Originally Posted by furballi
No reason to pay big bucks for Proofide. Generic $2 baseball/softball glove oil is just as good and much easier to apply.
...but you will probably shorten the life of the saddle significantly.
Let's guess from 30-40 years to 10? What the oil can do is over condition the leather and make it "stretchy." I suppose if the average price of a Brooks is $100-$150, this equates to $10-15 a year for a "shortened" life.
If a Brooks is kept out of the weather, a very light coat of Proofide on the top once a year is all that is needed. This works out to a few extra cents of expense. IMO, it's worth the extra cost.
Originally Posted by buttstink
yea
i exclusively wear jeans :/ ah well. i was just surprised at how quickly wore out as pastor said. i guess i just wanted to make sure i wasn't doing anything careless.
on a lighter note, this saddle is surprisingly comfortable even after the first ride! i rode for ~2 hours and i thought my ass (our president has not been a good role model
) would be destroyed based on others' experiences. it is a little sore today, only when i sat back on the saddle. i look forward to having the seat broken in.
Just call this C&V CSI! Actually I have member cudak888 to thank for this information. 4-5 years ago, Kurt mentioned in an email, how jeans could be really hard on a Brooks. His sage advice, given at the wise age of 16-17, has been followed ever since.
Some of us have what I like to call
"A Brooks Booty" and every, if not all leather saddles, are comfortable out of the box. I've not met a Brooks or Ideale yet that was hard on my booty. Certainly, the first time or two back on the bike in the spring after a long winter, I'll experience a little saddle tenderness, but by the third ride I'm fine. Of course Brooks are not for everyone. Usually this provides an opportunity to acquire a barely used, and nicely discounted classic.
This Swift titanium is a good example.
