Repairing the leather on my Brooks saddle
06-17-12, 08:33 AM
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Repairing the leather on my Brooks saddle
I took a fall off my bike yesterday and the bike flipped big time and landed hard on my honey brown Brooks saddle. It is only two years old and was so beautiful. Any tips on how to restore it back to its formal glory?
https://pinterest.com/pin/228205906088586445/
https://pinterest.com/pin/228205906088586445/
06-17-12, 08:43 AM
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I wish that you had posted yesterday. I was trying to explain to my 8 year old grand daughter what "patina" means.
That's a perfect example of patina. It's beautification through the normal use and ageing process. If manufacturers could figure out how to fake it, they would. Jeans manufacturers try but they never get it quite right. I'd just give it a touch of Proofide and let it go. It shows the saddle has been both used and loved.
That's a perfect example of patina. It's beautification through the normal use and ageing process. If manufacturers could figure out how to fake it, they would. Jeans manufacturers try but they never get it quite right. I'd just give it a touch of Proofide and let it go. It shows the saddle has been both used and loved.
06-17-12, 08:48 AM
#3
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Was top grain, now its suede?.. in that spot,
I put a ding in my now 35 year old Brooks Pro in the mid 80's ..
[brown-black the only color then ] top center .. now.. I hardly notice it..
Maybe , lay some Proofide on the spot and ignore it .. it is behind you after all.
I put a ding in my now 35 year old Brooks Pro in the mid 80's ..
[brown-black the only color then ] top center .. now.. I hardly notice it..
Maybe , lay some Proofide on the spot and ignore it .. it is behind you after all.
Last edited by fietsbob; 06-17-12 at 08:51 AM.
06-17-12, 08:52 AM
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Find a good cobbler and see if he can buff it for you.
Where does one find these neat little straps or are they homemade?
Where does one find these neat little straps or are they homemade?
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
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06-17-12, 09:52 AM
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First hit on Google search for "bike wine bottle carrier"; looks like the same image:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/72559858...eather-1-frame
https://www.etsy.com/listing/72559858...eather-1-frame
06-17-12, 10:04 AM
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Retro Grouch, I think you perfectly understand my feeling of distraught. After picking my self off the ground and checking over my Mercian, I commented to another rider about my saddle, "Damn, I'd rather have scuffed my frame."
06-17-12, 10:47 AM
#7
You gonna eat that?
06-17-12, 01:28 PM
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First hit on Google search for "bike wine bottle carrier"; looks like the same image:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/72559858...eather-1-frame
https://www.etsy.com/listing/72559858...eather-1-frame
Thanks!!
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
06-17-12, 05:00 PM
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Yeah. Your butt heals for free. Sometimes.
06-17-12, 07:25 PM
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You won't get it back to "new" condition, but I've found that shoe polish followed by SnoSeal (sometimes multiple repetitions) will often get quite acceptable results. The shoe polish provides pigment to the damaged leather so it more closely matches the surrounding leather; the SnoSeal has a solvent that carries the pigment deeper into the leather than would otherwise be the case, and the beeswax in the SnoSeal flattens the knap on the damaged area and seals the pigment into the leather.
This is a 1967 Brooks Professional saddle I received with multiple scuffed areas similar to what your saddle has suffered, and treated with the above regimen (the superficial cracks in the leather were present on receipt and don't affect performance:
This is a 1967 Brooks Professional saddle I received with multiple scuffed areas similar to what your saddle has suffered, and treated with the above regimen (the superficial cracks in the leather were present on receipt and don't affect performance:
Last edited by JohnDThompson; 06-17-12 at 07:30 PM.
06-17-12, 08:15 PM
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I like the shoe polish suggestion. It will certainly help match up the color. And yes, time heals all wounds, or at least lets you get use to them...
06-17-12, 10:25 PM
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Back when I rode a Brooks Pro, I took it to the shoemaker once a year or so after the winter. He was an old Italian craftsman and cleaned and polished it back to near new condition. That saddle saw over 50,000 all weather miles and still looks decent after 45 years.
In my Italian circle back then "shoemaker" was a derogatory term for a poor mechanic. So it was kind ironic that my road bike was cared for annually by a shoemaker. He was also the go to guy for cleat installations (when they were nailed on) and our shop sent all our new shoe buyers to see him.
If there's a decent shoemaker (should be at least 50 years old) around, he can probably clean it up for you. If not, the next best place to find good leather work is in the saddle (horse) trade. The only problem is that folks are used to a monied crowd and know how to charge.
In my Italian circle back then "shoemaker" was a derogatory term for a poor mechanic. So it was kind ironic that my road bike was cared for annually by a shoemaker. He was also the go to guy for cleat installations (when they were nailed on) and our shop sent all our new shoe buyers to see him.
If there's a decent shoemaker (should be at least 50 years old) around, he can probably clean it up for you. If not, the next best place to find good leather work is in the saddle (horse) trade. The only problem is that folks are used to a monied crowd and know how to charge.
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FB
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
06-18-12, 07:31 AM
#13
You gonna eat that?
Note that any shoe products you use on the saddle will come off on any pants you sit on the saddle with.
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Originally Posted by bragi 
"However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
06-18-12, 09:12 AM
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One good reason to wear only black cycling shorts.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FB
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
06-18-12, 11:04 AM
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You gonna eat that?
True.
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
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