Some time ago I acquired a vintage Brooks Colt saddle. The original Colts are pretty rare, so I was excited. Unfortunately the saddle was deformed, sporting a prominent ridge down the center. On top of that, the leather was hard as a rock. The saddle was outrightpainful to ride for more than a few minutes.
To deal with the ridge, I was encouraged to try the blocking technique: soaking the saddle in water to regain its original shape. And I received just as many warnings against trying the blocking technique: The saddle could snap in half or become even more deformed I was told, I could ruin it. So I will preface with a caveat: As I understand it, blocking has a spotty success rate. To be safe, I would suggest trying it only on a saddle that is already ruined and unridable, as mine was.
There are different variations of the method, and the one I initially used was as follows: I soaked the saddle under the faucet, both the surface and the underside, until it was evenly wet. I then wrapped it in a wet towel, wrapped that in a plastic bag and let it sit. Two days later I unwrapped the saddle to check on it and was stunned to discover that, while wet, it was still hard as a rock. The moisture did not seem to be soaking through at all. So I wrapped it back up and left it for an entire week. When I unwrapped it again, the saddle was a bit softer, but the ridge showed no signs of diminishing. I thought that if I left it in there any longer the saddle would start to rot. So I installed it on a trainer bike and tried riding on it, thinking I could now flatten the ridge that way. But it was too painful to ride and it wasn't working. Eventually, I gave up and decided the experiment was unsuccessful. I treated the saddle with a generous dose of Proofide and put it away in a box, not sure what I'd do with it.
Some time later, the Co-Habitant needed a saddle for one of his bike builds and I said he was welcome to give reviving the Colt another try. At this point, our collective memory of what exactly was done is less clear, but we agree that it involved yet more soaking. The way I recall it, this time he left the saddle in a sink filled with water overnight. Possibly more than once. Eventually the saddle did begin to show signs of softening, and when this happened he installed it on his bike and went out riding.
The Co-Habitant weighs over 200lb, and I was worried that this was exactly the sort of situation where a soaked saddle might snap in half. However it did not snap, but began to straighten out under his weight. After a couple of rides and much Proofiding the deep ridge was flattened and now there are only a couple of gentle dimples in the sitbone areas. He says that the Colt is now very comfortable. It certainly looks nice and healthy: The colour is a rich warm chestnut and the surface is much smoother than it had been when I first received the saddle.
As our experience demonstrates, there is no one formula for this and you sort of have to play it by ear. The John Spooner description I linked to earlier suggests stuffing the saddle with newspaper after soaking it, but this did not seem appropriate in our case since the saddle was hardly soft enough even after excessive soaking. In general I'd say see how the leather behaves once you begin, and go from there. Start off conservative as far as water exposure, then get progressively more aggressive if that doesn't work.
All things considered, the Co-Habitant's opinion is that the blocking technique is more trouble than it is worth and he does not recommend it. My opinion is that it really depends on how much you want to rescue that particular saddle, and how prepared you are to potentially ruin it in the process. I am glad that we revived the Colt and now have this beautiful, functional vintage saddle. What has been your experience with blocking or other saddle reshaping techniques?
While driving home from our trip, we enjoyed the scenery. I started to get emotional as we got closer to OBX. As soon as we hit the first bridge, I yelled out, "We're home".
It has an interesting history too. From Wikipedia:
It's just beautiful, isn't it?
The frame is from a Francesco Moser "San Cristobal" roadbike, circa (I think) 1978. I got the frame from a friend of a friend and had a chance to try it when it was still a complete bike, so I knew it would fit me comfortably. The previous owner then stripped the frame of components and I mailed it to myself from Vienna, as this was by far the easiest option. It cost 20 Euros to send the frame from Vienna to Boston via the Austrian post. They instructed me to "wrap it so that it looks like a bike frame" rather than packing it in a bike box, and that is what I did. I wrapped the frame in bubble wrap, then in brown wrapping paper, and attached the address in several locations directly onto the wrapping. The package arrived at my door just over 2 weeks after I mailed it.
