Recovering A Bicycle Saddle

[Bigblock]

this forum was one I scoured for information when I was looking for techniques for recovering my tensioned leather bicycle saddle.

For what its worth, my step by step guide is here.

It shows how I made the plaster mold, then wet moulded the leather.

the finished saddle looks like this. I am happy with my first attempt at leatherwork.

[David]

Nicely done.

Very interesting procedure, what weight leather did you use? Do you think that it would not have fit properly if you had wet molded it over the existing leather and then removed the old leather and replaced it with the new?

Also how does the new seat compare with regard to weight?

Dave Theobald

Edited February 8, 2010 by David

[bentley]

That is truly amazing, beautiful work. I visited your link and was very impressed with the step by step. So how many orders have you received, haha.

[Bigblock]

Nicely done.

Very interesting procedure, what weight leather did you use? Do you think that it would not have fit properly if you had wet molded it over the existing leather and then removed the old leather and replaced it with the new?

Also how does the new seat compare with regard to weight?

Dave Theobald

leather weight: it measured 6-7mm thick, if that helps

With no experience with leatherwork, I thought that if I used the old cover directly as a mold, the new one would be bigger by the thickness of the new leather. This, I thought, would have caused problems at the nose of the saddle where a tight fit was necessary over the metal nosepiece.

I would expect that the saddle weighs slightly more than before, as the new cover is thicker. But overall it is not an issue as I have other bikes for hill climbing. This bike is set up as a fixed gear to improve my cadence (pedal rotation speed) and so weight is not an issue.

[spokewrench]

this forum was one I scoured for information when I was looking for techniques for recovering my tensioned leather bicycle saddle.

For what its worth, my step by step guide is here.

It shows how I made the plaster mold, then wet moulded the leather.

the finished saddle looks like this. I am happy with my first attempt at leatherwork.

Great work. Now that the saddle has been in service for a little while, how is it doing? Is it breaking in like these type of saddles do? Holding it's shape? Any additional thoughts or ideas?

[Bigblock]

Great work. Now that the saddle has been in service for a little while, how is it doing? Is it breaking in like these type of saddles do? Holding it's shape? Any additional thoughts or ideas?

I am very happy with the saddle.

It looks fantastic, and it is holding its shape very well, it hasn't stretched.

Last weekend I did 110km total (a 50km and a 60km) in fixed gear mode where there is no option to have a stretch as you ride. The saddle wasn't a problem.

It hasn't changed shape to 'fit' my sit bones yet, but I do not feel uncomfortable. If I did there are techniques to speed up the process. (damp cloth for 30 min, let stand for an hour, ride for an hour, then let thoroughly dry for a few days)

I do ride with Santini gel knicks, for all my riding.

I am proud of the new skills, and now looking for another two tired Brooks saddle frames for two other bike projects.

Philip

[BAD HIDE]

Nicely done.

I have a very broken in similar saddle, and suddenly have a good urge to see if it's possible to track down where I could get bare frames. As an avid cyclist and I know plenty of people who'd love a personal touch to their bikes, a plain Brooks saddle starts at over $100 anyway. I'm thinkin some 8-10 oz with a tooled 3-4 oz top stitched or laced together over the bolt heads, or just some straight saddle skirting....

Edited June 9, 2010 by BAD HIDE