Roached-out Brooks Pro saddle
12-09-22, 03:46 PM
#1
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Roached-out Brooks Pro saddle
This came on a Raleigh Competition I just bought. It looks kind of gnarly, although the rails look good and it has some structural integrity, I rode on it when I tested the bike and it felt pretty solid. Any thoughts as to whether this is salvageable? What’s it worth in this condition?
Last edited by Roypercy; 12-09-22 at 03:56 PM.
12-09-22, 05:15 PM
#2
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"roached out" are generally salvageable; it's the "beetled out" ones you need to be concerned about...
rhm
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"roached out" are generally salvageable; it's the "beetled out" ones you need to be concerned about...
rhm
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12-09-22, 06:10 PM
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...the standard advice for one like that is usually to soak it in water for a day or two. When the leather is pliable again, you reform it and wrap it so the skirts dry in a more appropriate position. Then you sand off the top rough surface, until smooth. Then wax teh heck out of it, and hope for the best. That one looks like you might need to punch and lace the skirts, to get it to behave a little better.
...the standard advice for one like that is usually to soak it in water for a day or two. When the leather is pliable again, you reform it and wrap it so the skirts dry in a more appropriate position. Then you sand off the top rough surface, until smooth. Then wax teh heck out of it, and hope for the best. That one looks like you might need to punch and lace the skirts, to get it to behave a little better.
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12-09-22, 06:12 PM
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That leather is going to split somewhere, probably near one of the rivets, or if it's really splayed in the center, right across the middle; think starting near where one of the thighs rubs against the leather. It just depends upon where the weakest spot is. It's not a question of if, but when. It actually looks like you're only a few more pedal revolutions from having the leather split right in front of that right side rivet at the cantle (rear support.) You could get it re-covered with new leather but you might as well just buy a new Brooks if the intention is to ride it.
12-10-22, 05:33 AM
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Since real newspaper is getting hard to find, that brown paper used in packages from on-line purchases may work well too. It starts wood stove fires well.
12-13-22, 11:56 AM
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I've used the soaking method to reshape a couple of swayback saddles where the leather was in good condition but misshapen. That dry and cracked leather would make me very nervous, however, even if I got it to look good.
12-15-22, 09:50 PM
#8
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The riveted and rails look so good I would sell it on ebay to someone who wants to mess with it. 50/50 it will crack. I'd rather let someone else bet on it.
12-20-22, 08:04 AM
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It is sometimes hard to tell what's what from photos. That saddle does look like toast, but it might not be as bad in person as it appears in the photos. It is just a shame it wasn't cared for, it doesn't have to look that way. 
12-20-22, 11:13 AM
#10
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It does have some redeeming features, rails look to be shiny and bright. A leather worker would have a good time resurrecting it.
Some of the stuff I sell on ebay is not in the big return category but instead in the keeping it out of the landfill and getting it a new life. There is an end user out there that could restore that saddle. I know that end user is not me.
I'd guess $25 to $50. I'd need better pictures of the frame condition. Rust free or nearly rust free would be at the higher end.
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