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Old 03-26-10, 12:07 PM
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blaise_f
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Join Date: Aug 2008
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Are you guys ready to throw rocks at an infidel?

When 100s of miles and regular Proofide treatments didn't do the job, I was ready to throw my Brooks saddle into the landfill. In desperation, I tried Lon Haldeman's (Race Across America Champion) alleged secret: I soaked the saddle in motor oil for a few hours in the baking sun, wiped it down and have been riding comfortably ever since. That was about five years ago.

Strangely, my next Brooks saddle for another bike didn't seem to need any breaking in. Probably because my butt was what actually needed the conditioning in the first place.
As far as me, I don't use anything on my leather saddles. Something as thin as SAE 30 will surely make your saddle quite soft (this is my untested opinion - grain of salt and all that). Some Brooks come extremely hard, some come quite soft. My last B17 started breaking in around 400 miles, and was an hammock after 5k. My current B67 is so hard that it feels like riding on a steel saddle, but that didn't coerce me to use anything on it. After a few hundred miles, it's now breaking in a tiny bit, and it feels quite comfortable.
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