Best rain cover for a Brooks?

[JL]

What is the best way to protect a leather saddle from the rain? I
know there are various saddle covers, but I see more people with a
plastic bag over their seats. What about the underside? Do fenders
stop the water spray well enough?

Thanks
JL

[Robert F. Harrison]

I use one of the Aardvark covers from Riv these days. http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/s91.htm

I have a couple of actual Brooks covers but I generally don't use them if I have to be away from my bike because they clearly say Brooks on them. The Aardvark is cheap (but not shoddy), works great, and as it says in the promo, "it disguises a fine leather saddle."

I also have fenders on all my bikes (which all have some sort of B-17) and that does keep muck from flying up. 

Finally, I never park my bike upside down in the rain. Though I suppose with enough Obenauf's even that'd be okay for a bit. (And I don't use too much Obenauf's...once a year when I remember).

Aloha (in Hilo right now where yes, it's raining and yes, the bike I keep here, currently an RB-1, has a Brooks). :-)

Bob

JL

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[Mike On A Bike]

I have used the Carradice B17 covers that Peter White sells for about
two years now. They have held up really well to a lot of riding, are
very waterproof, and I expect them to last a while longer-- very high
quality of construction. Can't discern any damage to my saddles from
either rain or butt sweat after lots of exposure to both.

They're black and drab, but that may help from the anti-theft angle.

[Steve Palincsar]

On Mon, 2012-03-26 at 21:29 -1000, Robert F. Harrison wrote:
> I use one of the Aardvark covers from Riv these
> days. http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/s91.htm
>

I do, too. It works well.

>
> I have a couple of actual Brooks covers but I generally don't use them
> if I have to be away from my bike because they clearly say Brooks on
> them.

I have one of those, too. It was never waterproof -- I fixed that by
using a plastic bowl cover under it -- but the elastic stretched out and
became useless after a few years.

> The Aardvark is cheap (but not shoddy), works great, and as it says in
> the promo, "it disguises a fine leather saddle."

And keeps it dry in the rain, too.

[Earl Grey]

Here in the tropics, the elastic on the Aardvarks gives up within
months. The best cover I ever had was the Rivendell custom made that
they no longer carry (because they need to order 300 at a time; bad
for cash flow). Shall we see if we can get a group order going? I'll
take 5...seriously.

Gernot
Thailand

On Mar 27, 6:22 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 2012-03-26 at 21:29 -1000, Robert F. Harrison wrote:
> > I use one of the Aardvark covers from Riv these

> > days.http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/s91.htm

[Jim]

Do any of these covers provide UV protection?  Is UV an issue for a leather saddle?, i think it would be, it is for car interiors.  We are at 5600 feet here, and the sun blazes just about every day in the summer.   Where my bike is parked during the workday gets a lot of sun, i'm definitely concerned about this as summer approaches.

Jim in Boulder

[cyclotourist]

I like the one Brooks sells. Don't put too much stock in my opinion for wet-weather riding though, it doesn't happen very frequently.

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[ascpgh]

On Mar 27, 3:29 am, "Robert F. Harrison" <rfharri...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I use one of the Aardvark covers from Riv these days.http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/s91.htm

Like Steve, I use and vouch for these as well.

Only able to compare with elastic bowl covers and drug store shower
caps (single tasteful colors only) prior to that.

ANDY
Pittsburgh

[Peter Pesce]

That's a good point, Jim.

I'm not sure many people consider the amount of UV a bike that is used for daily transportation gets. I know I don't, or didn't, until now.
If you lock your bike up outside a lot (perhaps less an issue for Riv owners) not only the saddle, but the tires, bar tape, brake hoods and cable housings get a pretty good UV bath. Fenders help the tires a bit, I guess.

I'm sure UV is no good for leather, so any cover would help some. I use my aardvark cover for theft deterrence and rain defense. Guess I'm getting UV defense too in the bargain. 

-Pete in CT

[Ryan Ray]

If you plan on riding with the cover on there is only one cover I like: https://www.serfas.com/products/view/203/referer:products%7Cindex%7Csaddles%7Creactive-gel-saddles

Here is what a saddle looks like with one of the hard, heavy covers: http://www.velofred.com/images/reviews/1313713525.jpg

Here is what a saddle looks like with the serfas cover: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/317bJ1dj5DL._SS400_.jpg

The aardvark one and the brooks ones are heavy & crinkly and not comfortable at all. You can hardly tell the stretchy serfas one is on.