As you may have noticed, the Co-Habitant has turned into a bicycle mechanic this summer - to my appreciative delight, as I have neither the aptitude nor the time for it. He bought a bike stand, has accumulated the necessary tools for most jobs, and has been enjoying learning the ins and outs of bicycle repair. This was his first complete bike build, after he practiced with the fixed gear conversion on Marianne. As a mechanic he is meticulous, and this is reflected in the quality of the results. The bicycle is tight and smooth and noiseless and just the way I wanted it.
If you are interested in components, they include aSugino RD2 crankset, aMavic CXP2 wheelset, and whitePanaracer Pasela tires (700x28C). The seat post (manufacturer unknown), stem (Nitto), handlebars (GB) and brake (Shimano, model unknown) were recycled from various used/vintage sources. The brake levers are the same Tektro short reach I have on my Rivendell, and these are pretty much the only roadbike brake levers that I am actually able to squeeze with my poor hands. I have both brake levers despite there only being a front brake, because I like to keep my hands on the hoods. The right lever activates the brake; the left lever is inactive. Though I find it silly to have a "blank" brake lever, I cannot think of a better solution.
As for the lack of rear brake, the reason is two-fold. First, a rear brake in unnecessary on a fixed gear bike. And second, our tire choice made the rear clearance too tight to allow one. It looks in the picture as if the bridge is actually touching the tire, but I assure you it is not. There is enough clearance so that it is perfectly fine to ride, just won't fit a brake.
This bicycle originally came with tubular wheels and narrow tires, so fitting it with 700C wheels andthe cushy white 28mm Paselas was really pushing the limits of its clearances. But we decided to go with them, because these tires are just a spectacular ride, as well as a safer choice for my pothole-ridden "training route". The larger wheels and tires also have the positive effect of raising the bottom bracket - which is a good thing for a fixed gear bike, as pedaling while leaning on a turn can potentially result in hitting the ground with the edge of a pedal. Needless to say, there will not be room for fenders on this bike. That is fine with me in this case, as the bicycle's purpose is entirely athletic. (Also, I think the "naked" white tires look quite good with the red frame.)
I should also mention, that while we built this bike up as a fixed gear, we did not file off any of the braze-ons or bosses. The rear derailleur hanger and the rear brake routing have been left as they were, and the downtube shifter bosses have been covered with these rubber "boss cozies" for safety and aesthetics.
Francesco Moser frames are quite nice, and are well-regarded in Austria. I am told that this model is made of Columbus tubing, though there is no longer a decal testifying to this.
The frame is in great condition, except for some rust on these chrome parts. I plan to clean that up as soon as I determine what the safest method is.
Now that I have given all the excruciating details regarding the bike, some are probably wondering why in God's name I needed a fixed gear roadbike. Well, I'll tell you. I had been planning this ever since having ridden that trackbike in Viennaand discoveringthat riding a fixed gear bike helps me build up my road cycling skills. It does that by addressing my biggest frustrations, which are balance and coordination. I have plenty of endurance to cycle fast for relatively long periods of time, but I suck at pretty much every other aspect of cycling (for instance, making turns and cycling closely to others at high speeds). The aspect of fixed gear cycling that most people find difficult (the constant pedaling) I am fine with, which makes it the perfect tool to help me with the other stuff.
I first saw the Hi5 at OR last winter and was more than a little skeptical ofthe newLa Sportiva Hi5 or La Sportiva in particular for skis. But I did want a pair of thoseall carbon race boots the STRATOS!Any way, hard to miss a bright green, giant ski that resembles a retro water ski more than snow ski.Or so I first thought. It was a ski that stood outin the ski racks at two "ski bars" and ridingthe trams in Chamonix over the winter. And of the La Sportiva Hi5sI did recognise, all seemed amazingly LOOONG in comparison to the other skisbeing toted around the valley.(from a distinct mental note taken back in March...and obvious ski/mtn gawds riding them) 
