I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

Daniele

On 31/12/17 21:50, D.M. Procida wrote:
I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

Daniele

Urinate on it


--
Climate Change: Socialism wearing a lab coat.

Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:50:09 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

GIYF: http://bit.ly/2lw0xLx

People have all kinds of reasons for preferring to have a conversation
about something with other people on Usenet, over doing a web search for
answers to a question.

Daniele

On 31/12/2017 21:50, D.M. Procida wrote:
I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

ISTR Andy Dingley posting something about that here in the past... a
groups search may turn up more.


--
Cheers,

John.

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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

D.M. Procida wrote:

Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:50:09 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

GIYF: http://bit.ly/2lw0xLx

People have all kinds of reasons for preferring to have a conversation
about something with other people on Usenet, over doing a web search for
answers to a question.

Daniele

Not least to get sensible answers from people with experience. There is
a lot of nonsense on the Internet. My first question would be whether
the soft one is just a cheap make - or counterfeit?


--

Roger Hayter

On 31/12/17 21:50, D.M. Procida wrote:
I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

Daniele

If this is a Brooks, does the tension need adjustment?

http://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/m...r-spare-parts/

Bear in mind they're supposed to soften with use and give a bit.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/leather.html

Chris Bartram wrote:
On 31/12/17 21:50, D.M. Procida wrote:
I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

Daniele

If this is a Brooks, does the tension need adjustment?

http://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/m...r-spare-parts/

Bear in mind they're supposed to soften with use and give a bit.

Ha! In my experience continental drift happens faster than a Brooks saddle
softening. ;-)

I think theyre a bit of a €œMarmite€� thing, you either swear by them or
swear at them.

Tim


--
Please don't feed the trolls

Chris Bartram wrote:

On 31/12/17 21:50, D.M. Procida wrote:
I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

Daniele

If this is a Brooks, does the tension need adjustment?

It is, but that doesn't seem to help. It makes the ridge of the saddle
tighter, but the sides fall away as pathetically as before. I feel that
increasing the tension further would only stretch the leather but not
make any improvement.

All three of the saddles are Brooks; even the same model, but the
leather could be an entirely different material as far as the feel of it
goes.

http://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/m...r-spare-parts/

Bear in mind they're supposed to soften with use and give a bit.

Indeed. It's even possible that the one I don't like is the way they're
supposed to be, and the others have hardened through neglect. However, I
don't think so.

Daniele

On 01/01/2018 16:56, D.M. Procida wrote:
It makes the ridge of the saddle tighter, but the sides fall away as pathetically as before.

Daniele, you do have a woman's saddle don't you? They are different.
Men's saddles put pressure on areas that women find very tender.

Andy

Vir Campestris wrote:

Daniele, you do have a woman's saddle don't you?

Why would he?

On 01/01/2018 16:20, Tim+ wrote:
Bear in mind they're supposed to soften with use and give a bit.

Ha! In my experience continental drift happens faster than a Brooks saddle
softening. ;-)

I think theyre a bit of a €œMarmite€� thing, you either swear by them or
swear at them.

Tim


+1

Mind you, back in my cycling days there was little other "quality"
choice than Brooks.

Vir Campestris wrote:

On 01/01/2018 16:56, D.M. Procida wrote:
It makes the ridge of the saddle tighter, but the sides fall away as
pathetically as before.

Daniele, you do have a woman's saddle don't you? They are different.
Men's saddles put pressure on areas that women find very tender.

No, but we men have our tender spots too!

Daniele

On Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:50:09 +0000,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap them
with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

first, wet it (or soak it, I'd work may way up) and dry it with heat. Sun in
summer, oven in winter, or perched on a radiator.

If that's not enough, adding soda (sodium carbonate, not bicarbonate) to the
water makes the leather harder. I found a suggestion of 1 tablespoon soda to 1
liter of water for hardening leather for a knife sheath. And I have hardened
leather using soda and water, but it was thing, and I could stretch it into
shape.

There's also "boiled leather", used for armor, but I'd expect the leather to
lose all shape when wet and hot, which may ruin the saddle.


Thomas "remembering AFU days" Prufer

On 01/01/2018 22:19, Tim+ wrote:
Daniele is a "furriner" and as such, has problems spelling his
name properly.;-)

Oops. Sorry!

Andy

On Fri, 05 Jan 2018 22:53:34 +0000, Vir Campestris wrote:

On 01/01/2018 22:19, Tim+ wrote:
Daniele is a "furriner" and as such, has problems spelling his
name properly.;-)

Oops. Sorry!

I knew that. But then he was another of my students!
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wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
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On Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:50:09 +0000
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

I have three leather bicycle saddles. One I bought new about ten years
ago, the others I picked up second-hand.

The older ones are great - they are hard and supportive. If you rap
them with a knuckle, it feels like knocking a piece of wood.

The newer one, supposedly the same saddle from the same maker, is soft
and unpleasant, and just gives way.

Is there anything I can do to it to improve it?

It's probably had too much neatsfoot oil applied, so boiling might be
the answer, or pack it in fullers earth (cat litter) and bake it gently.