streetpirate

I've had my saddle for about a month and a half now and it developed a sqeak. I've applied the brooks proofide to the bottom and top of the saddle as suggested. Has anyone had the same problem and what did you do to get rid of it?

TallRider

I've also got a relatively new B17 that squeaks sometimes. At first I'd thought it was the seatpost but tried a couple of other different posts and the sound persisted. The saddle was clamped down plenty well, so I'm confident the sound was in the saddle.
I'm pretty sure that proofide application doesn't cause or inhibit the squeaking, but the squeaking is from a metal-on-metal contact area. But I've just been riding with an old Turbo saddle for the past few months and haven't tried to figure out where exactly the sound is coming from.
But I'd like to know if there's a typical pattern with the Brooks saddles.

mycoatl

My B17 squeaks a fair amount, even after 8 months. It may have gotten squeakier over time. I believe it's coming from the tension nut up front. In general, I don't want to mess with it until I need to so I just live with the squeaks.

jjvw

Agreed. If it is the saddle that squeaks, then its coming from the front near the adjustment screw. Put a few drops of chain oil up there. You aren't going to hurt anything. It used to be a cow.

a77impala

Oil and leather don't mix, use a synthetic lube so you don't damage the leather.

YellowstoneYeti

If it is the same squeak that mine had, it was caused by the leather rubbing on the metal frame of the saddle. I liberally applied proofide to the leather/metal contact areas and melted it into the riveted areas with a hair dryer. It stopped the squeak and it hasn't returned despite being caught in the rain a few times.

Grand Bois

I have them on all but one of my bikes and none of them squeak. Maybe I'm just lucky.

top506

Had the same problem on an Ideale. Drip a SMALL amount of neatsfood oil on all the metal/leather contact points on the underside of the saddle and the squeaks will vanish.
Non-petroleum oils have been used on leather for thousands of years with no ill effects; just go easy.
Top

Bikepacker67

No No No!
Wax on, Daniel-san

Beeswax, that is...

dobber

Had a Brooks 17 that developed a squeak after about 3000 miles, and a sprung Flyer that squeaked straight out of the box.

In both cases (the first being a process of elimination and luck, the second being lesson learned) a drip of oil on the tensioning bolt threads and a quick twist of the bolt back and forth banished the squeak from beneath.

countrydirt

Team Pro never squeeks - must be lucky! B-17 is on the MTB, so never hear anything!

jcm

All mine sqeak. It's the leather working against the steel. Embrace it. Sing a cowboy song...

jjvw

Mine gets rhe occasional creak, but never a squeak. Is that what we are talking about?

TallRider

I guess mine is more creak than squeak, too. Am going to try oil on interface of the tensioning bolt (metal-to-metal contact) but I won't be riding on the Brooks again until after Christmas.

HardyWeinberg

I oiled my tensioning bolt yesterday after reading this. Riding home last night, rain/wind too loud to hear over, but this am, blessed silence. Unbelievable!!!

(mine is a conquest, by the way, sprung)

dobber

Boo-rah !!

George

I think when you turn the nut back and forth you are stretching the leather,but who cares as long as you stop the squeak.

HardyWeinberg

I actually didn't move the nut, just oiled around it.

TallRider

What dobber is referring to won't actually stretch the leather. He just turns the bolt back and forth to spread the oil around through the threads contact area. The leather is not under the kind of tension where it would actually be stretched out by tightening and then loosening the bolt a bit. For the leather to physically stretch, you'd need to tighten the bolt and then ride on the saddle for a bit.

dobber

Exactly, I just twitched the nut maybe an 1/8th of a turn each way, enough to break the crud bond and let the oil seep in.

Portis

I've got 3 B17's with over 23,000 miles combined. None of them have ever squeaked. I've had several seatpost squeaks, and pedal squeaks etc., that i have blamed on the saddle only to find out it was NOT the saddle.

jbrams

From women's bike forum:

Here's what Bill (from wallinford bikes, which sells many brooks with an unconditional 6 month guarantee) told me to do:

1. Take the saddle off the bike.
2. Turn it upside down.
3. See the threaded bolt thingy? (in the nose) Wiggle it. The end of that bolt is round, and sits in a cup at the very front of the shackle in the nose. It's meant to move freely within the cup.
4. Did you hear your noise? (it'll be quieter than on the bike, but I heard some of my noise just FINE)
5. If that made noise, drip oil or smear grease into the edges of the cup/bolt at the very front of the nose. (I used T-9, which is Boeing's version of White Lightning.) It will work its way in.

Next:

6. See the funny silver folded thing just aft of the cup and adjustment nut? See how it folds around the end of the bent rod that is the rails and frame?
7. Wiggle whatever you can there. (I wiggled the rail).
8. Did you hear more of your noise? (I didn't.)
9. Whether you did or not, drip some oil in there anyway. Can't hurt.

Finally:

Put the seat back on the bike. Do some of the stuff that you know made the seat creak before. Is it better? Good. Repeat the above as necessary to make you happy.

Still noisy? Call Bill. Some seats are just noisy, for whatever reason. He will try to help you more specifically over the phone, or replace it.

I was just CERTAIN that the noise was coming from under my butt, not from the nose. But it really was coming from the nose, I just felt it under my butt. After riding a few times I can now hear just the faintest little snap again when I'm rocking in the saddle (climbing the Evil Hill of Doom on my commute, bad form I know). Bill said grease was best. I didn't have grease, so I'll just keep applying T-9 until I built up enough wax in the cup to get rid of all the noise.

Proximo

Read the label on a can of Proofide. It's mostly a mixture of tallow and animal/vegetable oil. Natural oils will not damage the leather. As someone else here said, it used to be a cow.

monkeyography

After just 2 months this thing was squeaking with every single pedal stroke and as I rode I would envision the saddle as a person and I would imagine myself throttling that person to death. I tried oiling in every obvious place: all around the spring, and its screws, and all around the front screw, and proofided deep into the cracks between metal and leather, but the squeak was undiminished,

Anyway, the included image shows the magic spot (for my horrendous squeak anyway). Right where that bottom-black-metal-bar curls up around the front bolt, it rubs against the top-black-metal-bar whenever the saddle flexes. Oil exactly there. 100% SOLVED (for now).

Don't try to locate the squeak with the saddle still on the bike, it's impossible to pinpoint the location. Take the saddle off, lie it upside down, press on the springs like you're doing CPR. Lean over and try to pinpoint the squeak while you press. Try not to go mad.

furballi

Put a drop of motor oil or equivalent where there is metal to metal contact. Pay attention to the nose area of the saddle. There should be 9 oiling locations at the nose area. Use a toothpick to facilitate the placement of the oil. Wipe off excess. Lighter oil may need frequent application.