Squeaky Brooks saddle

[lavi]

Any ideas of how to quiet down a creaky squeaky Brooks saddle? I have a Swallow that makes noises mostly when climbing. Although it makes noises too whenever I put down some hp.

Do I tighten the bolts more? Lightly grease them? Wear earplugs?

[paczki]

grease da rails :banana:

[Ray]

Any ideas of how to quiet down a creaky squeaky Brooks saddle? I have a Swallow that makes noises mostly when climbing. Although it makes noises too whenever I put down some hp.

Do I tighten the bolts more? Lightly grease them? Wear earplugs?
Send it to me. You'll NEVER hear it again!

Seriously, sometimes these are solvable and sometimes not. The squeak has to be from the leather moving against the metal frame. Tightening the tension bolt might help, but you want to be really careful with that - if the saddle FEELS right, I'd leave it alone. You might just try applying a bit of proofide or Obenaufs or something right up under the frame to the extent you can get in there. Or sometimes, you'll just wear it smooth and it'll stop by itself. Or sometimes you'll have a creaky saddle for 20+ years. Just no telling.

But if all else fails, my offer still stands. :cool:

-Ray

[SoCalSteve]

Send it to me. You'll NEVER hear it again!

Seriously, sometimes these are solvable and sometimes not. The squeak has to be from the leather moving against the metal frame. Tightening the tension bolt might help, but you want to be really careful with that - if the saddle FEELS right, I'd leave it alone. You might just try applying a bit of proofide or Obenaufs or something right up under the frame to the extent you can get in there. Or sometimes, you'll just wear it smooth and it'll stop by itself. Or sometimes you'll have a creaky saddle for 20+ years. Just no telling.

But if all else fails, my offer still stands. :cool:

-Ray

I find that if you have a squeaky one, there is no way to get the squeak out, sorry. But, all the suggestions are worth trying....Oh, you may want to try a different seatpost as well...

Good luck!

Steve

[MIN]

I have this same problem. Swallow on an Ultegra post. I have squeaky noises coming from both the saddle and the post and my attempts to grease and use FSA assembly compound have all come up short.

It's such a tiny noise but it's incredibly aggravating, especially on a long ride.

[paulrad9]

I had this and it originally souned like the sound was from the bottom bracket so it took me awhile to figure it out. Try to put pressure on the seat, possibly by placing your forearm on the front, back and side of your saddle and pressing your weight down - you may be able to reproduce it.

I tightened the seat post clamp and my ride were much more pleasant afterwards. You could also try wrapping the seat post rails with an old tube as a dampener, then tightening. Stay away from the tension bolt unless you see lots of slack

[mschol17]

Tighten the front bolt a little bit.

[lavi]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try some of the remedies. The seatpost connection is from a Thomson (on my Speedvagen).


Out of curiosity, what does greasing the rails do? Does it just provide a little barrier betweent the two metals?

Little noises like that just get in my head and really drive me batty over time. The only sound I like on my bike is the sound of me popping as I get dropped on climbs. :crap:

[Ahneida Ride]

Try some Lexol nf .... Not the original Lexol ... but the nf version ...

work it in to the top and bottom ... let dry overnight ...

The nf version should not darken the leather and it really dries in.

Also ... Make sure that you seat post clamps are tight.

My B17 Ti was noisy .... I tightened down on the Thompson
post and the noise disappeared .... Try a Thompson post .... The
clamps are substantial and grip a decent amount of rail. That could be
another issue.

My Brooks is now silent .... ;)

[majl]

Also check to make sure that it is not one of the bolts from the seatpost that is screwed in so far as to make contact with the metallic underside of the saddle. I found this to be the culprit in my squeaky Swallow.

[paczki]

Out of curiosity, what does greasing the rails do? Does it just provide a little barrier betweent the two metals?

I have no idea, it's what people told me to do!

[goonster]

Out of curiosity, what does greasing the rails do?
I suspect that even a well-tightened clamp does not grip the entire section of rail equally. It is possible that the rails are squirming slightly in the clamps. Greasing the rails makes that squirming silent. Has worked for me on many Brookses.

[RudAwkning]

Often times when I hear a slight ticking or squeaking in my Brooks, it's a matter of lubing and retensioning the bolt at the nose of the saddle.

[eddief]

just installed b17 champion special on my bleriot. all fit like a damn glove. but the squeek. all i did was carefully shot some spray lube underneath on the metal parts under the nose. all was quiet. it started up again. same remedy worked for me the second time. too many moving parts on these old farts, but so comfy.

[maunahaole]

I have had this problem. I put a drop of boeshield in the metal-on-metal under the nose, where the rail goes through the other metal bit. Seems to have done the trick. You probably dont have to use boeshield, but I used that since it gets into tight areas well and stays a little slick. Give it a try, it only takes a couple of seconds to do it. Have a rag or paper towel ready to catch the drip - it does not take much.

[lavi]

Well it sounds like the creaking is coming from the back of the saddle. Maybe the leather on the metal. I tightened the bolts on the seat clamp and put a nice coat of proofide on the underside (and top) focusing on where the leather meets the frame.

I'll try this. I that doesn't work, I'll then grease the rails.

Thx again for the pearls of wisdom.

[crazymonk]

I put electrical tape along the rails so the seat post clamp was not in direct contact with the rails. I have not had a problem since. I did suspect that the seat post screw was rubbing on the tag on the bottom but in the end I don't think that was my problem.

I have the swallow with Ti rails. I wonder if that could be the common denominator.

[Mike748]

I have Team Pro with steel rails that creaks. I thought it was the Thomson seatpost so I replaced with an Ultegra and it was quiet for a while but now the creak is coming back. Seems to happen with up and down motion. I'm going to try to lube the metal-metal interface under the nose to see if that helps.