Lacing A Brooks?
 

I have a Brooks B17 Honey, my first. I see some Brooks come with lacing holes, but mine did not.
I'm 200lbs+ and I'm concerned the flaps might begin to flare out, so I'm wondering if I should make some holes and lace it so the saddle breaks in properly.

Lacing saddles this way went out of style decades ago, though some may do it for a retro look. If you don't go crazy over applying Proofhide, or neatsfoot oil it should break in fine with little or no flaring at the sides.

Yea , no need to Pre Worry .. IF the skirt starts to flare..
Seen a Long distance rider's B17
the leather was hammock-draped quite a bit.. saddle like..
but the sides were not flared.

Gotcha. Thanks.

Not to sound snarky, but you don't lace a Brooks because of style or because it looks retro. You do it for comfort. If you're comfortable, leave it alone. If, depending on your riding position, where you have it situated (fore/aft, etc), and so on, you still have some discomfort, lacing might be the solution. I had mine for a year, with about 5,000 miles on it. Liked it for the most part, but the metal frame at the back was hurting my glutes in the area above (maybe just behind, if I'm in the saddle) my sit bones. I had given the tension screw a couple of turns over the year, things would be OK for a few weeks, then I'd endure pain for a while. I had read that some people laced their Brooks saddles, but then my LBS also suggested it. 4 holes 1/4 in apart just under the Brooks insignia on either side, a heavy shoe lace made for hiking boots, and now the saddle is very comfortable. I still have the advantages of leather hammock saddle, but no frame killing my perhaps ample behind.

The saddles with lacing holes have softer leather. A properly tensioned saddle that maintains its origional hardness should not flare out enough to cause issues. (If you've softened the leather with too much oil of the saddle came into contact with too much liqued it will eventually need lacing to stiffen it.)

Just ride it. If it starts to flare, then revisit the question...

I think you'll be fine as long as you don't over grease the saddle or abuse it (ride it soaking wet etc).

I punched some holes and laced my B17 shortly after I received it due to sides flaring and contacting my inner thighs. My saddle is set a bit higher than even with bars and I suppose that had something to do with it. Anyway, it's worked fine for thousands of miles.

I had no idea that I was being fashionable. :D

I did mine not for any fashion but for more controll of comfort and ride quality. This was to give me an adjustment in addition to the tension bolt.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=262536http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=262537http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=262538http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=262539

you can see I only needed three holes on each side and did it right through the Brooks stamped emblem. It works quite well and I will continue to do this to all my brooks saddles.
My new Imperial comes pre-laced with an elaborte bottom edge multi hole set up.
Check this site for some more tips:
http://wallbike.com/blog/category/modifications/

they had for a while a very good page or two on modding a brooks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45517449@N02/4977732401/

found this here:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-my-Brooks-B17


Sheldon says:
http://sheldonbrown.com/leather.html
[h=2]Tension Adjustment[/h] Most leather saddles have a tension-adjusting nut located under the nose of the saddle. Fortunately, this nut usually requires a special wrench, so most people leave it alone. In almost every case that I know of where someone has tried to adjust the tension with this nut, the saddle has been ruined. My advice is to leave it alone.
If a leather saddle gradually becomes too soft and too wide after many thousands of miles, it is sometimes useful to punch a few holes in the bottoms of the side flaps and lace them together under the saddle frame.
This allows the width and firmness of the saddle to be adjusted to the rider's taste. Some older models came with a row of holes along the lower edge of the side flaps, for this very purpose.
I realize that this sounds like a lot of trouble, but most cyclists who take the trouble find it well worth while--in the end.

I've had a team pro for 12 years and no need for lacing or adjusting the tension nut. If I ever do manage to wear this thing out, it will be a bittersweet accomplishment.

My Imperial came with lacing holes- having them laced makes a world of difference to my riding comfort. YMMV.

My Brooks has 5000 miles or so on it, and it's much more comfortable laced up. It's had a fairly conservative life (usual leather treatment) except for getting caught in a nasty thunderstorm a few years ago. The tightness of the lacing is much more comfortable than sagging in the perineum.