Brooks break-in period? - London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

DirtyD · 6th August 2008

recently purchased a brooks' swallow and after an initial ride am surprised as to the level of comfort. I was expecting to be in some pain for a couple of months at least but it is quite good already, so now expecting that in a couple of months it will be like cycling in a hammock on a sand quay off Zanzibar...

any idea of how many hours in the saddle I need to put in before reaching this nirvana?

aidan · 6th August 2008

i love brooks

nimhbus · 6th August 2008

150 000 years

le car · 6th August 2008

brooks saddles aren't very good brakes. Period.

Dylan · 6th August 2008

theres a place i know of that can put a groove in the middle for your dangly wanglies.

stevo_com · 6th August 2008

just keep proofiding it, don't be tempted to tighten it too early or you'll stretch it.

Superprecise · 6th August 2008

exactly six months or 600 miles.

mine is black.

hope this helped.

Marxist_fixie · 6th August 2008

It's the titanium rails that 'give' that enables the swallow to be comfortable out of the box...as the leather molds to your posterior...it gets better still!...As for time or distance...depends on you and how much you ride.....use lots of proofide as well.

adoubletap · 6th August 2008

Oil it; see Sheldon Brown Brooks resource pages and many other Audax types.

Quote:

Breaking in a leather saddle

If a leather saddle is not oiled, and especially if it is allowed to get wet with water repeatedly, perhaps even ridden while soaked, it will eventually crack and disintegrate. The low quality leather saddles that came on inexpensive ten speeds of the sixties and seventies would also often go out of shape under such conditions. The easiest and fastest method to break in a new saddle is with a liquid leather dressing, such as neatsfoot oil, Lexol, seal oil (a French favorite) or baseball glove oil.. These products are available from shoe stores and sporting-goods stores. There are probably lots of other liquid oils that would work as well-RAAM pioneer Lon Haldeman uses SAE 30 motor oil, but his saddles tend to wear out after only 300,000 miles or so (according to Cyclist Magazine). Paste or wax type leather dressings, such as Brooks Proofide, Sno-Seal, and saddle soap will work, but it takes much, much longer to break in a saddle that way.
You can just pour the oil on and rub it in by hand, or for a more drastic approach, you can actually soak the saddle. The easiest way to soak a saddle is to turn it upside-down on a sheet of aluminum foil, then form the foil up around the saddle for a snug fit. Pour in a whole 4 ounce can of Neatsfoot oil or whatever oil you prefer, and let the saddle soak for 30 minutes to an hour. Pour the remaining oil back into the can, and wipe the excess oil off with a rag or paper towel. Install the saddle onto the bike, put on your black shorts, and ride. Even the most recalcitrant saddle (the thick-skinned Brooks Professional) will be substantially broken in within 200 miles or so.

The soaking technique is best for thick, hard-to-break in saddles such as the Brooks Professional. For most leather saddles the pour-and-rub technique is adequate. A saddle only needs baptism by immersion once. After that, some oil should be poured onto the saddle and rubbed in by hand every few weeks. Once the saddle has become soft and comfortable it is only necessary to oil it lightly every few months to keep it from drying out. Most leather saddles are dyed black. Oiling the saddle will partially dissolve the dye, which will stain on your clothes. This is why cycling shorts are black. Wear light colors at your own risk! If you must wear day-glo pink shorts, put a seatcover on the saddle.
Light colored leather saddles, such as the Brooks "Honey" models, will be darkened by any treatment you apply.
Note; treatment and break-in of leather saddles is not an exact science, and there are those that claim that some of the products I've listed are harmful to leather. If absolute safety is your primary concern, using Brooks Proofide according to directions is probably the best approach...but you may find that the break-in period is un-necessarily long with this approach.
The worst thing you can do is to neglect the saddle and allow it to d
.

TheBrick(Tommy) · 6th August 2008

I have read the break in time depends on how much you weigh.

Van Damage · 7th August 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by adoubletap

Oil it; see Sheldon Brown Brooks resource pages and many other Audax types.

thanks there! I have a black saddle and a yellow pair of trousers. Near miss.

6th August 2008	#1
DirtyD	Brooks break-in period? recently purchased a brooks' swallow and after an initial ride am surprised as to the level of comfort. I was expecting to be in some pain for a couple of months at least but it is quite good already, so now expecting that in a couple of months it will be like cycling in a hammock on a sand quay off Zanzibar... any idea of how many hours in the saddle I need to put in before reaching this nirvana?
	quote reply

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6th August 2008	#4
le car	brooks saddles aren't very good brakes. Period.
	quote reply

6th August 2008	#5
Dylan	theres a place i know of that can put a groove in the middle for your dangly wanglies.
	quote reply

6th August 2008	#6
stevo_com	just keep proofiding it, don't be tempted to tighten it too early or you'll stretch it.
	quote reply

6th August 2008	#7
Superprecise	exactly six months or 600 miles. mine is black. hope this helped.
	quote reply

6th August 2008	#8
Marxist_fixie	It's the titanium rails that 'give' that enables the swallow to be comfortable out of the box...as the leather molds to your posterior...it gets better still!...As for time or distance...depends on you and how much you ride.....use lots of proofide as well.
	quote reply

6th August 2008	#10
TheBrick(Tommy)	I have read the break in time depends on how much you weigh.
	quote reply

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