I just got some Proofide from Taobao. It cost me 110 RMB (about USD$16) delivered. It is a tiny 25g tin, but came with the cloth and another spanner.

Slopped a bit on the underside, as my fenders are not that good, and a good bit on top. Letting it soak in now. It is a little late as I have over 800km on the saddle, but it should be good.

z

Treat it like wax. Don't slop it on. Only so much will sink in at a time. Put on a thin coat, let it sink in, polish it off. Then ride it, do another thin coat, etc. The Brooks site has instructions similar to this.

The fenders on my TriCross are not that good, but they're enough to keep the bottom of the seat dry, so I didn't waste any on the bottom. (again, Brooks' recommendation)

Let us know if you notice any difference after a few Proofide applications.

I now have 1000km of riding on my Brooks. It is very comfortable. I am happy with the tiny bit of upward tilt I have on it. Generally the only time I think about sitting on it is when I hit a bump, and that is not because of discomfort, but my wondering how much each heavy bump changes its shape

Here is a pic of it after 1000km. It is not easy to get a flash photo that shows the dimples. Mine are fairly even, maybe a tad deeper on the right.



z

Lot of confusion about saddle angle...

I think the main point is that Brooks saddles are typically tilted up noticeably more than other saddles. That's just how they fit. Most other saddles, you're not gonna want to tilt up much. That's how they are designed.

I've been using cheap $2/bottle baseball glove oil for years on Brooks saddles. Works great. Bought a new Flyer last week for $30. A little glove oil on top, and a little more on the back. Let sit overnight and polish the top with toilet paper. This is a quick and safe method to add 500 miles to the saddle.

Repeat and rise twice a year to protect the leather.

There is nothing special about Brooks leather. I'm sure the company is making millions a year selling the Proofide material like gold paste. Don't bite into this marketing scam.

I am liking my Brooks B17 Standard so much, that I wanted to get another for my second bike.

After putting on nearly 2500km on the first I just bought a Flyer Special today, along with a small tin of Proofide.

I will break the Flyer in on my Giant Lava, which is my main commuter bike. however, when it gets 1000 km on it, I will move it to my Surly LHT, my trouring bike.

I wanted some more give somewhere in the system on my LHT, it is just a tad rigid. I am hoping that the Flyer is as comfortable as the Standard, and the springs give me what I need.

After a number of long rides on my LHT, I never have a sore fundament when sitting on hard seats afterwards, though there is sometimes a little chaffing. I think that comes from old bike shorts, so I have a couple of new pair.


z

azesty, that bike is serving you well!

But, dang, where do you ride it, in a coal mine? That's world-class grit.

Handsome Brooks.

I've had a B-17 (black) on my road bike for a number of years, and just got a B-17 Narrow (brown) for my commuter. I like them both, but my backside seems to prefer the narrow.

My eyes prefer the brown.

I work about 15 km south from the center of Chengdu. China is going through a massive construction phase. 12 months ago I stood on a roof at my school, and counted more than 60 construction cranes, the kind that build tall buildings. Yesterday, when I could only see about 180 degrees, I counted 20. Many of them are not on the same buildings from last year.

All that construction drops a fair bit of grit on the road.



z

Don't over oil your saddles. I have yet to apply proofide to any of my brooks and they're all breaking in just fine (none have been used for more than 9 months). From what I understand the proofide is meant to be applied occasionally to keep the leather from drying and becoming stiff not as an aid to soften it. I don't know how true it is but it logically makes sense that the quicker a saddle breaks in, the quicker a saddle wears out.

Here is my Brooks, tilted slightly up:

My understanding of Proofide and other treatments is that they keep water out of the leather. Wet leather is more easily damaged than dry leather.

I was wondering if the Flyer, with springs on the back that sink a bit, adding to the tilt, need to be tilted less when unloaded.

It seems, from my first commute, that this may be so, but not as much as I initially thought.

Time for one notch of uptilt tonight, I think.

z

I think they feel best when not on my bike

I sort of got a B17 Champion from Taobao (found a store in Shanghai with a good price using Taobao, then rode out to buy it in person). Just a bit of proofide on the underside when I got it, and nothing else. I find it more comfortable even than my normal B17, FWIW.

By the way, who's the 笨蛋?

Edit: My mistake - my other B17 is a B17 Narrow. It's comfortable, but the Champion is super comfortable.

Funny you should mention... I'm actually trying a bunch of new saddles after having some problems after my last 300 and 400k brevets. So my Brooks might just end up in a donation thread.

I never treat my leather saddles with anything. They break-in in less than a few hundred miles. I do take pains to prevent them from getting too wet -no more than a few minutes exposure to light rain- which is pretty easy since I live in an uber dry climate.

I love my Brooks saddles, but I'm now removing the rear metal name tags off of all of my Brooks after slicing open one of my finger tips when one saddle's name tag came loose from a bad rivet, and the name tag was damn near sharp as a razor.

+1

Seeing as it's the chinese version, should you be using ploofide on it?


(just joking, no offense intended)

I now have 8000 km on this saddle, and it is very comfortable. I bought a Brooks Flyer for my touring bike, and it has 600 km on it and creases and isnt anywhere near as comfortable!

The bike is still as dirty, equilibrium having being reached

The bike has 12,000 km on it, has had a few parts replaced, but works well.

z