How to maintain a Brooks saddle?
 

As discussed below (or above), I just got a Miyata 1000 with a Brooks Professional saddle. The leather is a dull black, perhaps due to age. The saddle appears as though it has never been broken in. Is there anything I should do to oil or polish the leather?

Thanks

RFC

Do a search on 'old brooks' there are many, many threads which cover this.

you can use the stuff that brooks sells > http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/proofideandspanner.html < or probably any other leather conditioner. i've used the stuff that comes with my filson boots for example. i just rub or pore it on and let it sit overnight, wipe off the rest. if it's really been abused or old, i put a lot on and stick the saddle in the oven on warm and let it heat up some. don't forget it's in there though! brooks saddles smell pretty bad if they start roasting!! they're the best saddles ever made imo, and really easy to maintain... there's a pretty good reiew of them here as well... > http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?...ews/brooks_b17 <

Use some mink oil, or neatsfoot oil, or some similar product on the underside to rejuvenate the leather. Be generous and rub it in well, then let it sit overnight. You can rub some on top, too. Proofide works great but it's not cheap; neutral shoe polish should do the trick.

I googled neatsfoot oil to find out a bit more about it, and came up with this link:
http://www.davidmorgan.com/leathercare.html
Interesting angle to the "what product should I use for my leather saddle" debate.

Also, I posed the same question as the OP a while back, and good answers (courtesy of Lotek) can be found halfway down the second page of this thread:
http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php...eather+saddles

Hmm. I guess I never noticed any blackening of my boots with neatsfoot oil because they were black when I got them. My dad has been using that stuff forever but his boots wear out faster than a Brooks saddle.

That Pecard stuff sounds very similar to Proofide.

It's not exactly expensive either considering that you need very little. A tin will last a long time.

people will discuss this topic till the cows come home. Some say not to used neatsfoot oil because it softens the leather to much. I use proofide, one tin will last quite some time, I go through it a little faster because I use it on my toe straps, mudflaps etc... As for the saddle, if you keep it dry you need only apply proofide maybe once a year. I have told this one story many times. I went into a shop to buy some proofide for my newly acquired used Brooks Professional. I was referred to the shop "expert" on brooks. He showed me his saddle and said it was 2 years old and he loved it. He said it was very comfortable, which I am sure it was. But it looked like I could ring it out it was so saturated with proofide. I mean I could have put my saddle with his so if soaked up the proofide like a napkin absorbing water. The saddle sagged to the rails and looked like there wasn't much time left before he was going to have the seatpost in his *******. The moral here is use SPARINGLY.

Some saddle!

Some expert!


Regards,
J T