RE: [CR]Brooks Proofide

(Example: Racing)

From: "don andersen" <peugeotpx10@hotmail.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: RE: [CR]Brooks Proofide
Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2001 00:30:09 -0000


Hey Gang, here's a view. Brooks saddles are broken-in right out of the box. Pick the one that best suits your back end (length, width, etc...), set it up the correct way and your in business. They are especially wonderful for those of us who are succeptible to saddle sores. Since sores are caused by friction, the more firmness to your saddles top side the better. Your bones don't mush into the padding because there isn't any. I personally like the brown Brooks Pro with chrome rails. I Proofhide the underside and top side with one good coat and let it soak in. The vaseline that I use on my chamois seeps through to the saddle and keeps it just right. Vaseline doesn't seep into the leathers' pores so it does not saturate the saddle and thus ruin it. I have a Brooks Pro that I set up this way once and it has been my fav for 15 years now. I never had to tension either. What do you do?

Don Andersen Columbia, MD


>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