• About Me

Cycle Seattle

~ Posts on bikes

Cycle Seattle

Tag Archives: leather saddle discomfort

Soften the Rivet

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

B17, break-in method, brooks, leather saddle, leather saddle discomfort, Lon Haldeman, mink oil, rivet pearl, sitz bones, sitz bonz, soften leather saddle


Rivet Pearl

Disclaimer – you will possibly ruin your saddle if you try this, and there is no way that any manufacturer will recommend this.  However, if you are planning on selling/trading/or tossing a new leather saddle that isn’t working for you, this may be worth trying…

Further information from the manufacturer (Rivet): Using this procedure will certainly invalidate the 365-day warranty. It falls square into the “altering” the saddle category, so only do this as a very last resort! See this page for proper care of this saddle.

Have a saddle that didn’t quite break in fast enough, or ever?  Disclaimer 2: this process will probably half the life of a saddle.  But…if half the life of the saddle brings you discomfort, who cares.  Especially on a leather saddle which probably has a lifespan of several decades.  If I get 10 years from a comfortable saddle, that is far better than 20 years with only the 2nd half being bearable, right?

Here’s what you do (the following process is a summary of Lon Haldeman’s famous Brooks Break-in method):

  1. Soak the saddle in warm (100 degree ish) water for 5-10 minutes
  2. Dry it off quickly
  3. While the saddle is still warm, slather it with mink oil (or proofide, or Obenaufs)
  4. Put it on your bike and go for a ride – about 5-10 minutes – preferably with old shorts
  5. Put more mink oil on it
  6. Walk away…

The next day, if the saddle is still stiff, repeat the above procedure.  If it is more pliable, go for a longer ride and see how it feels.

Soaked

The back story on this particular saddle isn’t that interesting.  I have about 500 miles of commuting on it, and while the shape is superb, the spot where my sitz bonz sat was hard as a rock, and didn’t seem to be getting any better.  I could ride it with padded shorts for short distances, but no padz, no wayz!

I was ready to throw in the towel on this saddle, but decided that I had spent the money, and wasn’t quite ready to give up.  Now this saddle is not a pure leather variety like a classic Brooks B17 or Pro, but has a waterproof coating layer on top, so I wasn’t so sure I wouldn’t be wrecking it.  Ahhh, risk – gotta love the adrenaline.  I’ve never done the Lon Haldeman treatment on a Brooks, but I did butcher one not long ago, and that turned out OK…

Some slight wrinkling

After the treatment, I observed a bit of a change to the top layer.  It seemed to show the underlying layers a bit more, and even exposed the frame around the side rivets.  There was no major issue around edge separation, so the saddle is still intact and solid.  The shape also remained consistent.  The leather around the right sitz area was definitely harder than the rest of the saddle, and I massaged it (with a rubber mallet, even) more than the rest of the saddle to get it to relax.  It seems to have done the trick.  Lotz of mink oil helps…

Honey, your frame is showing

I noticed on the following day’s ride that I could actually feel the steel frame through the saddle on the right side.  I scanned the saddle from above and it appeared to be ever so slightly askew – like the frame was slightly oriented to the right side.  I did what any sensible man would do and turned the saddle slightly to the right to move the trouble spot back out of the sitz area.  Voila!!!  Perfection!

The next day – 20+ miles with no padded shorts and the saddle disappeared underneath me.  Now thatz what I’m talkin’ bout!

A new saddle!

Top Posts & Pages

  • Commuting Balance
    Commuting Balance
  • New fenders, old bike
    New fenders, old bike
  • Gorge(ous) Rides
    Gorge(ous) Rides
  • A. Homer Hilsen 7-year Review
    A. Homer Hilsen 7-year Review
  • The Little Things...
    The Little Things...
  • Backup Bike
    Backup Bike
  • Trillium Forest
    Trillium Forest
  • Winter Hills
    Winter Hills

Flickr Photos

BH-19.jpgBH-18.jpgBH-17.jpgBH-16.jpgBH-15.jpgBH-14.jpgBH-13.jpgBH-12.jpgBH-11.jpgBH-10.jpg
More Photos

Archive

  • August 2020 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (6)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (5)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (1)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (2)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (2)
  • October 2014 (2)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (1)
  • May 2014 (2)
  • April 2014 (5)
  • March 2014 (4)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (6)
  • December 2013 (1)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (1)
  • August 2013 (1)
  • July 2013 (2)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (1)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (7)
  • December 2012 (5)
  • November 2012 (2)
  • October 2012 (2)
  • September 2012 (3)
  • August 2012 (3)
  • July 2012 (1)
  • June 2012 (4)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (1)
  • March 2012 (1)
  • February 2012 (4)
  • January 2012 (5)
  • December 2011 (6)
  • November 2011 (4)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (4)
  • March 2011 (2)
  • February 2011 (4)

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 95 other followers
Follow Cycle Seattle on WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Cycle Seattle
    • Join 95 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Cycle Seattle
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar