Breaking in a Brooks...

[CanucksTraveller]

It's very uncharacteristic to see those marks, I've not seen those on a Brooks before. Might be worth emailing them to get their opinion?

I really don't think it's through wear, the saddle below is I think about 7 years old. You see much, much older ones that look uniform.

This by the way was originally "honey" colour but I applied oil to the underside a few years ago which changed the look to a darker shade, but it made it a little softer and I like the look anyway.

 

[Andy in Germany]

It's very uncharacteristic to see those marks, I've not seen those on a Brooks before. Might be worth emailing them to get their opinion?

I really don't think it's through wear, the saddle below is I think about 7 years old. You see much, much older ones that look uniform.

This by the way was originally "honey" colour but I applied oil to the underside a few years ago which changed the look to a darker shade, but it made it a little softer and I like the look anyway.

I've emailed Brooks with my pics. Thing is, I put it on, new, rode on it twice, and then it looked like that, which makes me think there's a problem: my old brooks looks dark like yours, although less uniform.

What oil did you use?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

What oil did you use?

I used Flexalan as it was recommended by a member here some years ago, but it's Irish I think and I'm not sure if you could get it in Germany. There will be local alternatives I'm sure.
https://flexalan.com/

 

[roley poley]

Can you see what causes the scuffs? A seam in your clothes?


[/QUOTE]
my scuffs came from wall leaning and turning upside down to fettle punctures

 

[raleighnut]

A dab of Proofide will sort that.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Can you see what causes the scuffs? A seam in your clothes?



my scuffs came from wall leaning and turning upside down to fettle punctures

Possibly, I normally wear work or trekking trousers when I ride, but they're the same clothes as I wore on the other saddle and that's fine.

 

[All uphill]

I said upthread that mine is not scuffed, that is the surface has not been scratched or scraped, but it too lost some colour, almost identically to yours, in the first few weeks. Now after 3000 miles it hasn't changed any further.

So long as the leather isn't damaged I take it to be normal.

I'll take a photo and post it tomorrow.

 

[derrick]

All this oiling and messing around. Why not just buy a comfatable saddle in the first place. If its comfatable straight away thats fine it suits you. But if not comfatable straight away its not right for you. Try some other saddle.

 

[Dogtrousers]

All this oiling and messing around. Why not just buy a comfatable saddle in the first place. If its comfatable straight away thats fine it suits you. But if not comfatable straight away its not right for you. Try some other saddle.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

All this oiling and messing around. Why not just buy a comfatable saddle in the first place. If its comfatable straight away thats fine it suits you. But if not comfatable straight away its not right for you. Try some other saddle.

Mine was bought for me as a gift, that's the short answer.

But it's very hard to know which saddle will be comfortable long term though isn't it? Let's face it, it's not like you can go and do a 50 mile test ride on any potential new saddle. All you can do is go off recommendations and other experiences, and some won't work out as well as others. Hence I have about 5 saddles in the garage, some bought used, others new, some better to ride long distance than others.

The thing I find great about Brooks saddles is that (a) they do get better with age and (2) they have real longevity. So I'm not bothered that I've spent a couple of hours over 7 years looking after it.

 

[derrick]

Mine was bought for me as a gift, that's the short answer.

But it's very hard to know which saddle will be comfortable long term though isn't it? Let's face it, it's not like you can go and do a 50 mile test ride on any potential new saddle. All you can do is go off recommendations and other experiences, and some won't work out as well as others. Hence I have about 5 saddles in the garage, some bought used, others new, some better to ride long distance than others.

The thing I find great about Brooks saddles is that (a) they do get better with age and (2) they have real longevity. So I'm not bothered that I've spent a couple of hours over 7 years looking after it.

Both our local bike shops have test saddles you can try. A lot is trial and error but when you find one that suits you stick with it. I found Selle Italia works for me straight out the box. No faffing just get on and ride.

 

[Andy in Germany]

So here's the Brooks after about 100k, give or take:

View attachment 501635


View attachment 501636

Seems a lot of wear for such a short distance. It's hard to see but the logo area and nose have also been affected. Even my other saddle, currently in use for about a decade, doesn't have that much scuffing.

Has anyone else had this happen?

Postscript to this post:

I contacted Brooks and they said it wasn't normal: the scuffing was all over the saddle by this stage. They've swapped it for a new one, which has the advantage that it will hopefully not scuff as much, but of course means I now need to break it in all over again...

 

[raleighnut]

Postscript to this post:

I contacted Brooks and they said it wasn't normal: the scuffing was all over the saddle by this stage. They've swapped it for a new one, which has the advantage that it will hopefully not scuff as much, but of course means I now need to break it in all over again...

Possibly a known 'issue' with a batch of leather, although TBH I like my Brooks to be 'worn in' looking ASAP

 

[Andy in Germany]

Possibly a known 'issue' with a batch of leather, although TBH I like my Brooks to be 'worn in' looking ASAP

Possibly, but this was looking seriously manky, and the waterproofing wouldn't have been too good from the areas where the tanning had been damaged.

 

[BromptonChrispy]

I’ve had two B17s and a Team Pro with copper rivets. Perfectly comfortable straight out of the box, all of em. I’d proofide the underside and I melt a little of it in a teaspoon to run in between the rear metal plate and the leather as I had one that began to squeak a bit! FWIW, when I used a San Marco Rolls saddle, after about 10 km it was awful. I can only think that it was because the Brooks (like a Charge Spoon) is flatter across the sit-bones bit. The Rolls is convex. Good luck 👍