[CR]When a leather saddle is TOAST

(Example: Framebuilders:Brian Baylis)

Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 15:57:03 -0800 (PST)
From: "scott Baxter" <rg500g@yahoo.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]When a leather saddle is TOAST

My LBS gave me a Wright's saddle that came off of something a long time ago for mounting on the Frejus since I had nothing else and wanted to ride. It was petrified, with light cracking around the nose. I saddle soaped it, dried it, applied neats foot oil, etc. then rode the bike. A couple of days ago I noticed that the light cracks had grown around the nose, and ordered a Brooks Team Professional. Today though, the saddle failed catastrophically with the leather totally breaking off the front adjuster while I was riding the bike. The tension adjuster banged off the frame and hit the street while I lost over an inch of ride height in no time.

Rode to the LBS with the saddle leather right on the rails and showed him the saddle. I got a Brooks Professional that's older than air and also petrified. No obvious leather cracking, but the original leather surface was eroding in a crazing pattern like alligator hide. I'm working on it in a similar fasion to get some flex back into the leather. Here's the question: what are the hallmarks of a lost cause other than deep cracks around the rivets or something equally obvious? As I'm working on this old saddle bringing it back to life I'm asking myself if this is a lost cause also, or might this saddle hang in there making the new Brooks superfluous?

Personally, I think this saddle is terminal and I'm just giving it a bit more life, but after some resurfacing, mink oil, lexol, heat cycles to soak the stuff in and some hand rubbing it's looking pretty good. I dunno...

Scott Baxter St. Louis, MO

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