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Leather Saddle Repair?
On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 21:56:08 -0400, Steve Sr.
wrote: My Lepper Voyager saddle has failed after only a little over 3 years and about 10K miles. The 3 rivets at the nose of the saddle have sheared off but the leather is still intact. The two outside (out of 5) rivets at the rear of the saddle are also showing signs of corrosion. Look in your local yellow pages for anyplace that sells tack and saddles, and give them a call to find out if they, or someone they know, does basic saddle and harness work. Anybody that does that type of thing can replace those rivets. Failing that, check for a luggage repair place; they also can replace rivets easily. If that proves fruitless, try a tent and awning shop. Presumably you'd rather avoid the ugly appearance and protruding flange that you would get by using pop rivets, but as a last resort they would most likely serve well enough. -- Typoes are a feature, not a bug. Some gardening required to reply via email. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
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#2
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Steve Sr. writes:
I also noticed that this saddle tended to stretch a lot on use and then tighten up once it dried out. I never tightened it while it was wet. It would almost stretch so much that it would contact the top of the seatpost. Is it supposed to stretch that much? No. Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much larger copper rivets. I have two Lepper saddles which are on bikes I don't ride a lot of miles on. I have several Brooks saddles, one of them- a Team Pro- I've been riding since 1977 with probably 50,000+ miles on it. It's my favorite saddle. |
#3
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Take it to a good cobbler. Most likely he will be able to fix it.
HTH, Ernie "Steve Sr." wrote: My Lepper Voyager saddle has failed after only a little over 3 years and about 10K miles. The 3 rivets at the nose of the saddle have sheared off but the leather is still intact. The two outside (out of 5) rivets at the rear of the saddle are also showing signs of corrosion. The saddle has been well maintained with proofhide and never exposed to rain. I suspect that the rivets were weakened by corrosion caused by perspiration and our humid summer weather. The rivets used were just brass plated steel and once the brass plating was gone the rivets just rusted until they were weak enough to shear off one by one. I also noticed that this saddle tended to stretch a lot on use and then tighten up once it dried out. I never tightened it while it was wet. It would almost stretch so much that it would contact the top of the seatpost. Is it supposed to stretch that much? Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much larger copper rivets. Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. Steve |
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Tim McNamara wrote: Steve Sr. writes: I also noticed that this saddle tended to stretch a lot on use and then tighten up once it dried out. I never tightened it while it was wet. It would almost stretch so much that it would contact the top of the seatpost. Is it supposed to stretch that much? No. Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much larger copper rivets. I have two Lepper saddles which are on bikes I don't ride a lot of miles on. I have several Brooks saddles, one of them- a Team Pro- I've been riding since 1977 with probably 50,000+ miles on it. It's my favorite saddle. If you can't fix your saddle, Thorusa is closing out its lepper ti leather saddle for $75: http://www.thorusa.com/lepper.htm Seems like a good deal. |
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Steve Sr. writes:
Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much larger copper rivets. Maybe you can get some new copper rivets from brooks and fix your saddle : www.wallbike.com. Rivet head size does not influence the life the rivet. Older brooks saddles had small (pea-sized) steel rivets (e.g. regular brooks pro, not today's brooks pro.) The large head size is to prevent the rider from feeling the rivets beneath him / her. - Don Gillies San Diego, CA |
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Thu, 21 Oct 2004 21:56:08 -0400,
, Steve Sr. wrote: Is this lifespan typical of a leather saddle. Do Brooks saddles hold up any better? I notice that they seem to be held together with much larger copper rivets. Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. Wallingford sells replacement rivets in three sizes. They're for Brooks saddles but they might be made to work. http://www.wallbike.com/brooks/parts...es.html#rivets -- zk |
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On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 14:06:33 -0400, Steve Sr.
wrote: I don't know what the manufacturer does to the leather to soften it up for working and then make it hard and stiff for use. Howdy, They soak the leather in water... HTH, -- Kenneth If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS." |
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