- Ryan

[Ryan Ray]

One more advantage is that a B-17 looks like a an old Avocet with the Serfas cover on while the other ones just look like a brooks with a cover on it. May help with theft prevention.

- Ryan

[mikel...@juno.com]

ryan

what size Serfas cover fits the B17, the standard SCB-1 or the hybrid SCB-2?

mike goldman

warwick,r.i.

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[PATRICK MOORE]

UV??!! Saddles???!!! You are kidding, right?

Patrick Moore, tanning his skin at 5,000+ feet in ABQ, NM.

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[Steve Palincsar]

On Tue, 2012-03-27 at 18:14 -0600, PATRICK MOORE wrote:
> UV??!! Saddles???!!! You are kidding, right?

Lends a whole new meaning to the term "ass hat"...

[dougP]

+1 for the Aardvark. Rugged, gets the job done & fits well.

dougP

On Mar 27, 12:29 am, "Robert F. Harrison" <rfharri...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I use one of the Aardvark covers from Riv these days.http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/s91.htm

> rfharri...@gmail.com
> statrix.com- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Ablejack]

Gilles Berthoud also makes an interesting cover (and saddles). It is simply latex rubber and stretches to fit snugly on the saddle. Completely waterproof.  

/and yes, use fenders unless you're racing.

[Jim]

I wasn't, actually.

Jim in Boulder

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[Lee Chae]

Well I just ran an experiment for you. I had an Aardvark cover over the B17 on my Quickbeam, with a plastic bag over the cover as an extra layer. I guess the wind blew the bag off at some point during the afternoon. The bike has been out in the rain for hours. The Aardvark cover is soaked, but underneath, the saddle is dry.

I won't make a habit of relying soley on the Aardvark though. I generally like to use a shower cap or plastic bag as a final external layer.

Lee
SF, CA

JL

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[dean899]

Randi jo fab (riv no carries them) cover to ride on, keep on, and look
oh so good

> The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worriedhttp://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4f721202e9923113cb5st01duc

[Rick]

I have to dissent on the aardvark. I ride to work, and from here
sometimes to the courthouse a couple of blocks away. I'm in the habit
of slipping the aardvark on when I lock the atlantis up at work for
the brooks-camouflage reason -- the rack is inside the parking garage,
so while theft is not much of a problem, the threat of rain is even
less.

At the courthouse, although the bike rack sits in a covered spot, when
it rains water works its way through a crack in the overhead trestles
and just dumps on the racks. It's like the spot was selected for
free bike washing / seat-cover testing. In any event, when I put the
aardvark on there, my saddle gets wet. Not drenched, but not in my
preferred dry state either. Saddle is one of the honey ones, so it's
pretty obvious when the aardvark is less than effective.

I picked up a Randi Jo Fab saddle cover after several instances of
above.

http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/s92.htm

It's more of a hastle to slip on than the aardvark, what with the
under-cover and all. It does a better job in the bike-washing rack at
the courthouse -- no signs of leaks as yet. It did have an incident
when I hit a spring deluge on the way home one day and the very tip of
the saddle was damp. I suspect user error on that one, though -- you
have to velcro the under and over covers together, and it's probably
the case that I didn't get it done correctly.

All that being said, when saddle camo is not in need, I like the
Brooks-issued ones just fine too.

[Ryan Ray]

There is no label on it but I believe it's most likely the smaller one. I picked the one the nice folks at FreeRange told me to pick.

- Ryan

[Peter Pesce]

Well for some if us who leave bikes locked up outside it IS an issue! Not while riding of course.
I have a 15 minute commute/ 13 hour bike rack lock up/ 15 minute commute. The time this particular saddle spends without its "ass hat" is vastly greater than the time it is covered by me. Other bikes, maybe, not so much.

[Allingham II, Thomas J]

Maybe UV even affects bars?  From the next to last Blug: "Nitto says any aluminum handlebar that’s ten years old should be replaced. Aluminum degrades when it’s exposed to the elements, and so….you also might not want to ride your twenty-five year old French handlebars that were made when there were mild standards if any to pass. The same for 20-year old Cinelli drop bars. It all depends."

---

From: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com [mailto:rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Peter Pesce
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 1:38 PM
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [RBW] Re: Best rain cover for a Brooks?

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[Rob]

I've been very happy with my Randi Jo Fab saddle cover for my Berthoud. She makes one for Brooks as well: https://www.randijofab.com/products-page/saddle-covers/saddle-cover 

It's held up well for the year and a half I've had it. Breathable cover. 

I sent her my Berthoud to use as a pattern. Very well made.

Rob in Seattle