SoreFeet

I have noticed great inconsistencies in the leather of Brooks these days. Some saddles break in under 50 miles, others take longer. All in all I'm going to take a gamble and try the Gyles Berthoud saddle. It cost's twice as much as a brooks but there is a lot more leather. I'm also interested in the tensioner mechanism. Most brooks saddles can't ever be tensioned with the existing system. The saddle nose always get's wonky after the hide has been stretched.

The Berthoud saddle also looks like it could offer a really easy replacement hide. Can't do that with a Brooks...

I'm not trying to be a shill for Gyles products but I'm really hoping I will not regret the purchase. It's a lot of money for a seat but I'm rather tired of Brooks becoming butt hatchets prematurely. I don't tour or ride in rain, always cover the seat when I do ride in rain. I treat with Obenhaufs LP...Less is fine but more never hurty any of my seats.

kevin_stevens

Are you getting it from Crow's Cycle? I emailed them about their saddles a couple of times a month ago and never heard back. Interested to hear about your experience with the company and product.

KeS

cudak888 

Which Brooks models have you been using, SoreFeet?

-Kurt

SoreFeet

I have used the B17 standard, B17 narrow, Swift Titanium, Team pro.

The B17 standard was comfortable but the leather gave tension too soon. The narrow had a much thicker hide than the b17 regular width. The Swift rode great for awhile but the sides started to flare out and the length of the nose stretched prematurely even without a tension adjustment. The tension adjustment on the Swift was worthless because the nose would simply twist and no tension was actually achieved.

The team pro was a very durable saddle that took a long time to break in. I noticed that Bens Cycles is now selling Brooks "select" saddles...All natural vegetable tanned hide with guess what 5mm thick leather...Berthoud saddles all feature CNC machined leather of 5mm thickness.

I would never buy a Swift again. The leather is too thin and it's only good for a couple thousand miles.

Leukybear 

I don't think this scenario is avoidable; there's too many variables in a cow's life and therefore the leather made from it.

More details please? No seriously, I just ordered one, the exact same as yours if you had a black one, and it's due in in 2 days.

rhm

I, too, have had problems with (relatively) recent Brooks saddles; a B17 and a Flyer that both got much too soft much too fast. Under 1000 miles for the former, under 2000 for the latter. I mentioned that on the forum, and someone (knowingly) asked if I'd used old Proofide on either one. And I had! I have a tin of Proofide I found in the saddle bag of a Raleigh Sports in 1982, and it was old then. Huh, I thought! I don't know if there's anything to this old-proofide-ruins-the-saddle thing, but maybe it's worth mentioning? So... did you condition yours with old Proofide?

I now buy old Brooks saddles, preferably NOS, and I don't put proofide on them unless they look really thirsty.

rootboy 

This is very interesting. I have two old tins of the "old" Proofide. Any one of the new. Did they change the formula?

rhm

Dunno. Fats oxidize over time, especially at higher temperatures (and mine has definitely melted more than once), so maybe it becomes acidic over time, or something like that. It smells just like the new stuff, for what that's worth.

shipwreck

Any thoughts on what finish might last longer? My honey flyer is about 3000 miles old, and looks like a broken down swayback horse. its comfortable, but the leather is a lot thinner than any other leather saddle I own, all old belts, ideals and older brooks. But the other day I saw a guy with a black flyer, and it looked pretty good. The owner was not a lightweight, and looked to be sitting on it pretty hard.

I used new proofide, and cover it well in the rain or take a rainbike. I am a sweaty guy, but never killed any of the old saddles.

I am hoping for at least a couple more years out of what I had hoped to be a long term investment for my butt. And that is disapointing.

Velognome 

Also consider riding style and positon on the bike Some riding positions put more stress on different places on the saddle and then there is technique, some folks seem to bounce or rock more than others which would speed up the breakdown of the fibers.

I'm thinking also where the bikes are stored my effect longevity? Very hot or humid conditions may lead to something like a dry rot that breaks the fibers down. Just thinking that if you proofhide both the top and bottom of the saddle, it won't breath so you've trapped any moisture inside the leather. Could this be a breeding ground for some type of leather eating fungus?

