Saddle maintainance - leather cover
11-05-09, 02:27 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Paarl, South Africa
Posts: 143
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Saddle maintainance - leather cover
My new saddle has a leather upper (Selle Italia) - a first for me. Do you guys treat this differently than synthetic covered saddles regarding care/maintainanace? Do I have to treat it with something? Or just ride the thing and be done with it. Which is what I've been doing, just wondering now whether I should treat it differently.
11-05-09, 11:16 AM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 10,879
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 104 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times
in
5 Posts
Thick leather saddles like Brooks can benefit from leather treatment (see your owner's manual). Thin leather over plastic probably doesn't need any more than an occasional cleaning (especially after riding in the rain).
11-05-09, 11:22 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Northern Ontario
Posts: 3,659
Bikes: Colnago Master XL, Bianchi Via Nirone 7, Marinoni Fango
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I wipe the saddle with a cleaner/ revitalizer I have for leather shoes whenever I wash the bike. I don't know if it helps or not.
11-05-09, 11:22 AM
#4
.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 40,375
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 27 Times
in
12 Posts
My new saddle has a leather upper (Selle Italia) - a first for me. Do you guys treat this differently than synthetic covered saddles regarding care/maintainanace? Do I have to treat it with something? Or just ride the thing and be done with it. Which is what I've been doing, just wondering now whether I should treat it differently.
11-05-09, 11:49 AM
#5
Senior Member
I use some stuff meant for car leather seats, cleaner and protectant. Test an area to make sure it doesn't become too slippery.
cdr
cdr
11-05-09, 02:45 PM
#7
Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Delaware shore
Posts: 13,559
Bikes: Cervelo C5, Guru Photon, Waterford, Specialized CX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1106 Post(s)
Liked 2,180 Times
in
1,470 Posts
Between this thread and the one about taking cassettes apart to clean, I think some here must spend more time cleaning than riding.
I don't have enough time to ride and train as it is. Cleaning would eat into my riding time even more.
I don't have enough time to ride and train as it is. Cleaning would eat into my riding time even more.
11-05-09, 02:51 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2953 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
11-05-09, 03:29 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: My family and I -- wife and two young children -- live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posts: 723
Bikes: TST ti 'cross bike (commuter); Guru ti road bike; recumbent; Airnimal Chameleon folding racing bike
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Tip #1
Never ride naked.
Tip #2
If you follow tip #1 carefully, you should never have to do more than wipe your seat with an ammonia/vinegar/bleach solution.
Just kidding. Wipe it with a moist rag. The problem with leather is often in the stitching: grit and dirt gets in and works away at the cotton threads (as with the sewn seams of good leather hiking boots). Wiping with a moist rag removes dirt or grit or sand, etc., if there is any.
Most likely we'll wear thru the leather of a saddle, from just repeated use, before anything else happens to ruin it.
Never ride naked.
Tip #2
If you follow tip #1 carefully, you should never have to do more than wipe your seat with an ammonia/vinegar/bleach solution.
Just kidding. Wipe it with a moist rag. The problem with leather is often in the stitching: grit and dirt gets in and works away at the cotton threads (as with the sewn seams of good leather hiking boots). Wiping with a moist rag removes dirt or grit or sand, etc., if there is any.
Most likely we'll wear thru the leather of a saddle, from just repeated use, before anything else happens to ruin it.
11-06-09, 12:15 AM
#10
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Paarl, South Africa
Posts: 143
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Cool, sounds like I'll just ride it, then! Also don't want to potentially screw up the thing in the process of "preserving" it. And wipe down after a wet ride or washing the bike. Like normal.
No worries about tip #1 above!
No worries about tip #1 above!
