Brookes saddle users - advice needed

[GrumpyGregry]

My LBS (ive only tried one) doesn't have a spanner that will - fit. (he also says he only uses baby lotion on his brookes at £1.70 for morrisons own brand).
My small mole wrench can get in and has just about managed to turn the nut a 1/2 rotation.
When I press firmly with my thumb (almost as firmly as I can but not quite), i'd say I can depress the centre hole of the three about a cm, and the 'wings' on each side of the saddle flare about a cm. As a rough guide, is this about right, or should there be very very little movement?

Please... leave off with the mole grips... keep them at lest 3m away from your bike at all times. Nasty nasty things.

Your tension ; it would sound more than a little slacker than any of my brooks saddles, of which I currently have four btw. So somewhere in the shed there are a couple of spare saddle spanners..... Sounds to me like your saddle may have got soaked* at some point or the previous owned didn't have a brooks shaped arse and slackened it off a bit to see if a hammock was more comfortable than a plank.

if I can find do you want one for the price of postage?

NB Not all Brooks need a spanner, the superior Ti railled ones use an allen key for tensioning iirc.

*contrary to popular myth this is not the end of the world. a tennis ball and a ball of string and an airing cupboard are all you need to restore a soaked brooks.

 

[PpPete]

I do wish Brooks would dispense with that silly nut inside and move the whole range across to external allen-key tensioning like on the Swift model. (X-posted with Greg)

Used sparingly (as it should be) one tin of proofhide will be sufficient for several Brooks saddles for many years. Given the high initial cost of the saddles themselves - why risk using a product that could (potentially) shorten their lifespan?

We have 5 Brooks saddles in our household stable... & I estimate expenditure on proofhide is less than £1 / year. Rip-off per tin it may be, but compared with the rest of the bike maintenance budget it pales into insignificance.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Please... leave off with the mole grips... keep them at lest 3m away from your bike at all times. Nasty nasty things.

Your tension ; it would sound more than a little slacker than any of my brooks saddles, of which I currently have four btw. So somewhere in the shed there are a couple of spare saddle spanners..... Sounds to me like your saddle may have got soaked* at some point or the previous owned didn't have a brooks shaped arse and slackened it off a bit to see if a hammock was more comfortable than a plank.

if I can find do you want one for the price of postage?

NB Not all Brooks need a spanner, the superior Ti railled ones use an allen key for tensioning iirc.

*contrary to popular myth this is not the end of the world. a tennis ball and a ball of string and an airing cupboard are all you need to restore a soaked brooks.

Lol, mole grips back in the tool box

I have an airing cupboard + string at the ready, and will search my gutters for a tennis ball. Whats next?

Really kind offer for the spanner, will pm you my addy and let me know how much you want for the spanner. Many thanks

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. Oh deary deary deary me.

Just been to a shop that sells brookes saddles to compare mine - I think ive bought a saggy seat.

 

[jayonabike]

I have a spare brooks spanner, p.m me your address and i'll send it to you

jay

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. Oh deary deary deary me.

Just been to a shop that sells brookes saddles to compare mine - I think ive bought a saggy seat.

don't compare yours with a new one... like comparing used shoes with new.

So long as it hasn't sagged beyond the range of tension adjustment you can fix it.

My flyer, a B17 on springs, got soaked through. I had little choice but to continue to ride it. Byy the time the weekend was done the top was sitting on the rails. dried out a bit on the long rail journey home. what I did....

soaked it again, in a bucket, stuck a tennis ball between the rails and the top, bound the sides into shape by winding some course hemp string round and round the whole length of the saddle from nose to the wide bit, tied it off, left it in the airing cupboard for a few days, took string off, removed ball, proofhide'd it. The wings were back vertical and were thus stiffening the while thing. Put a bit of tension in,comparing with another broken-in saddle all the time. took a lot more than the legendary 1/4 turn at which the pundits will tell you the saddle will self-destruct. Have ridden it plenty since. It's fine.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Thanks everyone - How long do I soak it for Greg?

 

[Belfastox]

I use Red Wings Mink Oil on mine - does the job and keeps my boots lovely

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Thanks everyone - How long do I soak it for Greg?

until it is soft, but I don't think you necessarily need to, just add a little bit more tension is prob all that is needed

 

[Ian H]

My various Brookses were soaked when they were new, then given a thin application over every few weeks for a year or so. After that I left them. Two are over 20yrs old and haven't have any treatment for at least 5. Only one has been (slightly) tensioned.

 

[Davidc]

Sorry Lien - had a good rummage and the only Brooks spanner I still have is the one that came with the latest one a few years back.

I've had Brooks saddles completely soaked a couple of times. All I've had to do has been to dry them out and then put about 1/4 turn more tension on the nut to make the leather firm again. Each time I have redone the Proofide.

With my Brooks all I've ever done is the full works Proofide then the top only week of daily, year of monthly and then yearly, but I do put it underneath yearly. That's for both new and secondhand ones. I have wondered if it's lack of proofiding that's part of the problem when people get these things wrecked by water.

Now for a question ----

My bike slipped up against a wooden support. The white paint on the support wasn't quite dry. Any suggestions for getting it off without damaging the leather? When I get a new saddle clamp I'd like it to go back on looking like new!

 

[Manonabike]

This is what Brooks says about protecting your saddle.

 

[Crackle]

The best place to soak it is in a Loch. They're not quite the right shape for a discuss throw but if you hold them by the nose you can get a good fling on them. Then, if an arm doesn't come out of the loch holding your Brooks saddle aloft, you know your arse was never meant for one.

 

[jayonabike]

I posted you a spanner yesterday Lien, you should have it today or tomorrow at the latest

 

[Scoosh]

If anyone else has a Brooks spanner they wish to post away ....