vins0010

I've never had a Brooks leather saddle but one came with a used bike I picked up. To me, it looks like it is in good shape. However, before I try to use/break-in, I want to give it some TLC. What should I do to the saddle before I start using it?

bobotech

Replace it with a Bell wide comfy gel seat.

(Honestly, I have no clue)

Doug64

Get some Brooks "Proofhide", or use some other wax based product to preserve/soften the leather.

Bat56

You might be able to just ride.

Thing with the leather is that the leather fibers will weaken and soften around the previous rider's sit bones.

Is it mis-shaped at all?

Slap some proof ride on it and ride.

davidad

Proof hide it and ride it. The back of the saddle should be a little higher than the middle.

ironwood

It depends on the condition. If it is rock hard, you might have to soften it some with perhaps something like neatsfoot oil. However, this should not be overdone as neatsfoot oil can ruin a Brooks by softening it too much. If there is any give in the saddle don't use neatsfoot oil.
Some Brooks sag too much and need to be tightened by turning the nut under the nose. This is easiest with a special tool sold by Brooks.
Proofhide can't hurt, and will probably help.

If this is too complicated you can send the saddle to me.

vins0010

I'll give the Proofhide a shot. Looks like it is a Brooks "Professional" and isn't in bad shape. It certainly isn't misshapen or anything. Not sure how supple it is though...with no frame of reference. It is hard...but, it is also a saddle, not a jacket. I'll get the Proofhide, get it well treated with that, then probably increase the tension just a little, then ride on the thing and see how it goes. The bike I have this on is an '83 Trek 520 I'm using. These saddles seem to be pretty expensive new. I'm kind of surprised it found its way to me on a used bike.

hagen2456

Don't. Use. Oil.

It will over-soften the saddle, and you don't want that. Or - you may think you do, but you will regret it. And don't use grease, either, or only in very small amounts.

Is your saddle hard? That's a good sign. Is the surface full of small cracks? Bad sign. (Small "lines" are all right, more or less)

Is it mis-shaped, not fitting your own personal behind? Hammock-shaped, even? Block it, shaping it to the size you want (which should, really, be as close to the original as possible): https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk...-blocking.html

I was adviced to only block it once, as it may become too soft if you repeat it. So, once blocked, take good care of it, and don't let it become soaked, neither from the top nor from the bottom.

ironwood

There are a lot of threads about Brooks saddles on the C&V Forum. Use the search thread and you'll find all you want on Brooks saddles. Sheldon Brown's site has a lot about Brooks saddles.For some riders they are perfect. For others not so much. We are all somewhat unique as far as anatomy is concerned.

cny-bikeman

Ride it. If it works now, great. If it doesn't and it shows no signs of wear, deterioration or breaking in AND you are willing to give it a try, then go the Proofhide route. If it is uncomfortable or you are not willing to break it in then get a different saddle. I recommend purchasing one locally from a shop that has an exchange policy.

JohnDThompson 

1) Ride it. Chances are it will be just fine as is.

2) If the leather is dry and/or cracking, a sparing application of Proofide or SnoSeal is appropriate. Don't go overboard. Once or twice per season is plenty.

3) Don't muck with the tension bolt.

4) Avoid neat's foot oil and other oil-based products. These are for softening leather in products like baseball gloves and shoes, not for leather that needs to support your body weight like a saddle. You will significantly shorten your saddles life by using an oil-based product. Properly treated, a leather saddle should last at least as long as its rider. I have half a dozen or so Brooks and Ideale saddles in service here; the newest is over 20 years old and the oldest is over 50 years old.

Pars 

What John said.

A Brooks Pro has pretty thick leather. Mine, which is ~39 years old, has never formed indentations for the sit bones, though thinner Brooks saddles such as the B-17 will do that.

Proofhide sparingly. It is usually recommended to Proofhide the underside of the saddle occasionally (like once every decade or few years) as well.

jim hughes

I pretty much agree with the idea of using it as-is; Brooks' Proofide will make it look nicer but usually won't change the softness to any noticeable degree. But depending on the model, you might want to try something more extreme. B17s are fairly comfortable right out of the box, for most people. But the "Professional" models have thicker leather and can be really hard, and get harder over decades if they haven't been treated. So if you have an old "Pro", and you find it too hard and it won't conform to you, you'd have little to lose by trying an oil soak, and the thicker leather probably won't get too soft as a result.

