I've only recently bought the Brooks Maintenance kit from CRC, for R68.00. Comes with a small tub of Proofide (the recommended leather wax), the spanner and a Brooks branded cloth, the latter being rather superfluous - but looks pretty I initially thought that they're being a bit stingy on the size of the Proofide tub, it being about the same as one of those round little Zambuk tins, but after having applied some of it, it's very clear it will go a long way, and should last years... I'd advise anyone buying the saddle, to get hold of the maintenace kit as well. If you're going to buy the saddle through CRC in any event, it's a no-brainer... I used ordinary dubbin for almost a year on the saddle, which was possibly a bit silly. The dubbin is completely different in composition to the Proofide, and I'm quite convinced that it's not ideal. My initial cynicism with Proofide, call me jaded, was that here was just another example of a company trying to get the consumer to purchase additional, unnecessary accessories from them, so as to continue milking the proverbial cow. I now realise that Proofide is not only superior, but the little tub will last 5 times longer than any dubbin, and at R68.00 for the entire kit - they're not exactly going to get rich off of me... My overuse of dubbin - in the beginning, I might have been a bit obessive about the new saddle - saw me applying liberal dosages, on fairly regular occasions... Once every few weeks... Which is not necessarily the end of the world, since it did help soften the saddle up quite quickly, but I probably overdid things by a couple of applications... The possible result, has been a saddle that shaped quite quickly to my particular riding style, and anatomy - and now fits like a glove. With this being said, I found the saddle to be comfortable from Day 1. All my friends, that have hopped on and have done a few km's, have made similar remarks... But each saddle is obviously different, so this remains my experience... See some of the pics below, to demonstrate how it has shaped... The pic above tells a few stories. Firstly, the saddle has been recently Proofide'd - which explains the waxy appearance on the top. The three holes down the middle, have plenty of wax/dubbin residue inside of them, given that more is always applied to the bottom of the saddle, to provide additional waterproofing... This then pushes up into the holes, which then sometimes gets clogged with sand /dust... Next thing - notice how the three holes are no longer in alignment... The top two are "pulling" to the right, which might have something to do with my leg leg being slightly longer than the other?? In the pic below, you'll see what the effect of this is on the "side-skirts"... I'm trying to figure out if this is a good thing - since presumably the saddle has shaped to compensate for me leaning in my stroke? The view from the front more clearly demonstrates the lean to the side... If you look closely, you can make out how the holes are no longer flat-on, and are twisted slightly... At the bottom, whilst acknowledging that the angle of the camera is slightly off, you can still pick up the noticeable difference in length between the "side-flap" on the left, seen from the front, as opposed to the one on the right... This ties in with the earlier pic, and demonstrates how my riding-stroke appears to favour a lean to the right (as seated)... Not sure if this suggests I should consider inserting some spacers in/on my right foot's cleat/shoe? But that's a whole different question, for another day... This is the closest I can get to trying to demonstrates the "sag" in the saddle, as it has molded to my shape requirements... The circled area at the top, on a better resolution version of this pic, demonstrates a "depression" in the saddle [with a similar one closer to the camera, that cannot be seen due to the light] - where my "sit-bones" have gradually made themselves 'known' to the saddle... Custom-designed simplicity! Over the next few years, a small and ever-so-rare turn of the screw will be preformed at the front of the saddle, to re-tighten the saddle, and thus remove the sag, should it become too pronounced - This should effectively result in a "as-new" saddle again... Another view showing the shaping of the holes.... Admittedly, this viewpoint makes the saddle look a lot longer than narrower than what it is! The last pic again shows the difference in dip between the two side-flaps... It also shows the curious what the bottom of the saddle looks like... In front, above the glare, you can make out the rounded metal plate in the nose... The three brass 'pins' in the nose, attach the leather at the front, to this plate... Tightening the screw, moves the plate forward, which "pulls" the attached leather with it, thereby tightening up the entire saddle, and diminishing any sag... And that be it. I'll pop up some last few thoughts a bit later!
