Miele Man

WOW! I was reading a pocket book "The Bike Book" by Bibs McIntyre published in 1972 by Pyramid Communications, Inc; and came across an interesting way to break in a new leather saddle. On page 162 she quotes a Mr. Asa head of the American Youth Hostel at the time (his book was published in 1969) as to how to break in a new leather saddle. " this is a good place to point out the importance of breaking in your leather bicycle saddle. The fastest method seems to be to rub Neatsfoot oil into the underside and to pound the top with a hefty stick. Repeat this several times over the period of a month or so."

I wonder how many new leather saddles were ruined with this method. I've been advise by a few makers and re-conditioners of horse saddle to NEVER use Neatsfoot oil on a saddle as it softens leather by breaking down the fibers and can ruin a saddle in very quick order.

Interestingly enough, many people still recommend Neatsfoot oil for softening a saddle.

I used Neatsfoot oil on one old leather bicycle saddle before I knew any better. That saddle snapped off just behind the nose. Other old leather saddles that I did NOT use Neatsfoot oil on are still going strong 18 years since I got them.

Cheers

thook

beat it with a heavy stick?! right...lol!

i've recently acquired a weathered B72 needing tlc. even though i've read about leather saddles over the years, and already have/had three, i've known better than using neatsfoot. that i'm aware of, it's not even the original formula, anymore.
nevertheless, i got some good ol' proofide to restore this B72. i know others on this site and elsewhere use/have used other stuff with good results as i have, i've never used the proofide. i'm curious to see how well it works

ThermionicScott 

I wouldn't get my hopes up. B72s have a reputation for splitting behind the nose, and Proofide won't fix the leather if it's already dried out.

gugie 

My go-to method is to mount a new leather saddle on my commuter bike until it breaks in.

I can put up with it for the 9 mile trip.

ljsense

You need a hammer where the end terminates in a baseball, then beat the pocket with that. Works perfectly for gloves. Just put the grease on the pocket around your sit bones, not where the rivets and structure go.

thook

it's not that dried out. i've seen others on the forum salvage worse. i mean, there is some surface roughage, but the leather is still pretty stout and "alive"...if that makes any sense

edit: to finish (had to leave abruptly)....thank you for the heads up. i was not aware of the rep of these models. i have two...hrmm

Salamandrine 

A shop where I worked a long time ago had a big old can of neatsfoot oil for this very purpose. Once it was pretty common. The beating thing does sound excessive. I guess it worked for someone. Anyhow, I was dumb enough once to apply neatsfoot to my first leather saddle (an old B17 special), because that's what you did. Fortunately I was stingy enough with it that the saddle was not ruined, though it did perhaps get a bit overly soft. It was comfortable. Ergo neatsfoot won't necessarily ruin a saddle, but it can.

Nowadays my philosophy is that less is better. I just give the saddle time. Its the riding it that breaks it in. No doping other than a little dab of proofide.

OneIsAllYouNeed

My wife broke in a new Brooks B17S by riding it a few hundred miles in the rain... probably without fenders. That was ~9 years ago. She weighed about 105 lb at the time. We were impressed by how quickly the saddle broke in. I think it was less than 2 weeks. I put Proofide on the saddle after than initial break-in period; and we use Brooks saddle covers to protect it from rain now. That saddle is still very comfortable for her and the finish still looks new.

squirtdad

Just ride. IME my brooks (B17 and Swift) have been comfortable day one and get better with riding. The one that wasn't (B17 N imperial) I sold after 50 miles of no go

rumrunn6

my Dad once confused Brylcreem for toothpaste

Darth Lefty 

It should be comfortable immediately but if it’s not you need to give it ten or twenty thousand miles to break in before you give up on it. Most people can do that in a year, right?

