Re: [CR]Found a Brooks! (re-shaping question)

(Example: Humor)

Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 09:48:29 -0600
From: "Mitch Harris" <mitch.harris@gmail.com>
To: "devotion finesse" <devotion_finesse@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Found a Brooks! (re-shaping question)
In-Reply-To: <8801bb250705280845m70e4e7fdm427811654951f13b@mail.gmail.com>
References: <BAY136-F161A4C0E0414E4CA4D31D6F5280@phx.gbl>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

Correction: that should have read: "...now secure..."

On 5/28/07, Mitch Harris <mitch.harris@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Here's what I would do: I would wet the saddle then reshape it by cinchin g
> it with tape around the middle of the saddle while it dries.
> Here's how I've done it before:
> I would soak in in water for a few 15 min. or so, then towel it off and
> Then wrap tape tightly around the center narrow section. I use wide plast ic
> packing tape to get good tension. I wrap it the way I used to wrap my po le
> vaulting pole (except backwards), that is I'd start the wrap with the
> non-sticky side facing the leather (so as not to get tape glue on the
> leather) and wrap a few turns so that the tape is not secur on the sadle
> then twist the tape 180 degrees so it's sticky side down (but sticky side
> touching only the other tape surface not the saddle leather) and wrap som e
> more turns tightly till the saddle is pulled together side to side, and t he
> top of the saddle raises and levels out. It can take a couple days or lon ger
> to dry to hard firmness, depending on your climate.
>
> Have done this with old saddles that sagged in the middle and had flaps
> sticking straight out, and with saddles that accidentally got soaked on a
> ride. Worked every time.
>
> --Mitch
>
>
> On 5/28/07, devotion finesse <devotion_finesse@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hello fellas,
> > My girlfriend and I were riding across Brooklyn yesterday, when I
> > spotted
> > what appeared to be an abandoned bike, near a trash can on an industria l
> >
> > strip of south Williamsburg. Something caught my eye, so I pulled over
> > to
> > investigate...Glad I did!
> > "How did you even see that? You bike guys are crazy. It was behind a
> > bus
> > and we were zooming by, you maniac!" "The radar is always on, baby."
> > On top of a trashed 70's mid-range "boom bike" (unlocked, missing wheel
> > and
> > pedals, etc.), sat a black Brooks B.17. Curiously, it was TIED onto th e
> > frame with plastic cording, no seatpost on the bike. Always up for a
> > project, I untied the saddle. We were on our way to a BBQ, and I had a
> > musette bag full of Polish sausages. Threw the saddle in my bag and wa s
> > on
> > my way. What a Sunday. On to the questions:
> > Because the saddle was tied on, there are large "dimples" where the
> > leather
> > sat on the seat lug cluster.
> > Right in the middle of the saddle is a "peak" in the leather, falling
> > where
> > it will probably be less than comfortable to ride on. The saddle is
> > fairly
> > soft and the leather supple, no cracks or drying.
> > Any suggestions as to how I might be able to re-shape it back to
> > "normal"?
> > My guess is, Proofhide and a ton of miles? But perhaps there is
> > something I
> > can do in the short-term, so I don't feel like I am sitting on
> > a...leather
> > saddle tied onto a bike without a seatpost, resting on the seat lug
> > cluster?
> >
> > Matthew Bowne
> > Brooklyn, New York
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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