I obsessively carry the Brooks-prescribed Carradice cover in a back pack. At the least sign of rain, I jump off the bike and cover it with the mystical Carradice.
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/web...ies/11014.html
Like cats, leather reportedly does not take to H2O. However, I also ride horses in Ireland with real saddles. They routinely get soaked but thrive because they are well conditioned by Lexol and Neatsfoot oil and John Power's whiskey (uisce beatha or blessed water ;-)
Now I think it's time for an experiment. I have two Brooks Champion Flyers (my favorites) and two Brooks Conquests (the ultimate MTB saddles) and one Brooks Professional that is definitely not my favorite. (You better not go for an extended ride on the Brooks Pro if you have hemorrhoids ;-).
http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/singl...ngsaddles.html
I think I'll discontinue waxing the Pro with the Brooks' Sacred Proofide and instead give it the same Lexol-Neatsfoot-John Powers treatment that I give my Passier hunt saddle and see how it thrives- or not.
Of course, the ultimate test will be to just let it get a good soaking in a downpour. But that experiment can only be done in Tokyo. On the BU campus, in milleseconds the Brooks Pro would do a disappearing act. Maybe take the Pro into the shower with me-without a showercap ;-)