Kabuki12

I usually let my fanny do the work after I have treated the saddle with Dr. Marten's rub. I use this because it is readily available at my local western boot/saddle shop. I have a saddle now that was pretty hard and was not rideable as it was . It is an early seventies Brooks Pro in fair condition other than being too hard. My LBS told me to set it out in the sun just until warm to the touch and treat BOTH sides of the saddle. I did this followed by repeated treatments of Doc Marten's every 7-10 days. Although the saddle is still firm , it is not hard. So now it is time for my fanny to do the work. So I will take the early Uni Canitor off the ItalVega and put the pro on , not that I don't like the Cinelli , it is just the look of the now broken in Brooks Pro is nice. Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

John E

I got my first (nearly new) Brooks Pro for $5, because my boss at the bike shop gave up after a week of trying to get used to it. It is still serviceable after almost 50K miles, but it is finally wearing out. They are great saddles if you are patient with break-in and then treat them properly.

Big Block

The leather had moulded to her shape. It had accelerated the leather shaping which normally occurs after many more miles of riding.

For those interested in reading the current conservation advice on dealing with vegetable tanned leather it is found here

JohnDThompson 

That's fine for a glove, which benefits from being supple and doesn't have to support your body weight. But a bicycle saddle needs to be firm and strong enough to support your body, and the characteristics that make for a good glove don't make for a good bicycle saddle. Softness means shorter life when it comes to bicycle saddles.

gugie 

Brings to mind @rhm's releathers. Much thicker leather, takes longer to break in, but should last a lot longer.

ljsense

If you'd rather have a softer saddle now, and don't need it to last 25 years or whatever, oiling and beating a Brooks makes sense to me. It's just speeding up what happens over time.

ThermionicScott 

I always got a chuckle out of this bit on Sheldon's website:





(FWIW, Lon's own figure is that the saddle's lifespan is shortened to only 40,000 miles: https://pactour.blogspot.com/2011/01/...er-saddle.html )

Slightspeed

Like somebody said just ride it. I've got 5 Brooks (4 B17s, 1 Pro ) and every one has felt great from the start, and were either new in the box, or nearly new ones that somebody gave up on, for whatever reason. They're not for every body. For those who never get used to them, well, their loss is a gain for us true believers. Several friends who ride modern carbon, are sitting on a Brooks leather saddle. I had one for 50 years, that I rode from new, but didn't maintain it, and got caught out in the rain, and it split in two, about 1/3rd way past the pointy end. Broke my heart, but I found a nice hardly used one on Ebay. It's all good now. As with any new saddle, fit, height and angle is critical. Take the time to experiment, get it right, and there is no other saddle.

ryansu

now where did I put that big stick...?

Lascauxcaveman 

Yeah, my go-to method is buy the stiffest leather saddle you can get, mount it, ride it, an hope it never, ever "breaks in."

I've had my disappointments: Modern B17s and a modern Brooks Swallow. Just a little too soft too soon.

cudak888 

This is also how you break in a Mr. Asa - hence, his knowledge of the system.

-Kurt

seypat

I usually put some saddle oil on it, wrap it tight with a belt and put it under my mattress. After about a week, I pull it out and it........wait for it.........it fits like a glove.

randyjawa 

For me, the only way to break a new Brooks saddle in is to ride it. I use Proofhide only to protect the saddle and I don't have to use it all that often.

Simply put, some Brooks saddles have proved a perfectly comfortable fit right out of the box, as was the case with this B17 Champion Standard...


Others, in fact every Brooks Pro that I bought new, had to be broken in. Right out of the box was, indeed, an uncomfortable butt perch (break in procedure = ride it)...


Of course, though I have only once experienced this, some Brooks saddles, like this B15 pictured never did feel good, no matter what. Finally, after apologizing to my butt, I retired the saddle forever...

Last ride 76 

With one important caveat, found at the bottom of the article:

"Finally, and most importantly, museum objects do not need to be rendered flexible since their function is no longer the same as the original intended use. If objects are stored, displayed, used, and handled properly, flexibility no longer plays an important role."

Why not just stick with Brooks' suggested practices? Are they wrong?