Brooks saddle newbie questions.
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 771
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
1 Post
Brooks saddle newbie questions.
Hi y'all.
Gettin' me first Brooks B17.
1. Will parking the bike outdoors with the saddle subjected to blazing summer sunlight hurt the saddle in any way?
2. Anything to do to treat it after it gets wet from rain/sweat?
Or just leave it alone?
Thanks.
Gettin' me first Brooks B17.
1. Will parking the bike outdoors with the saddle subjected to blazing summer sunlight hurt the saddle in any way?
2. Anything to do to treat it after it gets wet from rain/sweat?
Or just leave it alone?
Thanks.
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 113
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Mine is about a year old, and some think its 10. It has been soaked, scratched when the bike was flipped upside down to change a tire, and left to dry out in the hot sun. It has been scuffed from road sand between my butt and it for miles at a time.
Yet once a little of the proofide is applied, and buffed in, its back to great looking. Now if you want it to remain like it was when new in the box, then of course you can never use it outside. But it is a bicycle saddle that's meant to show all the signs of wear and age. And still perform.
Yet once a little of the proofide is applied, and buffed in, its back to great looking. Now if you want it to remain like it was when new in the box, then of course you can never use it outside. But it is a bicycle saddle that's meant to show all the signs of wear and age. And still perform.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: St Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30,225
Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1572 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times
in
364 Posts
1. "Parking the bike outdoors." Is this going to be on a college campus? If so, sun and rain are the least of your problems. THEFT is what you should be worrying about. If it was my bike I'd pick up an OEM take-off saddle from any LBS for $5.00 or $10.00 to use on campus.
2. A Brooks saddle is an outdoor product. It'll handle a little sun and rain. Occasional Profide treatments are good. RIDING on a soaking wet Brooks saddle is real bad. It'll stretch it out and make it unuseable. I stuff a plastic grocery bag under my Brooks saddles to cover them when it rains.
2. A Brooks saddle is an outdoor product. It'll handle a little sun and rain. Occasional Profide treatments are good. RIDING on a soaking wet Brooks saddle is real bad. It'll stretch it out and make it unuseable. I stuff a plastic grocery bag under my Brooks saddles to cover them when it rains.
#5
Humvee of bikes =Worksman
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,362
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
6 Posts
A grocery bag/bungee cord combo will work. So will a large shower cap.
__________________
My preferred bicycle brand is.......WORKSMAN CYCLES
I dislike clipless pedals on any city bike since I feel they are unsafe.
Originally Posted by krazygluon
Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred, which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?
My preferred bicycle brand is.......WORKSMAN CYCLES
I dislike clipless pedals on any city bike since I feel they are unsafe.
Originally Posted by krazygluon
Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred, which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,901
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2604 Post(s)
Liked 1,929 Times
in
1,210 Posts
Once the saddle gets wet, you need to let it dry before you ride on it (much).
The Aardvark saddle cover (see https://www.lickbike.com/productpage....=%271005-00%27) is great for keeping the saddle dry. (It'll also cover the saddle so passersby won't see what a nice saddle you have on the bike!) Recommended for long rides in the rain, or when you're dripping sweat.
Depends on what blazing sun means to you. Routine 90-100 F weather will dry the saddle out, which seems to make it more permeable to sweat or rain. Of course, those temps also make it easy to rub Proofide on and it will be absorbed by the saddle in no time flat.
The Aardvark saddle cover (see https://www.lickbike.com/productpage....=%271005-00%27) is great for keeping the saddle dry. (It'll also cover the saddle so passersby won't see what a nice saddle you have on the bike!) Recommended for long rides in the rain, or when you're dripping sweat.
Depends on what blazing sun means to you. Routine 90-100 F weather will dry the saddle out, which seems to make it more permeable to sweat or rain. Of course, those temps also make it easy to rub Proofide on and it will be absorbed by the saddle in no time flat.
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 771
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
1 Post
80's-100's for the blazing heat category.
Shower cap under the seat sounds like a great tip! Thanks!
Usually I commute and park it in the garage at work. Only about 9 of us there. I think theft chance would be low.
I do rec rides and keep the bike with me.
Only time leaving it out would be short. But if theft is really that big of a problem, I guess I would take my other bike for unattended locking up.
Shower cap under the seat sounds like a great tip! Thanks!
Usually I commute and park it in the garage at work. Only about 9 of us there. I think theft chance would be low.
I do rec rides and keep the bike with me.
Only time leaving it out would be short. But if theft is really that big of a problem, I guess I would take my other bike for unattended locking up.
#8
In Real Life
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152
Bikes: Lots
Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 596 Times
in
329 Posts
Yep ... shower cap or plastic grocery bag.
And when you get the saddle, you'll discover that it is very hard and very slippery. It should remain hard for the rest of its life, but the slippery feeling should go away after a week or so.
If you really aren't comfortable after your first few rides, try tilting the nose of the saddle up. I know that might not sound right, but most Brooks riders have the nose of their saddles tilted up. It's more comfortable that way because it forces you back onto your sitbones.
And don't fall into the trap of doing all sorts of weird things to your saddle to break it in. It may take some time to break the saddle in but if you are struggling a bit to break yours in, there is something you can do to speed the process a bit ... without baking, or hitting, or doing any of the strange stuff people do to their Brooks saddles.
And when you get the saddle, you'll discover that it is very hard and very slippery. It should remain hard for the rest of its life, but the slippery feeling should go away after a week or so.
If you really aren't comfortable after your first few rides, try tilting the nose of the saddle up. I know that might not sound right, but most Brooks riders have the nose of their saddles tilted up. It's more comfortable that way because it forces you back onto your sitbones.
And don't fall into the trap of doing all sorts of weird things to your saddle to break it in. It may take some time to break the saddle in but if you are struggling a bit to break yours in, there is something you can do to speed the process a bit ... without baking, or hitting, or doing any of the strange stuff people do to their Brooks saddles.
__________________
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
#11
In Real Life
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152
Bikes: Lots
Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 596 Times
in
329 Posts
Yes.
#1 Ride it.
A Brooks saddle is a commitment. You've actually got to get out there and ride it lots.
#1 Ride it.
A Brooks saddle is a commitment. You've actually got to get out there and ride it lots.
__________________
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
4Rings6Stars
Commuting
69
12-18-17 09:39 AM