52telecaster

I picked up this saddle on a recent motobecane purchase and wondered what should I do to prolong it's life. The saddle actually feels about right stiffness wise. Just wondered what treatment or cleaner is safe on it.




The only writing I can make out is the ideal on the rivets.

Pcampeau

Looks like an Ideale 80 Type Record. At some point they came with black rails like yours. I’ve got two of these and I just use my Brooks proofide on them. That saddle appears to have plenty of life left, I’d clean it up with a damp rag, proofide it once and ride it. Mine are extremely hard, I think that’s just how they are. The saddle doesn’t break in well but I’m determined to be the guy that finally does it. That’s right, I’ve been making an attempt at “breaking in” a couple of 50 year old saddles. The saving grace of this model is its width or it would be a true ass hatchet. If you give up on it, it does have some value on eBay. Good luck!

52telecaster

Good to know I won't be hurting it. I've got some proofide so I'll take a stab at it. Thanks man!

smontanaro 

The first 80 that crossed my path was like that. "WTF? Someone else can have it." The second one was fine and is a keeper.

Pcampeau

Glad to hear the second one worked out well. That means I’m on the right track. They can be broken in with enough riding, right? I think most people probably give up on them but that leather has got to soften sometime.

mpetry912 

that one looks pretty crispy, I think I'd soak in some neats foot oil on the backside and let it soak in for a few days.

/markp

smontanaro 

I think the first one my tush didn't like was crispy as well. The current one I like, not so much.

Road Fan

I have two of these as well though only one has the Record stamp, whatever that means. I would suggest first giving it a wash and light brush scrub to see how much crud comes off, and if any mildew becomes visible. Let it air dry then a very light Proofide. Also, the new Ideale company is very forthcoming about what they know and don't know. If they have the old data on care and feeding or Model 80 saddles, I can't imagine them not sharing it. Ideale makes a saddle dressing as well, and they might say it is more appropriate than Proofide.

On my two I'm using Proofide. It doesn't have a big effect, it certainly does not make the 30 year old (or whatever) leather look like new, but I don't think that's realistic. I reached out to Katia at Ideale regarding leather replacement for my Ideale 92. While they currently don't have the leather-forming tool for a 92, she told me the 80s are similar in design to the 90s, but the 90 had higher-quality leather, and they say their current means of preparing leather for the current Ideale 90 saddles closely follows the original process. I did not ask her exactly how to manage a damaged 80 or if they are willing to use a 90 saddle skin on an 80 frame.

squirtdad

The Ideal saddle is the one that fits you best..............sorry just had to

Schweinhund

I flipped a couple of BMW's with crispy leather, someone told me to use Zymol conditioner
It did the job much better than expected.

Road Fan

I don't think saddle narrowness has much to do with forming into an ass hatchet. Back in the day saddles like B17s or similar shapes with leather-cardboard skins misformed into that shape pretty regularly, but we kids knew nothing about getting leather wet or using a leather dressing, et cetera, and neither did some of our parents, beyond common decorative leather, baseball gloves, or horse saddles, or "take it to the shoemaker."

52telecaster

I gently cleaned it and applied a generous amount of proofide. I also closely compared it's stiffness to a modern broke in b17. The ideal is significantly stiffer. This may be a city seat only. It came on a 531 grand jubilee, pretty cool bike except the fork isn't 531. Still it rode me around Columbus and Pittsburgh last week.

This pic doesn't include the ideal, it's just the bike it came on.

mpetry912 

for a saddle that dried out proofide is not going to do it. The Zymol is a great suggestion. there is a Lexol leather conditioner that works well too.

use it on the underside of the saddle.

/markp

52telecaster

Lexol is at my local hardware! Thanks.

ascherer 

Long cage Jubilee, sweet.

52telecaster

The whole reason for buying the bike.

rhm

I agree it's an Idéale model 80, but I'm not convinced it's Type Record (which has "made in France" at the top, and TYPE RECORD at the bottom of the stamp). The only letter i can see in the photo is a D approximtely where the P of "type" would be, if it's a Type Record, or where the D would be if it's a Speciale Competition, (which has "made in France" at the bottom).

They have the same frame, but different leather. Speciale Competition means treated leather, type record means untreated leather.

Speciale Competition leather holds up much better than type record leather, but once it turns to stone, i don't think it can be turned back into a softer material.

Good luck!

52telecaster

It's not quite stone. Flexible stone maybe.

rhm

Then there is hope!

And don't worry, you can't do it any harm.

52telecaster

I'll start riding it fairly soon.

jonwvara 

I have had good results reviving a couple of dry saddles (one an Ideale, the other a Wrights) by putting them in a ziploc bag and pouring in enough Lexol (you want the white creamy liquid type) to more or less immerse them and letting them marinate for a few days. Wipe off the excess and you're good to go. You can pour whatever Lexol remains in the bag back into the bottle for reuse, even though it may look kind of dark.

Big Block

Just use a light dressing of Proofide. Use sparingly.
Too much of any product will make the leather soft and it will easily deform.
Other leather products are made for different purposes and are generally unsuitable.