I find the patterned spandex fabric at a local store (typically bolt ends or remnants). My sister is the person who has the professional sewing machine and the skill with working with stretch fabrics to make them into covers in sizes from preschool bike to oversize cruiser (most other vendors only offer "road" & "MTB"). She charges for her work, but not much.




I pop the staples on the underside of the saddle and peel the old bad cover, trying not to damage the foam padding beneath - some are easy, some are not so easy. Most "bad" saddles typically only have a discolored, ripped, or sun-damaged cover, with the padding largely intact. Even if the padding has deep cracks, once it's recovered and the foam is restrained the saddle typically performs well.


I install the new cover and secure it with thin wire or using the saddle's own retention hardware (the elastic alone won't keep it on for long).


The estimate is that we've saved several nonprofits hundreds if not thousands of dollars from not having to buy new saddles for refurbished bikes, given the ever-escalating cost of seats (even at the wholesale level). And a recovered ergonomic saddle is better than a bare-bones basic seat bought new from a distributor. Plus they're unique and cool.

If kept indoors, they can last for many years, and can last 3-5 years if left outdoors, comparable to store-bought saddles. Intensive use can wear through the cover in several years, such as the ones on my own bikes, but again this is comparable to factory spandex-cover saddles.