole, with the handle angled backwards, and rotating it with the shaft pressed firmly on the rear edge of the hole. And add more leather wax or whatever you use to that particular spot to soften it.

I have had similar problems and found that it is possible to lower a small area of the leather top through repeated manipulation of that area.

FWIW, my Aravis Open saddle has a similar hump at the rear end of the slot (or is it an apparent rise as the sit bones form depressions?). However, it's not causing me any discomfort.

Vantage wrote: ↑13 Jun 2023, 11:12am Penny for your thoughts please gentlemen.
My Spa Nidd has started a mini mountain the the back and it's causing a bit of grief. I've hammered it down with a rubber mallet today but fear it'll rise again. At the back of the cutout it's rising like a molehill between certain parts of my anatomy. Not nice.
Any ideas?

PXL_20230613_100826716~2.jpg

As a leather worker, and having a decent knowledge about hides etc you can try manipulating the bulging area, but in all honesty it's down to the fact there is a cut out and the positioning of your sit bones are causing the leather to buckle up at its weakest point. Making it weaker with oils won't stop it entirely, just that as it softens the resting point of the bulge will sag a little. Enlarging the cut will only affect the integrity of the saddle shape further. Some oils such as neatsfoot can affect the integrity of the fibres.

Does it cause you pain or discomfort or is it asthetics?

Definitely pain on long hauls, discomfort on short hauls.
I've given up on it for now choosing to use the saddle which came with the bike.


I miss my brooks

Vantage wrote: ↑23 Jun 2023, 11:48am Definitely pain on long hauls, discomfort on short hauls.
I've given up on it for now choosing to use the saddle which came with the bike.


I miss my brooks

Probably not a bad shout to see if you can get a hardly used Brooks on Marketplace or eBay. That one might just annoy you more and more.