Can this Brooks Saddle be saved?
 

Hello all,

I have one of the cheaper Brooks Saddles that has a vinyl top and plastic skeleton. That plastic (as you can see in the pictures below) has begun to crack and the saddle is very uncomfortable as a result of the lack of structural integrity. I was hoping that the rails and springs are close enough to a model that's still in production that I can easily turn the guts of my old saddle, with a few extra parts from Brooks, into a new leather saddle with springs. Below are pictures of the saddle, and some links to the spare parts page on Brooks England. I think I'd be able to turn the saddle into a B66 or a B73 but I'm not sure. Any help is greatly appreciated! Can I turn this saddle into a like-new leather one? Can I fix the cracking plastic?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...83fa766704.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ddb1396d8.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...65220b1a64.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f15ff58998.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4e5bb3a0f0.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...240ee80f82.jpg

Cross post to Classic and Vintage. There are some experts over there

I'll give it a couple days in this sub so I don't have two identical posts going at the same time.

Base frame looks like its in fine shape...


If you can find an upholstery shop (Auto restoration specializing) to take it on , they may be able to rebuild it fully ...

It looks preety good to me. I agree that in a car uphostery shop you can solve the problem

Paging [MENTION=73614]rhm[/MENTION] until that time. :thumb:

Well the rails and clamp are absolutely fine but the plastic underneath the upholstery (which is quite nice still) is cracked quite badly that the saddle sort of caves in when sat on

Were it me, Id disassemble that myself, and either find a suitable sheet of something to cut a replacement for that plastic piece from something like a flexible “cutting board” intended for kitchen use, sheet rubber from a golf cart floor or somesuch, or dare I say it? Some sturdy leather. I think Id pursue the stout rubber sheeting idea first though.
Definitely reparable in any event.

LDPE cut from a (recycled) bottle of auto engine antifreeze?

Hmm. I replied to this several days ago but I guess my erudution was lost in the time it took to upload two photos. So I'll try to keep it short this time.

1. The B66 has a completely different frame than the mattress saddle. They are structurally different, not just different materials. This was what I tried to show with my photos, which I'll try again later.

2. You could probably attach a B66 type leather top to the mattress saddle frame, but I don't think it worth the effort or cost. It wouldn't be a B66.

3. The broken plastic layer has to be the right shape, and I doubt you have any way to form it. So while you can probably source suitable material, that's not the solution either.

4. The best thing to do with this saddle, I think, is: nothing. Use it as is, or toss it. I'm a big believer in fixing things, but I don't think this one is the one to fix.

Tap Plastics had pretty large sheets of LDPE in a variety of thicknesses and colors, back when I lived in Eugene..