Which Brooks saddle?

On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800 (PST), "P. Chisholm"
wrote:

+2. I tried 2 Brooks saddles. One of the zillion dollar limited
edition and numbered titanium Swallow and also a Swift. I got them
because of their looks and 'religion'. I tried and tried to use them,
break them in, adjust them, screw with them and didn't find true
happiness about Brooks until I sold them.

I thought you had to ride a Brooks for a decade or two, or at least
five years, before it would be broken in for you and feel comfortable.
You shouldn't bad mouth the saddle just because you can't make a
*real* committment.

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800 (PST), "P. Chisholm"
wrote:

+2. I tried 2 Brooks saddles. One of the zillion dollar limited
edition and numbered titanium Swallow and also a Swift. I got them
because of their looks and 'religion'. I tried and tried to use them,
break them in, adjust them, screw with them and didn't find true
happiness about Brooks until I sold them.

I thought you had to ride a Brooks for a decade or two, or at least
five years, before it would be broken in for you and feel comfortable.
You shouldn't bad mouth the saddle just because you can't make a
*real* committment.

Couple of days and a pint of bum sweat should do it ok.

On 28 Feb, 17:59, Tosspot wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800 (PST), "P. Chisholm"
wrote:

+2. I tried 2 Brooks saddles. One of the zillion dollar limited
edition and numbered titanium Swallow and also a Swift. I got them
because of their looks and 'religion'. I tried and tried to use them,
break them in, adjust them, screw with them and didn't find true
happiness about Brooks until I sold them.

I thought you had to ride a Brooks for a decade or two, or at least
five years, before it would be broken in for you and feel comfortable.
You shouldn't bad mouth the saddle just because you can't make a
*real* committment.

Couple of days and a pint of bum sweat should do it ok.

Which makes me think that placing it in a humid environment for a
while, will start the moulding process immediately you start riding.
I'm thinking a wet flannel in a poly bag for 24 hours. Probably best
done in warm weather without padded shorts to provide the most
accurate fit. The ride would have to of a reasonable length, say two
to three hours.
Give it a week before riding again and try the same thing. I reckon
that should give you the custom fit.

TJ

Brooks has a saddle cover with embedded goatheads. Jute should try it

datakoll aka Gene Daniels wrote:

Brooks has a saddle cover with embedded goatheads. Jute should try it

As I have written before, Gene's a genius!

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
LOCAL CACTUS EATS CYCLIST - datakoll

On 1 Mar, 00:30, Phil W Lee phil(at)lee-family(dot)me(dot)uk wrote:
Nick L Plate considered Sat, 28 Feb 2009
15:27:30 -0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:



On 28 Feb, 17:59, Tosspot wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800 (PST), "P. Chisholm"
wrote:

+2. I tried 2 Brooks saddles. One of the zillion dollar limited
edition and numbered titanium Swallow and also a Swift. I got them
because of their looks and 'religion'. I tried and tried to use them,
break them in, adjust them, screw with them and didn't find true
happiness about Brooks until I sold them.

I thought you had to ride a Brooks for a decade or two, or at least
five years, before it would be broken in for you and feel comfortable.
You shouldn't bad mouth the saddle just because you can't make a
*real* committment.

Couple of days and a pint of bum sweat should do it ok.

Which makes me think that placing it in a humid environment for a
while, will start the moulding process immediately you start riding.
I'm thinking *a wet flannel in a poly bag for 24 hours. *Probably best
done in warm weather without padded shorts to provide the most
accurate fit. *The ride would have to of a reasonable length, say two
to three hours.
Give it a week before riding again and try the same thing. *I reckon
that should give you the custom fit.

If you want to make leather pliable, you need to use oil, not water.
Water will drive the natural oils out of the leather and make it hard,
so it's more likely to crack.

The water permits the leather to shear so the posibilty of shaping
without tearing exists. Leather made pliable by oil stays that way.
In effect, soft. A soft saddle is not desirable, for the likelyhood
of nerve compaction increases when the saddle presses upon the more
recessed parts of ones anatomy. Soap will prevent leather becoming
'hard' to the point of cracking. A hard saddle that fits is most
desirous for long term comfort. The saddle rails should give equal
contribution to the compliance of the unit within service. The
'softer' plastic saddles are generally complemented with a stiffer
saddle rail and rear frame than the better tour/race butt leather
saddles.
TJ

On Feb 28, 6:35 pm, datakoll wrote:
Brooks has a saddle cover with embedded goatheads. Jute should try it


Hawley catalog has saddle panties with pink leopard spots.

In article ,
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800 (PST), "P. Chisholm"
wrote:

+2. I tried 2 Brooks saddles. One of the zillion dollar limited
edition and numbered titanium Swallow and also a Swift. I got them
because of their looks and 'religion'. I tried and tried to use them,
break them in, adjust them, screw with them and didn't find true
happiness about Brooks until I sold them.

I thought you had to ride a Brooks for a decade or two, or at least
five years, before it would be broken in for you and feel comfortable.
You shouldn't bad mouth the saddle just because you can't make a
*real* committment.

You repeat a well-worn and incorrect tale. I ride stretched
leather saddles. A brand new saddle is comfortable from
the moment I first use it. Hence, the statement that a
stretched leather saddle needs breaking in is not always
true. Categorical statements about what saddle is best
serve nobody well.

--
Michael Press

On 1 Mar, 03:37, Michael Press wrote:
In article ,
*John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800 (PST), "P. Chisholm"
wrote:

+2. I tried 2 Brooks saddles. One of the zillion dollar limited
edition and numbered titanium Swallow and also a Swift. I got them
because of their looks and 'religion'. I tried and tried to use them,
break them in, adjust them, screw with them and didn't find true
happiness about Brooks until I sold them.

I thought you had to ride a Brooks for a decade or two, or at least
five years, before it would be broken in for you and feel comfortable.
You shouldn't bad mouth the saddle just because you can't make a
*real* committment.

You repeat a well-worn and incorrect tale. I ride stretched
leather saddles. A brand new saddle is comfortable from
the moment I first use it. Hence, the statement that a
stretched leather saddle needs breaking in is not always
true. Categorical statements about what saddle is best
serve nobody well.

--
Michael Press

If you don't know your saddles, it is best to start at the cheaper end
of the market. A Brooks that fits is a worthwile investment, but
given their cost, it is better to find the correct shape in a plastic
saddle first. The correct plastic still has its uses. Keep hold of
it.
TJ

On Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:30:58 +0000, Phil W Lee
phil(at)lee-family(dot)me(dot)uk wrote:

If you want to make leather pliable, you need to use oil, not water.
Water will drive the natural oils out of the leather and make it hard,
so it's more likely to crack.

I am not making any suggestions about how best to break in a
Brooks saddle, but...

With your comments above, you are simply incorrect:

In fact, in their process of manufacture, Brooks saddles are
molded to shape originally by wetting them. When they dry,
they retain the shape of the mold.

No "natural oils" are driven off by wetting the leather.
Those were all removed in the tanning process. In a sense,
that's what leather is - animal skin, without the oils.

Indeed, any leather can crack if it is flexed while it is
too dry, and that is the reason that oils of various types
are often added after the leather item is made. Again,
that's what they do when they make a Brooks saddle.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

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