MistaMuShu

My brooks is pretty scratched up and showing some faint cracks from being dry. I got the bike used and it basically came like that. I went on nashbar and bought some proofhide, but it doesn't look like the tin is enough for my poor thirsty saddle.

According to Sheldon Brown's page, baseball glove oil and other leather treatments are used to break a brooks in. Is it appropriate to dip my aging brooks into something similar? Would any oil work, e.g. mineral oil? What's in these leather oils that make them special to leather?

jordanb

^ No, that'll make it worse. Those oils are supposed to make the oil softer, not more durable.

Try to get something to seal the leather. I've put paraffin on mine but it seems like it just wore off quickly.

MistaMuShu

On the cap of the proofide: "Ingredients: Tallow, Cod oil, Vegetable oil, Paraffin wax, Beeswax, Citronella oil"

I'm surprised at how little I needed to cover the whole top of the saddle. At first I thought $5 for 40g was a rip off, but now it doesn't seem nearly as bad... Plus the stuff smells pretty good.

Should the bottom of the saddle be treated with anything? I'd hate to use the proofide on the bottom because it's all crusty and gross, but I feel like something should be put there.

cs1

+1
You could do 100 saddles with a can of Proofride. I've done my 2 saddles 3 times each and the can still looks almost full. There isn't a Brooks out there that would use up a whole can in one application.

As for cracks, Proofride won't fix the cracking. It will just keep the leather from getting worse. If the saddle is unuseable, buy a new one. They are very reasonable online. Good luck

Tim

freeranger

Go to any Tack shop (horse goods), or shop the web for some Lexol Leather conditioner preservative. We bought a horse saddle which had been sitting in a barn for some time, covered with dust (which sucked the moisture right out of it), and after cleaning the dust off and using the conditioner preservative, brought it back to just about new condition. Forget what the cost was, but probably cheaper than the Brooks branded product.

TheDL

Zymol Leather cleaner and conditioner (two separate products) works well too. You can find those at Target.