B17 sweat stains.

[pale scotsman]

I've treated my honey colored B17 with respect, and lovingly applied proofhide, and yet Bessie still stained on me. What did I do wrong? I've never had a tan Brooks before, only black.

Could it be the excess Coors Light I drank the night before?

[Dekonick]

Mmm - you didnt go Cow Tipping as a teenager... :rolleyes: did you?

[pale scotsman]

No, but I did get involved in a diabolical coo pattie uprising at my Aunties in Dalgety Bay as a wee lad. The coo's thought we were daft. Right, maybe it's payback.

[Carlo]

Hey, they're leather -- if you sweat on them they stain! Except its not called a stain! Its patina! Yeah! Its charachter! It gives the seat personality -- its a good thing. Revel in it, be proud, sport it like a badge of honor.

Regards,

Carlo (Four Brooks saddled bikes) Carr
New Orleans

[Too Tall]

Try giving it a wipe with saddle soap after every ride...it's a glycerine based soap. Use a big sponge, warm water and give er' a swipe or two. In the horsey world we had the same issue with new saddles. Quit wearing your best shorts for a while too.

[Ray]

I've treated my honey colored B17 with respect, and lovingly applied proofhide, and yet Bessie still stained on me. What did I do wrong? I've never had a tan Brooks before, only black.

Could it be the excess Coors Light I drank the night before?

Honey colored Brooks saddles are only a tip off that they're new. Once a honey brooks has been used for a while, its a brown brooks. It still looks good, but it loses that light color pretty quickly. I currently have two honey B-17s. One has barely been ridden and is still pure honey. The other has about 8 years of hard use in it and it's brown, except for the slightest remaining hint of honey up on the nose.

I sweat, I've used Bag Balm, Assos, and Chamois Butter at various times, I've let the saddle get soaked once or twice. It's been USED.

A honey looking Brooks on an old bike is a sure sign that it's a museum piece - not a rider.

-Ray

[Ken Robb]

Brooks strongly recommends that you do NOT use saddle soap on their saddles.

[dave thompson]

I'm posting this from on the road (Warsaw, Virginia. Sorry we couldn't get together Smiley)

The perfectly smooth, perfectly colored Honey B-17 is a sure sign that it's just been taken out of the box. Like me, it acquires imperfections, discolorations and character with age. And it will get better with age, like me. :)

[froze]

Ken is right using anything other than Proofide will void their warranty. It would seem to me that after making these saddles for about 90 years or more they would know what's best for their saddles.

The stains will eventually meld together and adds character to the seat.

[Too Tall]

(Groan). And never rip the mfg's label off of a mattress. With all due respect: I have used saddle soap with a warm sponge and a light swipe or two on saddle and tack on hundreds and hundreds of pieces of heavily used leather. The process is to wipe a warm wrung out sponge across a bar of saddle soap and wipe off the leather and than rinse the sponge in clear water and give the leather another cleaning swipe

You do not soak the leather with a dripping soapy sponge or scrub like a maniac. The glycerine soap just lifts surface dirt and residues. But DON'T DO this cause it will void your warranty. :no:

Proofhide is a sealant. If you have dirt and residue on the leather yah need to clean it off, let it dry and than you can apply Proofgoo....which is suspiciously similar to the crap Joey Ramone used to put in his hair hmmmm.

Want a second rate but effective replacement for saddle soap so the crooked teeth police don't bust you???? Use a drop of Dawn dish soap in a bucket of warm water.

[froze]

With all due respect Too Tall, ripping off the bed mattress label is A.) only illegal if the retailer does it thus does not apply to the consumer; and B.) will not effect the mattresses warranty.

With that said, Brooks SAYS IN THEIR WARRANTY PAPERS: DO NOT USE ANYTHING ON YOUR BROOKS SADDLE OTHER THAN PROOFIDE OR YOUR WARRANTY IS VOIDED. Giving advice to someone who has recently bought a Brooks saddle and is still under warranty is RECKLESS advice. HOWEVER, if you own a Brooks saddle and do not care about the warranty then put any flippen thing you want on it, just don't start crying if the saddle developes problems.

