Originally Posted by
LynxTheWizard
I've been using my brooks seats in all kind of weather and they are still going strong.
You need to remember few things though:
1) Use proofide or something similar to "feed" the leather;
2) Don't allow it to stay long hours in direct (and hot) sunlight;
3) If it gets soaked wet, don't apply any kind of treatment, don't use hairdryer or anything similar. Let it dry slowly by itself and only when it's completely dry, apply proofide (or something similar by your choice).
Ahh, number two is what I was referring to when other posters asked "what other things?".
i don't road tour much. Most of my tours are a bit more like bikepacking, and a lot of it is in the desert or prairie. I go into national forests and BLM land and spend my time exploring on fire roads, jeep trails, and the like. I can't use fenders because they tend to get trashed off road when I push my bike through heavy brush. I just go through them too quickly to be economically viable. Mostly sticks get jammed in them and the fenders bend while dislodging said stick.
while avoiding the sun by throwing a t shirt over the saddle when I leave my bike in hot sun is an alternative...that brings up the very reason for my post...in that I'm simply asking if there happens to be a synthetic material saddle on the market that can rival the Brooks in comfort, in order for me to be able to avoid concerns such as shading from sun, cleaning and drying a mud slathered wet saddle to apply wax, etc.
i can understand an answer as simple as "no". I'm as much a proponent of leather saddles as anyone here, but I only really know of two types of saddles, brooks, and the ass hatchet types I have on my race bikes.