# Brooks saddle and the rain?



## marzjennings (13 Sep 2011)

So I have a new bike on the way and I'm thinking of buying a Brooks saddle to go with it. But as an all weather cyclist should I not consider a leather saddle? 
I guess my question is, how are Brooks saddles in the rain?


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## DTD (13 Sep 2011)

An old Tesco bag was my constant companion, then at a Skyride someone gave me a yellow plastic saddle cover – Brooks do one for about a fiver.


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## Jimmy Doug (13 Sep 2011)

Hi

I have a Broookes saddle. No problem in the rain at all - so long as it is properly proofed. To protect the saddle against moisture, dust, falling tree sap etc etc, I use one of these. You could use a plastic bag, but this cover is cheap and fits very snug onto the saddle. A worthwhile investment.


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## rich p (13 Sep 2011)

I had a Brooks which I forgot to cover one night when on tour in Slovenia. It got drenched and was utterly useless thereafter and caused me no end of bum pain subsequently, despite having been assiduously proofed in its sad liife. 

I decided that a touring saddle that wasn't waterproof was a chocolate teapot as far as I was concerned.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (13 Sep 2011)

rich p said:


> I had a Brooks which I forgot to cover one night when on tour in Slovenia. It got drenched and was utterly useless thereafter and caused me no end of bum pain subsequently, despite having been assiduously proofed in its sad liife.
> 
> I decided that a touring saddle that wasn't waterproof was a chocolate teapot as far as I was concerned.



i love the brooks, they are not the comfiest saddle i've ever used, but i don't get saddle sores with them. i agree that they are too fussy. i've never put on a cover, i sweat just as much as it rains, so i'd have to have a cover on every day. my brooks professional hasn't stretched yet, but my brooks flyer has needed tightening way too much and i'm getting towards the end of it's thread (only a few years old as well).

what alternatives are there? i can't use plastic saddles, for some reason they give me boils, no matter how fastidious i am (or which gloops i use).


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## GrumpyGregry (13 Sep 2011)

one of my brooks got soaked on a mudguard-less long weekend tour in scotland when it rained from the moment we got off the sleeper train. It was sodden, like a face flannel. I had no choice but to keep riding on it all the while thinking I'd wrecked it. It was less comfortable than usual but it dried out fine, needed a bit of tension, and I'm still riding it.


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## Globalti (13 Sep 2011)

I expect this was the reason why plastic saddles were invented.

When I used to go climbing the best way to get a new pair of leather boots to fit was to go for a wet walk then wear them wet.


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## s_casey99 (13 Sep 2011)

I just bought a B17 Special and it came with a rain cover...


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## PpPete (13 Sep 2011)

GregCollins said:


> one of my brooks got soaked on a mudguard-less long weekend tour



Brooks + tour = 
mudguard-less + Brooks =


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## Jimmy Doug (13 Sep 2011)

It's a good point. I guess the Achilles heel of a Brooks is underneath. They tell you to proof it with generous quantities of the Brooks wax, but it's difficult to do a proper job (there are parts that are hard to reach). Mudguards keep a lot of the muck off the underside of the saddle.


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## middleagecyclist (13 Sep 2011)

My B17 has been thoroughly soaked while cycling in heavy rain/sleet/snow. Dries out fine. I have only proofed it once when I got it 2 years ago and have done 6000ish miles since then. I try not leave it out in heavy precipitation of any type though. I either cover it with a bag, cover the whole bike a tarp if stealth camping or remove the seatpost/saddle if locked somewhere too dodgy. I also use full mudguards on my tourer so it keeps the road crap off the underside. 

Wouldn't use anything else for long distance cycling. It's not that i'm averse to other types of saddle (i have a cheap plastic thing on a hack bike, a a synthetic on my hardtail and am happy using a razor saddle on a road bike) but the comfort when touring outweighs any disadvantage for me. 

Each to their own though!


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## GrumpyGregry (13 Sep 2011)

PpPete said:


> Brooks + tour =
> mudguard-less + Brooks =






Jimmy Doug said:


> It's a good point. I guess the Achilles heel of a Brooks is underneath. They tell you to proof it with generous quantities of the Brooks wax, but it's difficult to do a proper job (there are parts that are hard to reach). Mudguards keep a lot of the muck off the underside of the saddle.



they used to make an under saddle shield for what St Sheldon calls the fenderless. I went guardless as much of the tour was off-road and the guards were in terminal decline and would have shaken themselves to pieces on the first day. an undersaddle shield was fabricated from an old plastic bottle. 

still got soaked.


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## totallyfixed (13 Sep 2011)

Has anyone actually spoken to Brooks? I have a newish Swift which came with a cover but as it's for a road bike I don't usually carry it with me.


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## Oxo (13 Sep 2011)

[QUOTE 1541973"]
Brooks will only accept contact on parchment, written with a quill pen.
[/quote]


Not strictly true. A company repesentative will, on occasions, receive a personal envoy.


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## zigzag (13 Sep 2011)

i've had one brooks b17 that has collapsed after wet lel'09. sent for warranty repair (to replace leather top) and haven't had problems since. i try to keep it covered if it rains. i've got another brooks saddle on my commuter which i keep locked outside. i take out qr seatpost every time i leave it - no rain on the saddle and the bike is less attractive to scumbags.


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## marzjennings (14 Sep 2011)

Cheers for all the advice and it looks like a Brooks is not for me. It's not storage i was worried about as the bike will live in the garage. It was getting wet while out riding. We have rain showers that can turn tropical and everything gets soaked through, mud guards or not.


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## s_casey99 (14 Sep 2011)

cover?


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