My bike came with one of these when I bought it, although it has no VO stamped in the leather.
I was finding it fairly comfortable but over time it had just gotten harder and more unforgiving than ever. The super dry WA climate is not helping I reckon and these have a mesh type woven fabric stuck to the underside of the leather - I assume to help the leather keep it’s shape but in reality it just doesn’t break in properly on its own. Soaked it over night as per the posts above and my god what a difference it’s made. The leather was pulled so tight before and had a “flatness” over the top of the saddle. This has now gone leaving a more Brooks-like rounded appearance, even after drying it out for 2 days.
Will report back after riding it some more distance but so far a vast improvement.
I get the feeling I may have to soak my saddles once or twice a year due to the long dry summers here in Perth.
i’ve been riding a brooks team pro for a few months now and have applied proofide on the top and bottom as per advice from some other less knowledgeable folk than tony. also had the saddle sit in the rain a few times. the time it took to break in dimples and sag was much quicker than expected, which can probably be attributed to the aforementioned conditions. will definitely try the overnight soak next time.
arse sweat is not the same as water, mainly due to the salinity. don’t know how that will affect the leather but i can’t imagine it being of much benefit.
on another note, how do you leather saddle riders find the bounce? i’ve been riding lower gearing and higher cadence and whenever there’s any sort of bump i find the saddle throwing me off my stroke. some say it all comes down to technique but i got no idea.
^ A Team Pro shouldn’t have too much bounce. They’re designed to be race saddles, thus they lacking the perforations of say a B17 (aka the arse hammock), and so they should remain pretty stiff. I know my Brooks Swift hasn’t softened much at all nor has my wife’s Team Pro S. I think that maybe you need to apply a bit more tension to the leather.
Re-shaped my B17 narrow! The offset ridge it had developed got so bad I couldn’t ride it anymore, so soaked it with a g clamp squeezing the ridge. Reshaped the arse-dimples while it was drying etc and the difference is incredible. I was gonna throw it away if it wasn’t for this thread.
If you’ve proofhided the underside don’t worry, it will still soften if you soak it for long enough. 4 days in this case.
And to confirm, yes, soaking does release all the oils and chemicals including proofhide. I’d only done about 24 hours but changed the water regularly (warm) as well as scrubbed it with saddle soap and massaged the leather to start reshaping it whilst pliable.
hey brooks aficionados, where in melbz is best to check out some brooks saddles? got a mate that wants to know.
i’ve directed him to abbotsford and commuter, they the best options? abbotsford have a ton available online, not sure how many they actually stock though…
I scrouched an old Rolls saddle from my local bike shop. there were a fuck load of blemish’s, scratches and marks. The black leather wasn’t even black anymore.
Any way, mr.sheen, re hydrated the covering, reduced blemishes, and restored the seat to its former glory!