Wow! I'm heavy and after 3K miles my saddles still look good, just small impressions from my sit bones. Thats across the board on a Flyer, B17, B17N, & Swift.

shipwreck

[QUOTE=Velognome;12910507


Wow! I'm heavy and after 3K miles my saddles still look good, just small impressions from my sit bones. Thats across the board on a Flyer, B17, B17N, & Swift.[/QUOTE]

At first I thought it was my weight and the fact that I sweat a lot. But that never effected any other saddles. I am thinking about lacing the bottom to keep it from spreading and to add some support. Just have not gotten around to it.

Oh, and I got mine four days before a long tour, so it was never stored. Started the sag at about day 10. My riding position is possibly the problem, but again, no other saddle does it. I figure that I got a lemon. It happens. Just found out that the 2500 dollar pottery kiln I bought new two years ago has heating element problems that require full replacement about six times faster than all my older kilns(at 300 bucks a pop), it was resolved in the next year model, but the company will not admit to any real problem or help with resoultion, though it is well known throughout the industry.
So, my bike seat being a little shoddy, while an actual pain in my a55, is nontheless one of the smaller problems I have right now

jeepr

When I worked at my first bike shop 30+ years ago, we couldn't give away Brooks saddles. Most any bike that came with one, we had to change before the customer would take delivery. I rode one, because the owner let us have them for like 8 dollars. lol..

nlerner

I've just been using an entire cow. I just rotate a bit once a spot begins to sag. The weight penalty is definitely worth it.

Neal

Velognome 

Dats udderly radickalas

rhm

Fify.

Cow, heavy and slow, but self propelled. As with everything in life, compromises have to be made. I'm just glad you didn't ride the cow on our century on Saturday, we'd still be riding. Anyway, do they allow cows on the ferry?

himespau 

huh, that's a bummer. My San Marco Regal has definitely seen better days and I was considering seeing what all the Brooks fuss was about when the time came to replace it.

septacycles

I've been a brooks dealer for two years now... can't speak to the old versus new saddle but the majority of my customers have been very happy. I'm making an order of brooks saddles today and will relay the essence of this thread to my brooks rep and see what he says. I'm pretty sure brooks has good warranty policies... I'm just not sure where they draw the line between a product being defective and regular wear and tear... today I've never had to use the warranty or return a defective saddle.

I've read and heard different things about using proofide... I use it sparingly and do not put it on the under side. I also do not recommend using any other leather conditining products as this will soften the leather too much.

rhm

Well, for all the trouble they've given me, I have not complained to Brooks about mine. Nonetheless, if they want to send me a new Professional to try out, I'll be happy to see how it holds up. Otherwise, I'm sticking to old ones!

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I've recently started using the stuff Rivendell sells instead of proofide. Its called Obenauf's. Doesn't smell anything like the delicious Citronella scent of Brooks Proofide, but so far I feel like the saddle seems less oily after applying Obenauf's than Proofide.

javal

+1 My experience as well. New saddle technology ( approx late 70´s) swept the old leather away. But what goes around comes around. Mates of mine uses Giles B. A whole other feeling according to them.

RFC

Yes, it's elf snot.

And I thought Proofide was God . . . .

ColonelJLloyd 

I think the issue is with the tops of the B17/Flyers. A friend of mine has had to switch to Professionals as there was a good deal of sag/splay after ~3,000 miles. They can be tightened and laced, but. . . .

dbakl

My B17 on my main bike is at least 25 years old and still looks new except for scrapes on the sides. I think I've Proofhided it once, on the top, never been in the rain. Haven't bought a new Brooks in 20 years, so can't say if the new ones are inferior or not.

duceditor

This thread interests me because when I recently resurrected my `69 Raleigh the old Brooks saddle, while looking OK, was dry rotted and split the first time I got on it. I was going to replace it with a new B17 but a fellow I met at the shop gave me this...
He didn't know its exact age but thought it was likely from the `70s. (He himself was younger than that, so?) In any case it seems fine and apart from feeling firm (as much from the fact that I hadn't even say on a bicycle in 30 or so years as the saddle itself) it is quite comfortable.

Can any one identify the exact model?

BTW I bought some Proofhide and applied it, just to the top, once.

-don

ColonelJLloyd 

It's a Team Professional as branded on the skirts.