My Brooks is destroying my clothes
 

Ok... I'll confess two things:
- I don't have a Brooks, but all my bikes have leather saddles that I oil (with Proofide) yearly.
- I like to ride with jeans whenever possible.

However, the saddles leave a rather disgusting stain on the seat of my jeans. I end up using bleach just to get them presentable again.

So I'm back to wearing black running pants just to stay relatively decent. Even short trips to the grocery store leave my jeans in terrible shape.

This happen to you?

Buy a Brooks. They don't bleed that I am aware of. Mine doesn't bleed any color and I have the antique brown. Maybe the maker of whatever saddles you have use a cheaper staining process that causes them to bleed. I really don't know. But if Brooks had a problem with bleeding out stain, we would have heard about it before now since they have been in business since 1866.

You don't have to use bleach!
 

Hi. Recently I discovered how to get oils...synthetic or otherwise out of clothes.

Bleach is not the best choice.

The best choice is some kind of degreaser like a mainstream dishwashing soap (the natural kinds have plant degreasers which only work on organic ingredients). For all other kinds of grease...make a hot water/soapy solution...brush it into the stain, maybe add some more degreaser in the wash and it will come out.

No need to use bleach.

I've only had my brooks for 3 months, but no stains to speak of. I use proofide as well and I often ride in khaki shorts. No marks.

Yeah, I don't notice this really at all with real brooks (brown) used roughly annually with proofride.

I've had a brooks for a little over a year and I only wear jeans. I've never had a problem.

Next time you buy a pair of shoes consider for a similar price you could have a brooks saddle... except it will last a lot longer.

Your non-Brooks, leather-covered saddle may be using pvc-coated leather. This will not absorb any wax or oil treatment and the surface film you have applied will stain your trousers.
Brooks is natural leather. It will absorb proofhide and will not stain your trousers.

I got a little staining from my Brooks B17 for the first week or so, but not stuff that wouldnt wash out.

Long gone now though.

z

Yet another real brooks owner with no stain issues...

+1

My 35-year-old Brooks B-17 did me (and my khaki shorts) dirty last summer. I am going to be wearing black performance shorts from now on when I ride that bike.

I did get a little staining from my Brooks when they were brand new, but it didn't last long.

I'd like to know exactly which saddle the OP has. Is it a Persons, or a VO? Sella Anatomica?

Possible solutions I see:

Wear dark clothes.
Get better saddle.
Ride naked.

3 Brooks and tend to wear a lot of lighter colored pants. Haven't noticed stains.

Nope, but then I use real Brooks saddles. Oh wait. Did someone already mention that?

A plastic sack over the saddle will prevent the stain, and protect the saddle from rain, and possibly ward off potential thieves.

Ha, our local bike thieves wouldn't know the difference between a Brooks and Wally Huffy saddle. Only a couple of long distance cyclists recognized my saddle as being different, and then only one of them knew the brand by name.

I use Brooks, V/O, and Selle An-Atomica. They all can stain if I ride far enough, and the manufacturers of all three warn about it. Brooks, V/O, and several others offer covers that will prevent the problem.

Just because they don't know the difference doesn't mean they won't steal it.
Tweakers will sell a $100 Brooks for the same price as a department store p.o.s. to score their next fix.

How far would you say you have to ride for the brooks to cause a stain Six?

I've had pants stained from my Brooks. It's a couple years old. It has happened when I'm wearing light pants and when I get really sweaty. I should mention that really sweaty for me means total swamp ass. Most of it washed out though. I have a cover that someone gave me that I'll try to remember to use when it's hot and I'm wearing light colored pants.

I have two brooks and no issues. And it might be good to not use Brooks name in the title of your thread. Disrespectful to Brooks company.

I've got a real Brooks in black, and it has left some stains on some of my pants. I've got one pair of khaki shorts (made of nylon, though, not cotton) that has a distinct black stain through the crotch in roughly the shape of a chamois. But I think that I have finally worn through the bleed-off and shouldn't get any more stains. My saddle is a couple of years old. That pair of shorts with the pronounced stain got stained right after I got the saddle--it was still new and wearing through its first proofing. Next time I break in a Brooks, I'll know to conduct a few long rides in old jeans before wearing nice pants on it.

Maybe someone needs to create cycling shorts with an exterior chamois made from a buffing material. I'm pretty sure there's not a lot of market competition for that product.

Our local tweekers go for bigger ticket items, and seldom bother a locked bike, much less a bicycle seat.

I hadn't thought of that, Isaac, but you're right. Why put Brooks in the title if the saddle in question isn't a Brooks?

Yeah, I haven't though of that either. Misleading a bit too.