justruss

I've got the Brooks Swallow-inspired Gyes, in honey, on its way to me (crows cycle). Price surely played a role ($60 vs $300)-- notably with the mixed reports on Brooks in recent years-- but also because I think the piece of fabric under the bottom looks like a great idea/improvement.

I'm avoiding proof ride-- and will go with Obaneuf's LP. It's got nothing in it to break down leather. No mineral spirits, nor petroleum products. Beeswax and propolis FTW.

Citoyen du Monde

I have done some consulting work for a number of tanneries and they all lament the quality of the new hides that they get nowadays compared to decades ago. Today, there are fewer and fewer cattle that are grazed in areas where there is no barbed wire. This means fewer and fewer hides without scars. There are also more and more that are fattened almost exclusively in feed lots and seem not to produce as resistant a hide as previously. There is far more demand for leather than ever before, meaning there is more competition for the top hides. As Repechage says, there are also many ecological aspects that prevent the hides from being tanned as they were in the past. If you have ever visited a tannery, you will be aware of just how toxic the procedure is (or better yet, visit the town of Arzignano in the province of Vicenza in Italy on a hot day. It is the center of the Italian tannery world and back in the 80's, the place in the world with the highest density of Ferrari ownership in the world) All told it is unlikely that we will ever get as good overall quality in hides as in the past.

VintageR

DON'T do that!

Wrong. Beeswax and propolis would be fine, but Obenauf's LP consists of oil (three oils to be precise), with b&p just added.
As we've had mixed experiences about Gyes saddles by now, be smart and don't ruin yours prematurly.
If you have to use anything (why should you at all? it's new, for chrissake!), use Sno-Seal or something similar, that won't soak in too far and/or soften the leather.

rhm

I have been thinking exactly the same thing.

I should say that though I've been riding Brooks and Wrights and other leather saddles for over 30 years I have not yet figured out what's the ideal in terms of saddle shape, hardness, etc. I have a couple that are hard as plywood, others that are considerably softened (not by me), and I'm really not sure which is more comfortable. But that new B17 I got a couple years ago, it was gloriously comfortable from day one. I thought this was unusual. And it was disappointing that it softened so rapidly.

southpawboston

I've got a couple of old Brooks Pros, and they're both comfy for a long ride despite one being hard and the other soft:

The first is a 1966 pro (45 years old!) that has probably gotten wet many times and possibly oiled many times, there's no way of knowing the history. The leather is very soft, so much so that if you plied the leather with your hands, you would think it's too soft. However, I have no problems on 40-50 mile rides with this saddle. It also sags a bit if I put all my weight into it, but it's on an aggressive road bike where I'm rarely putting all my weight on it. In theory, this saddle shouldn't work, but it's not uncomfortable at all. Maybe if I rode longer distances on it, it would start to bother me.

The second is a 1973 Pro, and it's hard as a rock. I picked it up for cheap at a swap meet, it was unpliable and the shape was distorted. I imagine it had been stored underneath some object which had caused one side to push in. It was lopsided. With not much to lose, I soaked it under hot water, which softened it immediately, and re-molded it to what I thought would be the correct shape. After thorough drying, it maintained the remodeled shape. It has since been proofide-treated, and it's still very firm. It's also very comfortable and I have no problems riding it on long rides. It supports me in just the right places. Saddles don't need to be soft if they support you properly and don't intrude in the wrong places.

Bodies adapt, and different saddles can be comfortable to the same person.

himespau 

Do you know which Gyes corresponds to which Brooks? They say it for the sprung saddles, but the unsprungs, just say "like Brooks, but NOT Brooks"

justruss

Well, I haven't gotten it yet, but it should be here soon. That statement is based on i) experiences of others who have used one or both, and ii) visuals of the two saddles (though, obviously not the Gyes in person yet).

As for Obenauf's LP... I'm not sure what the "three natural oils" in it are, but the company says they're not petroleum, neatsfoot, or silicon based. It's quite possible I've missed it, but I haven't read a single complaint from using Obenauf's LP on a saddle-- and Rivendell recommends it for their Brooks sales-- which is more than I can say for Proofride. So, while I'll look for bad experiences with LP (do you have one?), I'm still planning on using it on the Gyes when it comes (or when it needs it, rather).