Leather Saddle Users: Speaking of Proofide: in 1997 I was confronted with breaking in a new Brooks Saddle after the frame on my 1977 team special broke.
I eagerly bought a tin of Proofide thinking that it would speed the process, but it didn't. My personal experience is: Proofide is a wax which is designed to Proof the underside of the Hide from damage by moisture.
In an interview for the Rivendell Reader, Lon Haldeman of RAAM fame recommended use of an oil which penetrates the leather and makes it more pliable in a hurry.
But a pamphlet on leather saddles distributed by the Wheelsmith pointed out that the flaw in using oil to make the leather (more or less) permanently pliable is: not only does it reach the desired shape faster, but it also keeps on stretching past that point and goes slack faster. Then you tighten the bolt to get the tension back, then it sags some more, and you're in a vicious circle.
The pamphlet makes a plausible argument that the best thing you can do is: get the new saddle good and soaking wet, then ride on the wet saddle just long enough that it molds to your body (maybe an hour?), then let it dry out and stiffen up in that desirable form.
Back in '77, I did this accidentally when I got caught in the rain on a 40-miler.
After the molding is done, one can then coat the underside with Proofide or some other wax to PROTECT IT FROM UNDESIRABLE FURTHER DEFORMATION.
Just one Pamphlet's opinion.
Brad Stockwell Palo Alto
-----Original Message----- From: Sheldon Brown [mailto:CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com] Sent: Friday, February 02, 2001 11:47 AM To: internet-bob@bikelist.org; TOURING; Tandem @ Hobbes; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Brooks Proofide is BACK!
After several months of unavailabilty a shipload of Brooks Proofide saddle dressing has finally made it to our shores, despite unfavorable winds.
Back in stock, US$7.95/tin.
Sheldon "Soft And Pliable" Brown +-----------------------------------------+ | The wind and waves are always on the | | side of the ablest navigators. | | --Edward Gibbon | +-----------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com Useful articles about bicycles and cycling http://sheldonbrown.com
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