Here's what I would do: I would wet the saddle then reshape it by cinching it with tape around the middle of the saddle while it dries. Here's how I've done it before: I would soak in in water for a few 15 min. or so, then towel it off and The n wrap tape tightly around the center narrow section. I use wide plastic packing tape to get good tension. I wrap it the way I used to wrap my pole vaulting pole (except backwards), that is I'd start the wrap with the non-sticky side facing the leather (so as not to get tape glue on the leather) and wrap a few turns so that the tape is not secur on the sadle then twist the tape 180 degrees so it's sticky side down (but sticky side touching only the other tape surface not the saddle leather) and wrap some more turns tightly till the saddle is pulled together side to side, and the top of the saddle raises and levels out. It can take a couple days or longe r to dry to hard firmness, depending on your climate.
Have done this with old saddles that sagged in the middle and had flaps sticking straight out, and with saddles that accidentally got soaked on a ride. Worked every time.
--Mitch
On 5/28/07, devotion finesse <devotion_finesse@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello fellas,
> My girlfriend and I were riding across Brooklyn yesterday, when I spotted
> what appeared to be an abandoned bike, near a trash can on an industrial
> strip of south Williamsburg. Something caught my eye, so I pulled over t
o
> investigate...Glad I did!
> "How did you even see that? You bike guys are crazy. It was behind a bu
s
> and we were zooming by, you maniac!" "The radar is always on, baby."
> On top of a trashed 70's mid-range "boom bike" (unlocked, missing wheel
> and
> pedals, etc.), sat a black Brooks B.17. Curiously, it was TIED onto the
> frame with plastic cording, no seatpost on the bike. Always up for a
> project, I untied the saddle. We were on our way to a BBQ, and I had a
> musette bag full of Polish sausages. Threw the saddle in my bag and was
> on
> my way. What a Sunday. On to the questions:
> Because the saddle was tied on, there are large "dimples" where the
> leather
> sat on the seat lug cluster.
> Right in the middle of the saddle is a "peak" in the leather, falling
> where
> it will probably be less than comfortable to ride on. The saddle is
> fairly
> soft and the leather supple, no cracks or drying.
> Any suggestions as to how I might be able to re-shape it back to "normal"
?
> My guess is, Proofhide and a ton of miles? But perhaps there is somethin
g
> I
> can do in the short-term, so I don't feel like I am sitting on a...leathe
r
> saddle tied onto a bike without a seatpost, resting on the seat lug
> cluster?
>
> Matthew Bowne
> Brooklyn, New York
>
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