You'll find all sorts of opinions on this and these are just my own.

jethro56 

The rails on the B17's are fairly short and I wear size 14 (48) shoes. So I went with a Velo Orange 30 mm setback seatpost to get the correct seat position. The tilt adjustment is touchy if you have very much drop between the seat and the handlebars. I recomend a two screw style seatpost as a small adjustment greatly changes the comfort. I wouldn't store it outside and a raincover is a good idea. Riding it when it's soaked could ruin it.

calstar

What about saddle soap, anyone use it for cleaning/softening?

Brian

Altbark

You don't soften a Brooks saddle. You put a little Proofhide on it occasionally to protect the leather and then you ride it for however long it takes to break it in. It's a saddle not a pair of shoes. Use too much goop on it and you WILL ruin the leather. Al

hagen2456

Unless one's ideal of a saddle is a hammock, that would be a very bad idea

Really, instead of ruining a saddle that one finds too hard, sell it and buy something softer. IMO, one's saddle should be quite hard if one wishes to ride longer trips. If not, it will cause very uncomfortable numbness...

jim hughes

I'd agree, except that over the years I've seen several posts from people who used Neatsfoot or other oil, and claimed to be happy with the result. I wouldn't do it myself - I'd sell it (and in fact I did sell the Professionals I once had). But if the saddle is old and beat up, what the heck - try something. The Pro leather is (or was) really thick and hard, I'd be surprised if it soaked up so much oil it became unusable.

joejeweler

If the Brooks saddle is on a used bike,.....i'd think the saddle is pretty much broken-in already. It might adjust a bit more to your own fanny shape over time,......but that initial hard leather torture device feel should be gone.

You might go to the Brooks website and look it over. Somewhere on there they recommend ONLY "Proofide" (as already mentioned) be used on their saddles to condition it and aid in initial break in. Use it a few times a year to maintain.....

https://www.brooksengland.com/catalogue-and-shop/

BTW, the cheapest Proofide i found was in an ebay listing for $17.99 shipped. Some dealers want substaintially more and add shipping also. https://www.ebay.com/itm/310406987056...84.m1439.l2649

jim hughes

I once bought a used bike with a Brooks Professional on it. The saddle looked great but was as hard as a rock and miserable to ride. I applied Proofide several times, put a couple hundred miles on it, and it never changed, never softened one bit, never conformed by one millimeter. I sold it on Ebay. In retrospect, I wish I'd kept it and tried Neatsfoot or some other goop.

OLDYELLR

A lot of people malign neatsfoot oil. Certainly Brooks will only recommend their Proofide. I've used neatsfoot oil to rejuvenate an old, rock hard Brooks with no problems. First of all real neatsfoot oil is not an oil at all. It's water soluble. It will put life back into an old dried-out saddle. In the OP's case, though, I'd follow the recommendations above and just ride it. It's used, so it's already broken in. Retensioning would only be required it it's sagged, like from riding it when it's soaked.

kamtsa

Soaking it once in Neatsfoot should do the trick. I did it on a B17 and a B67S and am happy with the results. Sheldon has leather saddle tips here https://sheldonbrown.com/leather.html

Kimmo 

Why is something so impractical so popular? I used to have a vintage bike with a Brooks, and I always found it pretty crap, as seats go... I suppose if I'd been through some arcane ritual of making it conform to my bum, I'd have seen the light?

JohnDThompson 

My main commuter bike is a 1972 Raleigh Superbe with the original Brooks B-66 seat. I keep a plastic bag stuffed underneath, between the rails, and slip it over the seat when I lock it outside (no inside bike storage at my workplaces). Cheap, effective, nearly weightless rain protection. That, and the bike has mudguards that prevent water from being thrown onto the saddle by the wheel.

jim hughes

It's really about comfort, although that might seem doubtful if you tried one of the harder models for a short time. But when you find one that works for you, all of a sudden you'll 'get' it and never go back. The B17 is the most comfortable saddle for me by far.