I rode in the 3 State 3 Mountain Century today in Chattanooga, TN, and it rained on us for the majority of the ride. My Brooks B-17 N got completely soaked through, and I wanted to know what experience others have had getting their Brooks wet. I put a plastic bag on it after an hour of riding, but it was already drenched. I've put about 1000 miles on it to date, and noticed that my sit bone indentations are much deeper after today's ride. Should I expect the saddle to ride as well as it did before or is it ruined? I've got it put up to dry out for now and am hoping it's going to be alright. Thanks for any help!

it might be fine, but maybe not: the thing to do when a saddle gets soaked is to towel-dry off all the water you can as soon as you get home, then let it air-dry in a normal temperature room with good air circulation. DO NOT try to force-dry it with hair dryer, heater or oven. As soon as you're satisfied it's dried out, give it a coat of Proofide on top AND bottom. and next time put the bag on BEFORE it rains, not after. If it seems to sag after all this you might tension it JUST A LITTLE, but go slow and in small amounts.

Your butt will tell you if its ruined. Sounds to me like you've merely accelerated the break-in process. If its sagging more than you'd like, consider trying to lace it up rather than tightening it. Odds of ruining it with the former are lower than with the latter.

I have a 32 year old Brooks that gets wet once in a while and it seems a little bouncier for a day or two, but goes back to normal soon enough. I never take any precautions to protect it other than slathering some kind of oil on it once a year or so.

Many a leather saddle has been ruined by riding or tensioning after it was soaked. What happens is the flaps splay out and it assumes a triangular shape. It's best to pack it with newspaper inside and on both sides to preserve the shape and let it dry naturally over a few days. Then apply Proofide.

yeah ruined. send it to me. i'll throw it away for you.

I saw you there.

i let it air dry until this morning and took it for a 35 mile ride. it did fine, and i think the break in process was accelerated a bit. the sides have a slight flare to them, but its nothing significant. i might put some leather treater on it later, but it doesn't look or feel dried out. thanks for all the suggestions!

You can reshape (de-flare?) the sides if you want by actually wetting them again (lightly) and clamping them to the rails (I use the largest size of these

with a cloth to protect the leather). You can also use a large rubber band or two for the same effect.

Let dry for at least a full day then apply Proofide or whatever dressing you prefer. Voila, back to normal.

I echo most of the respondents - I rode a Brooks Pro daily in London environs and on tour for 8 years - and a few times, it got soaked. As long as you let it air dry thoroughly is should be OK. The blacking on mine did come off though, tatooing many bike shorts. Try not to mess with the tension until you know that it has been dry for weeks. Leather tends to stretch when wet and shrink when dry.

I just had a similar thing happen to me on a commute home the other day with a brooks pro (didn't have a bag, wasn't raining when I left work) - I wasn't in the rain for anywhere near an hour, and the saddle didn't have much more than 400 miles on it, but after air drying it was perfectly broken in. Not exactly a method I'd suggest for break-in, but certainly no harm done. I didn't mess with the tension and I did put the proofide on when it was dry. I've ridden it since and I couldn't be happier with the result - it's now the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden - again, not that I suggest this method of breaking-in a brooks saddle...

Best advice in this thread. I would avoid proofide until it's completely dry as well.

I had a B-17 that was essentially destroyed by riding in the rain. I was on a tour, there was no option to wait a few days to let it dry out.

It's really only ruined as a viable saddle if it develops a ridge down the middle. Now that's talking arse hatchet. I had a leather saddle like that in my younger days. Be very careful about tightening it. Otherwise, just consider it broken in and hope for the best.

This is the achilles' heel of traditional leather saddles. In future, it would be best to put a cover on it so it doesn't get too soaked from the top, and some fresh proofide under it to repel water spray. Whenever I read Brooks threads on here or anywhere else, I always feels like the fans are understating the commitment a Brooks saddle requires from its owner. It a great saddle, and great looking too, but it does need more special attention than plastic saddles.

The one I had that got so badly soaked, then ridden, developed an M-shaped ridge down the middle. The line of holes (3?) were the depressed middle of the "M", otherwise it would have been shaped more like this ^. IIRC, the side edges rolled under a bit (which was a bit of a blessing).

I'm glad I have a few rain covers that came with my Brooks. I've only had to use it once during some rain (no down pour), and it worked quite well.

I didn't get any covers with mine. After the first time mine got soaked, I always would take a plastic bag with me just in case. When I found the right size bag - snug fitting - I often left the bag on during rainy season, 'cause I had to leave it out in the elements for 4 hours, 4 days a week. You could leave a good bike outside in central London in the '80s with absolutely no worries. Sure miss that feeling!