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I won a Brooks B17 N from Dales Cycles in a Facebook competition last week.
When the memsahib went out I took my chance to rub it lovingly with Proofide.
It's going on to the Brompton S6L.
The competition involved predicting how long it would take a blindfolded man to… unfold a Brompton. I guessed 17.5 seconds and it came in at 18.1.
I'm pretty sure there's some fish oil and beeswax in there too.
Is the Proofide any good? I still haven't got any for my new Brooks.
Brooks website FAQs and complaints section very big on Did you Proofide your saddle as instructed etc.
I still think there are bahoochie's that work for Brooks and bahoochie's that don't.
Regardless of breaking in periods and leather treatment sessions
I can't really say if it's good or not since I've almost always done it.
The only one I didn't Proofide was the B17 N on my '51 Claud Butler but I didn't start using that regularly till '80 so it had a few years of use by my uncle and dad before me. My uncle got it in Govan in '54.
I definitely seem to have a Brooks bachoochie. I didn't like the B37 on the Pashley at first but I think that's because I was treating it like a racing bike and leaning forward. When I started to lie back and think of Nurse Gladys it became like a big comfy armchair.
Brompton with new B17 N besides me as I type. Trailer outside. One more round of the chess contest to go.
Ohhh, Brompton's Pentaclip isn't ideal for Brooks saddles as you need to get an Allen key into the bolt which is behind the skirt of the saddle. It bends up but it's easier with a more modern style.
Ingredients include tallow, cod oil, vegetable oil, paraffin wax, beeswax and citronella. Yeuch...smelly...cattle, fish and the added extra of an insect repellent. Citronella does not smell that great either. I think I might just stick to Grangers which contains none of the above other than beeswax.
I got a Brooks B68 saddle last year, one of the pre-aged ones that are a light tan colour. Interestingly, Brooks instruct you to treat the saddle with proofide by applying it to the underneath of the saddle (ie. the surface of the leather where the saddle frame is). I think this instruction is only relevant for these pre-aged saddles. The proofide soaks in and makes the upper surface darken - patchy to begin with but over time it evens out. I've treated the saddle twice and the saddle colour is more like a standard Brooks dark brown now. Can't say I've noticed any iffy smells...
@Its_Me_Knees I'm pretty sure (from memory) it said similar for the B17 also. I was advised to proofride liberally, wiping off the stuff on the top after overnight but just leaving it all underneath to soak its way in.
I top it up now and again, or whenever I get a chip/scratch in the leather from careless parking or the bike blowing over.
@Kaputnik: I'll see if I can find the instructions, but IIRC they actually forbade the user to apply Proofide to the upper surface (or risk a visit from the Knutsor, Norse God of saddle collapse). I wondered of the pre-ageing treatment - whatever it may be - is specific to the upper surface and is compromised by the application of proofide..?
It says for proofide, only apply on the underside if you have NO mudguards, and that if you do you do not have to wipe/polish excess off, this is obviously for it's waterproofing effect. You should purchase a cover for your saddle for when you leave your bike out in the rain, alternatively always carry a spare plastic bag for the job, I find the small bags that you put your loose veg in at supermarkets perfect.
Plastic bag is OK but the official Brooks covers are very nice too. They hold on under the edge of the saddle.
The nice thing about the plastic bag is it disguises it's a Brooks underneath. If I'm leaving my bike unattended, I'd rather not be advertising it's got a nickable saddle on...
Of course my saddle is now so broken in I imagine it would be uncomfortable for anyone else to sit on it.
I use a waterproof stuff sac that also covers the lights and toolpouch under the saddle.
I think anonymity was why Brooks removed the logo from their covers.
I don't leave my lying outside much and I'm not sure how many tea leafs in this area are conversant with these things and carry allen keys.
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