Originally Posted by
onbike 1939
Do you believe everything you read? Proofide will do nothing to speed up the time the saddle conforms to your body. This is marketing bull****. It is in the same category as the retro cardboard box and old-time lettering. Proofide does not penetrate the top surface at all as it is basically a wax. The advice given to apply Proofide to the bottom of the saddle is recent and was only introduced by the new owners in order to pacify American owners who tend to ride without mudguards.
There is too much rubbish spoken about Brooks saddles and much of it by people with little knowledge of them.
Fact: They are made of LEATHER. Not magical Brooks leather but just leather and all the principles concerning leather apply.
Fact: The leather of the saddle is hard because the natural oils have been leached from the leather by the forming process. This means that the internal fibres are not lubricated enough to allow them to slide over one another and so you have a hard saddle. Brooks tells you not to use any substance in order to soften the leather as they rely on your sit-bones breaking the fibres in order to make the indentations required.
Fact: If you have your saddle long enough what happens is that the leather, lacking oils, will begin to crumble and crack and will eventually end up as dust. This does take a long time (20-30 years but will happen.)
As with all leather, wetting it will allow it to become pliable and take a shape. When dry, it is as hard as it ever was. So, unless you enjoy a certain amount of discomfort, it makes sense to use this fact and make the indentations required for your sit-bones while the saddle is wet (the rear part only). This can be done by riding it for a period until the shape is present, or by creating them by other means (even thumb pressure can do it on the B17 Special which has thinner leather than the Pro. If the saddle is allowed to dry, it then becomes just a hard as before.
Don't get so excited!!
I don't know if that's bull or not concerning Proofide, it's is something that Brooks advertises and echoed by many people over many years that have had a lot of experience with either selling Brooks or riding on a Brooks. Like I said in my previous post, I broke in my saddles WITHOUT Proofide, but I know of and heard from many Brooks riders and places on the internet over the course of many years that sell Brooks that Proofide speeds up the breakin process. Unless you know something that thousands of other people are being mislead about or pyschologically believe incorrectly then I suggest following Brooks instructions.
And when you say a Brooks saddle will crumble in 20 to 30 years...SO WHAT?! I've never had a saddle made of any other material come remotely close to that life expectancy! The longest I had a saddle last was 3 years. BUT I have also seen leather saddles on old bikes that sat in storage for over 30 years that were NEVER treated, and though cracked were still rideable.
http://www.esande.net/features/newbrooks.html (picture of a saddle over 100 years old still not cracked or crumbling)
And ONE of the reasons leather saddles are hard and not to be softened by applying oils is due to the fact that bike saddles are basically hammocks and the application of any type of oil will cause the leather to stretch and will sag requiring you to tighten, or retensioning of the saddle more often which in turn will stress the leather eventually leading to saddle failure sooner rather then later, and a leather saddle should rarely need retensioning if it was treated properly. Even overuse of Proofide can and will result in over softening the leather and ruin the saddle. I apply Proofide about once every 6 months, let it dry then buff the saddle.
http://www.esande.net/features/newbrooks.html
Sheldon Brown has breakin treatment instructions on his web site for the Brooks; I don't necessarily agree with his methods but he does state that if the warranty is important for you then follow Brooks instructions. Doesn't mean the Sheldon is wrong just because I disagree with him, it's just a difference of opinion, and since I'm relatively new (5 years with the Swift) at this leather saddle business I've decided to follow Brooks instructions because I spent quite a bit of money for these saddles, and have not been left sorry for doing so. By the way, after 5 years I still haven't had to retension it.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/leather.html
http://withoutdoors.co.uk/browse.php?node_id=1677
http://reviews.ebay.com/The-Care-And...00000000884272