Rebour saddle break in

[Alex Wirth]

I usually don't add conditioner to my brooks saddles but this Rebour is punishing my rear end like a cinder block....and looks like a newborn.

Anyone have any sage advice other than some brooks saddle conditioner and black shorts?

[Brian Turner]

I've only had break-in issues with one carved Brooks B17 years ago that I ended up selling because it just never felt good despite all the other leather saddles I've had. I'm not trying to be flippant, but in my experience, about 300 miles of good ass-sweat is what it takes to do it the natural way. Have you tried applying Proofide or Obenoufs conditioner to the underside? Sometimes that helps it along.

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[Ted W]

Onbenoufs on the underside and a bunch of riding. The thing that gets these leather saddles broken in is moisture and the weight of your rear end stretching the wet leather. The best B17 I’ve got is one that I accidentally rode in a wet and muddy camping trip without a cover. I was worried it was ruined initially but after I got home and turned the screw a few times and re-shaped the leather a bit to return it to a less exaggerated “hammock” shape while drying it with a hair drier, it became 1000x more comfortable.

I don’t recommend such an extreme approach, but you might have some luck doing something similar in a more controlled manner. Soak it and ride on it a bit to stretch it out… but do it at your own risk. You’ll get the same result after a while from your sweat and some Obenoufs… eventually 

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Ted Wood < ted.l...@gmail.com >

[Victor Hanson]

you don't need as much conditioner or leather oil as you think.  A good once over after riding season +- 9/15 and the light cleaning after the winter s/b all you need.  

Otherwise ride abuse....ride and abuse.   Don't worry about it .  It's not something that's gonna be a heirloom. 

victor 

'[

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VIctor R. Hanson

Gen Mgr

Schmier Industrial Properties

o:  510-652-0800

c:  510-207-8593

[Peter Adler]

Since the consistency of the color strongly suggests that this is a brand-new Ideale 90 (an older one would have less even color, as a result of decades of use), and would therefore be 1) newly made by the rebooted company and 2) pricy (US $272 + shipping at today's conversion rate), have you tried Ideale's saddle treatment (what they refer to as "maintenance grease") and use instructions?

https://www.sellesideale.fr/en/90-model/90-chromesteel-tan

https://www.sellesideale.fr/en/care-instructions

It's also possible that the Brooks v. Ideale factor comes into play here. You don't say which model/s of Brooks you're accustomed to; there's a wide range of variations over 100+ years. But generally, I have found all Brooks saddles wider than the narrow "ass hatchet" models (B5N in particular) to be wider than their analogous Ideale models. For me, this has meant that I have an Ideale backside; my 1970s Rebour 90 and various 60s-70s Ideale 80s fit me better than any Brooks model, even a 1973 Brooks Professional which visually appears to have nearly the same shape as the Ideale 90.

It may be that you have a Brooks-friendly butt.

The operators of the revived Ideale posted frequently to the Classic Rendezvous group as they were starting up. Several CR members bought saddles - both prototypes and release versions; they reported that the Ideale people were excellent to deal with, and eager to offer assistance to their users.

https://groups.google.com/g/classic-rendezvous-lightweight-vintage-bicycles/c/N3oWuQz4HYk/m/3ls2qc_YAQAJ

Break-in treatments for leather saddles are a regular topic of discussion there; as the Google Group's content is invisible to outsiders (like iBOB; I'm not sure about RBWOB), it might be worth your while to create an account. The website's in the process of a reboot, and the link to request the webmaster/list administrator to be added to the forum has not been made active yet; check back to https://classicrendezvous.com/ in a few days.

Peter "gonna buy one of those new Ideales, when my ship comes in" Adler

riding on no-break-in Selle An-Atomicas most of the time in

Berkeley, CA/USA

[Ryan]

It's nice that these saddles are being made again. My 3rd 73/74 Peugeot PX-10 bought in 1981 came with an Ideale 90 saddle; sometimes these bikes specced the Brooks Professional, which my first 2 had and sometimes the Ideale. Mine got caught in the rain numerous times and at one point, when my Peugeot was stored inside my downtown apartment and my son was 18 months to 2 years old I noticed the leather was drying out. No proofide to hand, but what I did have was Vaseline for diaper rash, so I applied a liberal coating to the top and underside of the saddle and blotted off the excess. Worked like a charm. The saddle, surprisingly, is still in great shape, although the labelling stamped into the leather has long since eroded after 40 years of benign neglect. I've proofided it every few years when I think of it. The 200+ price tag seems spendy, but if the quality of the leather used matches what I have, that saddle will last a long long time. I'm not sure the leather in modern saddles is as high quality. 

[Alex Wirth]

This saddle prob has 100 miles on it and still feels new.  Having a pretty upright posture and approaching 200 lbs any of my brooks would be nice and comfy by now.

I think I’ll start by adding some proof hide to bottom…

Wish me luck! 😅

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[Luke Hendrickson]

+1 for the rec of Obenauf’s. If that saddle is anything like the Gilles Bethoud that I have (thicker, higher quality leather than contemporary Brooks), using Brooks saddle goop or something similar will not be good. It’ll overly soften it. Obenauf’s is wonderful and has made my GB the absolute pleasure that it is to ride now. Admittedly some 4500 miles have been put on this saddle since initial application so sweat, etc., has finished the job started by the conditioner. 

[Kim H.]

I highly recommend using Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP Leather Conditioner Natural Oil Beeswax I have used for my expensive leather boots, as well as, my Brooks B-67S saddle and others than I have owned over the years. I personally believe this is better than Proofide by Brooks. Here the method I use.

I apply the Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP Leather Conditioner Natural Oil Beeswax Formula on my Brook's saddle. I let it set overnight. Wipe off the excess the next day. Apply it again. Set it overnight. Wipe off excess the next day.. Loosening up the tension bolt helps too, but not too much. A couple of turns.By now, the leather should be more supple and pliable.

Kim Hetzel

Yelm, WA.