Comparing a mattress label to a warranty wording was ignorance.

Like I said before: Brooks has been making their saddles for 130 years longer than you have and understand the leather and processes they use far better than anyone on this forum...unless by chance you happen to work for them!

http://www.brookssaddles.com/welcome.htm

Also don't use oil. It's for the rational reason that the Brooks saddles are tensioned leather, unlike horse saddles. Anytime you get a leather product wet, whether it's with water or oil, its pores absorb the liquid and swell. And in the case of a tensioned leather saddle, that means the leather expands (stretches). When the leather stretches, the tension is reduced, so the saddle loses its shape (sags). You take up on the tension nut to flatten the saddle, and it works for a little while, until you apply more oil. The oil progressively renders the saddle unrideable, in short, because although it slows water absorbtion it's still a liquid which expands the pores of the leather.

[Too Tall]

By your leave sir.

[froze]

By your leave sir.

?

[Too Tall]

Meaning, you're right...I'm wrong. Beer goes in the glass.

[froze]

Meaning, you're right...I'm wrong. Beer goes in the glass.

OK, my curiosity is killing me, by chance would you know where that term "By your leave sir" comes from? I've never heard it before. Perhaps old english? or am I way off?

[Dekonick]

Gotta read Horatio Hornblower or similar works!

[froze]

Thanks, I'll have to look that author up at the local library.

[Wood]

Whoa, love this forum...it's good for both minds and bikes.

"leave" is old english meaning "with your permission or agreement" :beer:

Wood

[Kevan]

and glad to report, my honey-colored Brooks is right on schedule. It's and my own character, or patina, are about the same and will likely follow a similar path onward.

It looked so nice brand new. But there's the contrast, I didn't.

[palincss]

I've treated my honey colored B17 with respect, and lovingly applied proofhide, and yet Bessie still stained on me. What did I do wrong? I've never had a tan Brooks before, only black.

Could it be the excess Coors Light I drank the night before?

They darken with age where you sit on them. It's kind of like Meerschaum pipes. This http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1526903184&size=l
is what your saddle may look like after several years and thousands of miles. It, too, began life as a honey B.17.

[palincss]

Thanks, I'll have to look that author up at the local library.

Horatio Hornblower is not the name of the author, but rather that of a character in a series of books by C.S. Forester. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Hornblower

For something in a similar vein, see also the Aubrey-Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2%80%93Maturin_series

[edited to fix spelling mistake in author's name]

[fiamme red]

Horatio Hornblower is not the name of the author, but rather that of a character in a series of books by C.S. Forrester. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_HornblowerThat's Forester. His son is John Forester (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forester_%28cyclist%29), the author of Effective Cycling.

[palincss]

That's Forester. His son is John Forester (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forester_%28cyclist%29), the author of Effective Cycling.

Right. I edited the post to correct the error. Thanks.

[Kevan]

http://www.cyclofiend.com/cc/images3/cc295-4IMG_4323.jpg

http://www.cyclofiend.com/cc/images3/cc355-3atlantis%20top%20s-s.jpg

Love this one:

http://www.cyclofiend.com/cc/images3/cc286-1rear%20triangle.jpg

[mcteague]

By your leave sir.
Love the response, so veddy British.

Tim McTeague

[Ahneida Ride]

My Honey Ti B17 turned Brownish after 200 miles.
They all do.

In adddition to the Proofhide, I apply Meltonian shoe cream.
The Brick color for a redish hue. Rub it in well with your fingers. Let dry
and completely remove excess with a cotton cloth. Polish with a horse hair
brush. The Brooks seems to like this procedure a lot. Much more then
the Proofhide.

Shoe Cream (http://www.shoeshinekit.com/melshocreamc1.html)

[Too Tall]

Love the response, so veddy British.

Tim McTeague

Everything is Tim's fault ;) OK who is dredging up these old threads? It's kinda cool.

[rwsaunders]

It's the cow getting back at you for turning the rest of him into a Bag Mac.

[Dekonick]

That's Forester. His son is John Forester (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forester_%28cyclist%29), the author of Effective Cycling.

C.S. Forester - fantastic series.

I am presently in the middle of the Aubrey novels... great read!