General Cycling Discussion - Butchered Brooks Saddle.. pics inside...

Heya'll...

I decided to butcher my Brooks Pro Saddle the other day... I think it looks pretty good... The Fixer wanted me to post some pics up, so ya'll can see.. it was pretty easy, just used my handy Dremel tool, an X-acto knife, and some sandpaper.... enjoy




jeff

looks awesome!!! can you fine-grit sand the edges so theyre smoother?

looks awesome!!! can you fine-grit sand the edges so theyre smoother?



Thanks

yeah... I probably will... only had some 100 grit at the house... might need to get some finer grain stuff for later on...

jeff

Ha, Flite-wannabe!
J/K, it looks good. Doesn't look dorky anymore.

Ha, Flite-wannabe!
J/K, it looks good. Doesn't look dorky anymore.

Heehe yeah I thought the same thing... funnier than that... Before the Brooks, I was riding a Flite... maybe that is where my inspiration came from !

jeff

Fixer --

can't i just send my team pro to you and pay you to chop it? Your's are ssssssssoooooooooo pretty

Heya'll...

I decided to butcher my Brooks Pro Saddle the other day... I think it looks pretty good... The Fixer wanted me to post some pics up, so ya'll can see.. it was pretty easy, just used my handy Dremel tool, an X-acto knife, and some sandpaper.... enjoy




jeff


Each to his own, mate. Your term "butchered" is well.....
correct. That is one fugly seat now.

Each to his own, mate. Your term "butchered" is well.....
correct. That is one fugly seat now.


like you said.. to each his own... I think it looks better than the full leather side pieces...

jeff

Where did The Fixer's post go ? I know it was there earlier... now it's gone

jeff

so, what are you actually doing? i know next to nothing about these saddles or the process of modifying them. is this a common thing to do?

so, what are you actually doing? i know next to nothing about these saddles or the process of modifying them. is this a common thing to do?

Wel, if you've seen a stock Brooks leather saddle... you'll see that there is a lot of extra leather onthe sides of the saddle... I just used a Dremel tool, and trimmed it off... saves a touch of weight, and I think it makes it look better...

from what I've read, and the Fixer can help clarify, this was done back in the day with racers... a fairly common practice... The Fixer is the man though.. his look great

jeff

Where did The Fixer's post go ? I know it was there earlier... now it's gone

jeff

OOOps....sorry... I was editing that post and I thought I had sent them a photo of my butchered Conquest sprung MTB saddle as well....but I guess not.... scroll down to "Leakos"

http://www.wallbike.com/content/butchering.html

OOOps....sorry... I was editing that post and I thought I had sent them a photo of my butchered Conquest sprung MTB saddle as well....but I guess not.... scroll down to "Leakos"

http://www.wallbike.com/content/butchering.html

That's great... yer saddles look good... I think I need to fine tune mine a bit.. I did a little more shaving on mine last night right before I took these pics... I noticed when I rode 60 miles on Sunday that if I pushed myself all the way back in the saddle, it had some sharp points before the back section...

a little more sanding and I should be good to go... how do you have your edges ? are the flat, or slightly beveled ?

jeff

a little more sanding and I should be good to go... how do you have your edges ? are the flat, or slightly beveled ?

jeff

Yep, you've got to bevel the edges. The majority of the time spent on this project is sanding the edges smooth and straight, then bevelling. It's looking good...

you know what would look cool? if you somehow crimped on or laced in some copper on the edges.

you know what would look cool? if you somehow crimped on or laced in some copper on the edges.

Thanks but no thanks.......I already have an office side chair with those copper buttons all around the edges.

Thanks but no thanks.......I already have an office side chair with those copper buttons all around the edges.

blig. not button. more like a copper seam on the edge.

you know what would look cool? if you somehow crimped on or laced in some copper on the edges.


might look ok.. but I imagine it would chafe something fierce....

jeff

Years ago some leather saddles had lace holes at the edges & you could put a lace in & pull the 2 sides to-gether ,like a boot, underneath.
Its probaly an optical illusion but those chainrings on your bike look oval ??? or it could be the settings on my monitor !

might look ok.. but I imagine it would chafe something fierce....

jeff


i hadn't thought of that... oh well.

Years ago some leather saddles had lace holes at the edges & you could put a lace in & pull the 2 sides to-gether ,like a boot, underneath.
Its probaly an optical illusion but those chainrings on your bike look oval ??? or it could be the settings on my monitor !


Might be an optical delusion... my old bike had the BioPace Rings... these are Ultegra... :-) I think I shot it a little funky... I notice my stem looks really long and high to me

jeff

I just butchered mine, but I haven't smoothed out the edges yet. Yours looks good.

Although it looks cool, there is no worse smell than cutting leather with a Dremel tool.

I just butchered mine, but I haven't smoothed out the edges yet. Yours looks good.

Although it looks cool, there is no worse smell than cutting leather with a Dremel tool.

tell me about it... I was out in the garage cutting away... had the door to the house open... I hear my wife, "What the hell is that smell, and what are you doing to your new saddle?"

Loads of fun :-)

jeff

That's pretty neat. I couldn't cut a new saddle, though. That would be too painful.

I wonder if it will hold up. I have seen saddles sag after time. Does the Flite have any support under the saddle, or is it just leather suspended between rail and nose?

I wonder if it will hold up. I have seen saddles sag after time. Does the Flite have any support under the saddle, or is it just leather suspended between rail and nose?

No, not leather.....it's a plastic shell covered with leather.

mike for President!

Brooks make a "pre-butchered" saddle, I think its called the Swift.

That's pretty neat. I couldn't cut a new saddle, though. That would be too painful.

I wonder if it will hold up. I have seen saddles sag after time. Does the Flite have any support under the saddle, or is it just leather suspended between rail and nose?

well, the Flite (not this saddle) is plastic, foam, and vinyl covering..

This is a Brooks, and it has no support underneath other than the metal frame that the leather is attached to... if they do sag (which they will over time) there is a nut in the nose that you tighten a bit to stretch out the leather

yeah.. I debated cutting down the saddle for a couple months... I've only had it for 4 months I think... but it has broken in nicely, and doesn;t feel any differently after cutting it down

jeff

Brooks make a "pre-butchered" saddle, I think its called the Swift.

they do.. but they are pretty expensive !

jeff

Brooks make a "pre-butchered" saddle, I think its called the Swift.

Actually it's the 'Swallow'. I think Swifts are shaped rather nicely right out of the box....but I ended up butchering it as well.

adding my pics here, just did this tonight. My bike is now 75% sexier. Thanks for the tips Fixer, and for the inspiration.

That's a nice clean cut. Did you use a dremel tool? Now all you need now is a couple hours of some heavy duty sanding. Those huge rivets and copper rails look darn sexy...

I used a dremel with a fancy carbide blade that was for wood and laminate cutting -- and indeed, the smell is awful.

How much should the edges be beveled? And how fine a grit of sandpaper do you recommend?

nice work... I used 100 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edges... I've starteda bit of the beveling work... but been too busy either riding, or working to finish it...

I did notice on my saddle that the rear points on the side had to be sanded round a bit... they dug into the back of my leg when I pedalled...

great work

jeff