Repair of Brooks Saddle

micheal100

Hey folks,
I'm in the middle of doing up an old "MTB", and I have an old Brooks saddle lying idle that I'd like to throw on the bike.
But some of the rivets and the bolt on the tension pin are rusty, and the Brooks customer service quotes 60 sterling plus shipping! (Granted a fiver of that was to go to copper rivets, but still...)

Anyone know where I might it done for a reasonable price (before anyone says anything, yes, I have other saddles, but this will be my "going to the shops" bike, so the Brooks would be more comfortable)

cdaly_

Rub a bit of olive oil into them to start with, see will they clean up a bit. Oil the tension bolt and run it in and out a few times. Once it's all cleaned up, if the leather is in good condition, it'll be happy enough in use.

micheal100

cdaly_ wrote: »

Rub a bit of olive oil into them to start with, see will they clean up a bit. Oil the tension bolt and run it in and out a few times. Once it's all cleaned up, if the leather is in good condition, it'll be happy enough in use.

Thanks, will give a try.

Wishbone Ash

You could also moisturise and freshen up the leather by applying some leather balm. Brooks do their own version but you could also get some stuff in an equestrian outlet.

Alternatively they come up for sale occasionally in the advert section.

(Don't shoot me but just wondering why you would need something comfortable for just going to the shops. Most cyclists use Brooks saddles for comfort on very long rides).

jack of all

Brooks pricing for a repair is way off considering you can pick up a brand new Brooks saddle for little more than €70 in Halfords (of all places). Definitely worth trying out the other advice offered so far.

micheal100

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

(Don't shoot me but just wondering why you would need something comfortable for just going to the shops. Most cyclists use Brooks saddles for comfort on very long rides).

Fair question: I got it when we did Mizen to Malin and then threw it in a box. So it's a choice of that or I've a few selle italia and fabric saddles. The shops are 8km e/w, , so in jeans I reckon the Brooks might be more forgiving .

The longer story is I'm rebuilding my old (old) bike to get an n+1 instead of buying it, so really just going through what parts I've collected. There's also an aesthetic thing, just think the bike might look a bit tastier, but will see once I've the group put back on

micheal100

jack of all wrote: »

Brooks pricing for a repair is way off considering you can pick up a brand new Brooks saddle for little more than €70 in Halfords (of all places). Definitely worth trying out the other advice offered so far.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of buying good quality once, and then just maintaining it, but the cost here was just stupid. Other that the cosmetics of the rust the saddle is perfect, so I might even just go with that.

Good to know about Halfords, but at this stage I'll just throw a bit of elbow grease at the problem and go from there.

magicbastarder

i can understand why they charge that much. it probably is more work to repair a saddle because there's bugger all automation. probably requires a more skilled worker too.

Would a good cobbler have the skills maybe to look at the rivets?

micheal100

I can see most of the cost, but it was £30, just to change the bolt on the tension pin. Granted it's an assumption on my part, but I would have thought they would need to take the leather off anyway when doing the rivets, so in my head it's basically a 30 quid bolt.

Of course there's a good chance I'm wrong about it (and it's not like I've the skills to tackle it myself), but the net result is the same unfortunately.

what_traffic

micheal100 wrote: »

Hey folks,
I'm in the middle of doing up an old "MTB", and I have an old Brooks saddle lying idle that I'd like to throw on the bike.
But some of the rivets and the bolt on the tension pin are rusty, and the Brooks customer service quotes 60 sterling plus shipping! (Granted a fiver of that was to go to copper rivets, but still...)

Anyone know where I might it done for a reasonable price (before anyone says anything, yes, I have other saddles, but this will be my "going to the shops" bike, so the Brooks would be more comfortable)

Any pics of the saddle?

micheal100

what_traffic wrote: »

Any pics of the saddle?

Sure, few samples attached. The bolt is viewable (just about) if you look at it in side profile.

cdaly_

Those tension pins are pricey. I had one break and made up a temporary pin with a bolt and a couple of nuts. Not the easiest to adjust but adjustment is not a regular thing.

micheal100

Yeah, it's purely a cosmetic exercise, if I can't change the bolt I might just try and knock the rust off with a dremel, or maybe rustoleum have a paste or something. I'm pretty sure if I was to do it myself I won't get it back on!

Wishbone Ash

micheal100 wrote: »

Sure, few samples attached. The bolt is viewable (just about) if you look at it in side profile.

That's in much better condition than I expected. Leather looks in good nick also. I was expecting to see a saddle that had been left outside for several years!

I wouldn't worry about the rivets - the rust will probably wear off with use. Does the bolt have to be adjusted? What about a bit of WD40?

micheal100

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

That's in much better condition than I expected. Leather looks in good nick also. I was expecting to see a saddle that had been left outside for several years!

I wouldn't worry about the rivets - the rust will probably wear off with use. Does the bolt have to be adjusted? What about a bit of WD40?

Ah yeah, that's my version of rusty! like to keep things in pretty good nick. Leather is good as well, gave it some of that leather treatment before I put it in the box.

Like I said, it's just superficial, since I'm revamping the bike I'd just like to make everything as new as possible.

what_traffic

micheal100 wrote: »

Ah yeah, that's my version of rusty! like to keep things in pretty good nick. Leather is good as well, gave it some of that leather treatment before I put it in the box.

Like I said, it's just superficial, since I'm revamping the bike I'd just like to make everything as new as possible.

That saddle is perfect, as Wishbone Ash says rust will wear off with use especially if wearing jeans on that saddle. Rather than WD40 on the bolt - would just put a bit grease on it.

jack of all

+1 on the condition of the saddle, it's really not worth spending that much because of a little rust on the rivets- I was expecting you to post up pics of a basket case! I like to keep things right myself but I could live with this. I think you should mask off the leather around each rivet carefully and use some fine wet and dry paper lubed with a bit of white spirit or WD40 to knock back the surface rust. When done polish up with Autosol polish and finish with some paste wax on the rivet heads only, remove the tape and you're done. Once the rust is removed the metal should stay reasonably bright from use.

benneca1

It looks pretty good to me. Fot the leather I dont buy Brooks proofride anymore go to anu outdoor or equestrian shop and get either boot or harness wax. It is the same stuff its all tallow with perfume added to mask the smell. The rust will wear off.

Wishbone Ash

what_traffic wrote: »

... Rather than WD40 on the bolt - would just put a bit grease on it.

Grease has no penetrating properties, hence the reason I'd use WD40 first and then lightly grease. (That's assuming the bolt is seized at the moment).

eeeee

Jaysus that's pretty much fine.
Saddle soap from a tack (horsey) shop will do a great job on that. You could oil it after (neatsfoot) oil. Or get a leather balm. If you do neatsfoot it, give it a good buff and polish afterwards so it doesn't stain your clothes sitting in it after. I marked many a 'good' pair of jeans being lazy with polishing saddles!
Neatsfoot really penetrates leather and is a good treatment, but I'd saddle soap it first to clean and condition it. Saddle soap is just glycerine soap, it'll soften and condition the leather and you can buff it up.