SOLVED: Thanks everyone! I was worried that the saddle would fall apart with further riding in the rain. Glad to hear it won't and that it's merely minor cosmetic wear.

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I recently rode for 1 hour in heavy rain and my 4-year-old Brooks B67 suddenly got worn down to its white inner at the front.
I know rain isn't great for leather saddles, but I didn't expect it to be so extremely damaging. Perhaps it was due to my rain pants rubbing on a soaked-through saddle?

Is there a way to avoid this? I'm spending the year in rainy Patagonia. Do I need to switch saddles?

Thanks for the advice!

Thinks about brooks cambrian saddles if it will be wet a lot

And avoid light colored cycling shorts unless you want a very weird looking outfit.

So true. Leather saddles are for sitting on, not looking at.

+1 this.

Good advice in general for a leather saddle, regardless of whether you've touched it up with shoe polish. There's a reason why traditional bike shorts are black.

This propriety (which I agree with) has a pretty clear cause!

BTW, as a long term (Brooks Team Pro on my Paramount) Brooks rider, I agree with the folks that say put some proofide on in and go. Brown shoe polish if you must, but functionally, you need something waxy like Proofide to keep the thing in good shape, and the white aesthetic is how a leather saddle should look after some use.

Yes. I wouldn't advocate anything beyond a touch up for purely cosmetic reasons since shoe polish tends to soften the leather.

keep a plastic bag over it in the rain,

you have not damaged it by getting really wet yet.

keep riding it , apply proofide underneath,






....

Thanks everyone! I was worried that the saddle would fall apart with further riding in the rain. Glad to hear it won't and that it's merely minor cosmetic wear.

Very, VERY subjective statement there...

You do know what "IMO" means, right?

Yep, sure do. And yet, some opinions are more objective, while others are more subjective. In my subjective opinion, Brooks saddles are not aesthetically desirable.

So redundantly pointing out the subjectivity of my opinion was just an imprecise way of saying that you disagree with it.

Nothing redundant or imprecise about it. As I mentioned, opinions can indeed be more objective or subjective (meaning they are based on more objective or subjective criteria), so my pointing out the subjectivity of yours was simply a polite (and precise) way of revealing my disagreement.

Your comment was redundant because opinions are, by definition, subjective. It was imprecise because you didn't actually state any opposition to the actual opinion I presented. The only question that remains is why either of us should care that our opinions differ. For my part, I don't.

Yeah, no. Opinions are not necessarily, by definition, subjective. Or, at the very least, there is a sliding scale (hence me indicating on which end of the scale yours could be found).

And no, I don't really care what your opinion is. But I do care about how people define and approach their opinions. We seem to live in a time where nobody will ever admit fault, because they can, and will, ultimately retreat behind that shield know as "just their opinion" (and Lebowski might be partially to blame for this). I'm not saying that applies in this particular case, but the phenomenon is real. Not all opinions are created equal.

So yes, all of this to say that I think Brooks saddles, well used or otherwise, are hideous.

What a helpful contribution to the thread.

Hi, Were talking about a saddle right....Proofide and it should be good to go IMHO (In my humble opinion) ....I wouldn't worry about the worn dye and would not use the shoe polish unless I was going to wear black cycling shorts as other have said lighter shorts will stain....JM2C'S (just my 2 cents)
It's all good, it's a saddle after all.
Best, Ben

Thank you for your Post...just trying to lighten things up on this day of thanks.
Best, Ben