Proofhide and Brooks saddles
 

Do you put Proofhide on both the underside, and outside of your saddle? I have only used it on the underside, and wondered if rubbing into to outside will cause a problem? Will it cause the saddle to bleed onto my trousers when ridding, or make the saddle slipery?

You can use it both sides, if your riding without mudguards it helps prevent water ingress into the underside of the leather. The normal way is just to proof hide the top.

You definitely need to do both sides or it will look like crap within a couple of years. Once the saddle is broken in, proofide doesn't make it too slippery and as long as you put it on correctly, it won't ruin most shorts (not sure I would try it with white but I wouldn't wear those anyway).

I can't find one right now, but I think the instructions that come with a new Brooks advises Proofiding the the underside.

From the Brooks site: Apply a little Proofide to the finished side of the leather. Allow the Proofide to permeate until dry and then polish off. Proofide should be used several times during the ‘breaking-in’ period and every 3-6 months thereafter. On bicycles not fitted with mudguards, an initial application to the underside of the saddle will be beneficial, this needs not to be polished off. The leather gets its colour during the tanning process and it is possible, therefore, that some colour residues will remain. It is recommended to polish the saddle with a soft cloth before first use.

My B17 instructions say to apply on finished side of the leather, wait till dry, then polish off any residue. If you don't have fenders, you should apply to the underside as well (no polish there). I do have fenders, but have always treated both sides.

[edit] I see the Brit beat me to it. Bloody marvellous. :) [/edit]

As robbied196 posted, and as the Brooks instructions say, light coating on the finished side, well rubbed in and on the underside a bit thicker and well worked into the grain of the leather for me. I don't have mudguards either and I seem to get caught out in the weather regularly so the coating on the finished and underside make sense for my use.

Bill

One thing I do with mine is after applying to the topside I heat the
saddle with a hair dryer set on low heat, helps melt the beeswax
in the proofide and it seems to absorb much better. I've never
had an issue with slipping or color bleeding using this method.
I always apply a coat on the underside of my saddles once
a year to ensure a degree of waterproofness (is that even a word?)

It is now.. LOL

Capecodder:

The method you used to treat the B17 you traded to me causes it bleed. Perhaps you used too much Proofide? I have to ride with a saddle cover on it to prevent the Brooks shaped stain on my work khaki's. I've polished & rubbed the saddle, but it still bleeds. It is still a great saddle though and I'm sure eventually it can be ridden naked again. I'd say go easy on the Proofide especially on a new saddle.

When I received the saddle, the outside was very greasy.

I have about 5 Brooks and have treated only the undersides and I don't get any bleeding.

Mark

Mark,

Interesting.... I treated both sides of that saddle with Proofhide, and remember you telling me it was making your trousers black. That is the first time I ever used Proofhide on the outside, and I never noticed as I ride with black cycling shorts. I don't want to put it on another new saddle if it will do the same thing, but I suppose it won't matter as I wear black shorts.

What is this Proofhide you people are talking about? Is it much the much cheaper pirate copy of Proofide?

Are there links to sites that sell this Proofhide?

HAHA!! That was my incorrect spelling...........

Just a side question, any one using Obenauf's LP on their Brooks saddles? I have some that I use for my boots and find it works great in that application.

I switched to Obenaufs. Costs less, works just as well iMHO.

I've had good results with the Neatsfoot oil bath method. The saddle did bleed for the break-in period, but it's very nice to ride on and black shows up on just about anything lighter than black shorts.

there was a time about 30-40 years ago when all serious cyclists' saddles were leather. the vast majority were stained black. people wore black shorts to hide the stains on their shorts.

as far as the stain coming off the saddle, it does, with or without proofhide or anything else. leather stain is just superficial, and as the saddle wears the stain gets thin and eventually disappears in places altogether. look at a well worn leather saddle that was stained black when new. it is not black anymore. much of it will be brown where the stain has worn off.

bike shorts, by tradition, were black for good reason...

I use Sno-Seal, top and bottom. Sno-Seal is beeswax waterproof leather conditioner about 1/4 the price of Proofide. Good results so far on 3 black Brooks saddles. I've never noticed any color bleeding and I often ride in olive or grey pants.

That's one way to keep it from discoloring your pants. ;)

- Scott

They only point mentioned here I might take issue with is the use of Neatsfoot oil. Proofide, Sno-seal and Obenauf's all, I presume, have oil in them. I know Proofide does. Says so right on it. Sno-seal to a lesser extent maybe. But the oils in Proofhide are suspended in the waxes so an application doesn't over-oil the leather. Just an opinion, of course, but anecdotal evidence suggests bad results connected with Neatsfoot oil baths, which can prematurely over-soften the leather. I too use a hair dryer or heat gun, lightly, to get the Proofhide to sink in, Capecodder, especially around the cantle plate so the leather doesn't dry out around the rivets. I do the underside, but not often. A little bit now and again is my philosophy.

At least not after labor day.. :roflmao2:

I just use a little Lexol once a year or so--it's what they used to use at the sandal shop.

That's what I use too, then wave the blow dryer at it.

I always thought Sno-Seal had silicone in it, but the website says no. I wonder what it is. The smell tells me there's more there than pure wax. There's at least some sort of solvent to keep it a workable consistency.

btw the Sno-Seal website suggests warming the leather (not beyond comfortable handling temp.) before applying to aid absorption.

Used to use Sno-seal not only on my mountaineering boots, it was touted as not softening toe and heel counters, but on my pole climbing boots. After applying that stuff I could stand ankle deep in a puddle of water and not get wet. Good old Sno-seal. I think it's a little "waxier" than Proofide so I don't use it on my saddles.