Author Topic: Saddles Thread?  (Read 91206 times)

jimmer

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 98
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #60 on: January 20, 2013, 10:02:14 am »
Vegemite but Mar definitely will
 

jags

  • Guest
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #61 on: January 20, 2013, 01:23:18 pm »
yiss are all gone mental  ???

Andre Jute

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4063
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #62 on: January 20, 2013, 05:44:08 pm »
yiss are all gone mental  ???

Nah, we started out mental -- haven't you noticed how much money we spend on bikes? -- but you just didn't notice because you're mental the same way.

Andre Jute

jags

  • Guest
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #63 on: January 20, 2013, 06:54:49 pm »
 ;D ;D ;D true enough.

jimmer

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 98
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #64 on: January 20, 2013, 11:35:41 pm »
You may all by now have had your fill of the sticky brown stuff (reminds me of a disarmingly innocent joke) but that there Hobbes made me think of it. All that was then required was the cocked finger and come hither look of she who must be unquestioningly obeyed, that siren Science, to lead me all the way into the murky recesses of his tortured imagination.

I have had a go at bananas and marmite.

I felt I owed it to the collective to call him on this one. You can't let an assertion like "ooh, Marmite and bananas go great together" go untested.

First up, I'll not be deriving any inviolable laws of Science from what is a test of subjective taste. After all some people (me and my 5 year old daughter included) love faggots & peas.

Forgified with a bottle of Rioja's worth of Dutch, I lathered one of the unripe bananas I got earlier today. It tasted of greasy steel. Surprisingly, not too bad.

I'll leave one of the banana's to ripen, try with that and report back.

On balance, however, that which did for Elvis is to be preferred. We're almost coming full circle with peanut butter and banana sandwiches fried crispy in butter.

Yours, James

« Last Edit: January 20, 2013, 11:41:24 pm by jimmer »
 

il padrone

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1322
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #65 on: January 21, 2013, 01:03:07 am »
What, perchance, are faggots? Because in my neck of the woods the term refers to a stick of wood - also used as a euphemism for the gay laddies.  ???

Danneaux

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8229
  • reisen statt rasen
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #66 on: January 21, 2013, 02:45:37 am »
Quote
What, perchance, are faggots?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_(food) say:
Quote
Faggots are a traditional dish in the UK,[1][2] especially South and Mid Wales and the Midlands of England.[3][4][5] It is made from meat off-cuts and offal, especially pork.[3] A faggot is traditionally made from pig's heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring and sometimes bread crumbs.

Quote
I have had a go at bananas and marmite.

I felt I owed it to the collective to call him on this one. You can't let an assertion like "ooh, Marmite and bananas go great together" go untested.
Brave man, Jimmer. For Science! indeed <bows, doffs hat in respect>
Quote
I lathered one of the unripe bananas I got earlier today. It tasted of greasy steel. Surprisingly, not too bad.
"Greasy steel"? Eh, I've had worse. Sounds worth keeping.
Quote
I'll leave one of the banana's to ripen, try with that and report back.
Medal material, Man. For Science. Respect. Word.

Best,

Dan. (....expanding his knowledge of British cuisine daily)
« Last Edit: January 21, 2013, 02:47:18 am by Danneaux »

Andre Jute

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4063
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #67 on: January 21, 2013, 05:50:12 am »
I have had a go at bananas and marmite ... I lathered one of the unripe bananas I got earlier today. It tasted of greasy steel. Surprisingly, not too bad.

Man, you're mad, bad and dangerous to know. That's not how you eat banana and Marmite. You make a sandwich, preferably with brown bread, you spread a very slight smear of Marmite on the buttered bread, nowhere near as thickly as you spread the butter, just a little on the tip of a knife, then add sliced ripe banana, then eat that.

If you're going to eat Marmite, which is expensive stuff, by the teaspoonful, you may as well eat salt by the teaspoonful.

What am I going to do with you, James?

Andre Jute

PS You're not supposed to give the under-16s Marmite either: it is widely known as an addictive substance.

Danneaux

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8229
  • reisen statt rasen
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #68 on: January 21, 2013, 06:04:55 am »
Quote
You're not supposed to give the under-16s Marmite either: it is widely known as an addictive substance.
:o Is that how Patricia Sierra started?

And...what price paid by poor James? <harumph!> Stuff should come with warning labels.

Best,

Dan. (...who's more'n a little skeert of the stuff, now)

Andre Jute

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4063
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #69 on: January 21, 2013, 07:10:53 am »
:o Is that how Patricia Sierra started?

No, Marmite is what redeemed Sierra. If you've read the entries at the link I supplied above already, you might be interested in an extract from my Rolling Stones profile of Sierra's early years as a serial killer and assassin for the CIA, at http://cookiesbookclub.blogspot.ie/2011/06/jd-plot-to-steal-jd-salingers.html (read down to "Biographical Information". After that, no wonder she became addicted to Marmite the first time I introduced her to it.

And...what price paid by poor James? <harumph!> Stuff should come with warning labels.

It does. It says, "Made with Yeast". Yeast is a well-known addictive substance, in bread for instance, and in beer. How many people do you know who can't live without bread?

Andre Jute

JWestland

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #70 on: January 21, 2013, 10:38:10 am »
One way to derail a thread: Slag off Marmite  ;D

Faggots sound nice BTW, I was thinking of a musical instrument when I heard the word, there ya go..

(fagot = Dutch for bassoon)

http://cdn.head-fi.org/7/76/76d31508_c851d40e_Derail_1.jpeg
« Last Edit: January 21, 2013, 10:40:18 am by JWestland »
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)

Matt2matt2002

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1893
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #71 on: January 21, 2013, 11:32:55 am »
At the great risk of returning this thread around back in it's original direction  ::)
May I solicit some views on my thoughts re a leather saddle?
Brooks of course. But I have a mental problem with leather being out in all sorts of nasty weather when I am away on a long long tour.
I know it will be "proofed" and I know they sell nice wee care kits but I still think it will suffer from snow ice and hot sun variations.

Someone put me right on this please

Matt
Never drink and drive. You may hit a bump  and spill your drink

JWestland

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #72 on: January 21, 2013, 01:00:47 pm »
The old and trusted "Tesco Bag" special bike item offers good protection against damage...cover it up every time you're not on it.

Had an old beater students bike with a decade old brooks on it, still working fine and didn't get any maintenance whatsoever. Though of course maintenance and protection is the way to go :)
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)

Danneaux

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8229
  • reisen statt rasen
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #73 on: January 21, 2013, 04:29:53 pm »
Quote
At the great risk of returning this thread around back in it's original direction...
Here ya go, Matt; Proofide and a cover worked for me:
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3812.0
Others have their say in this topic, as well. I'm very happy with the last iteration and never know it is there until needed.

All the best,

Dan. (...who's got it covered)

Andre Jute

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4063
Re: Saddles Thread?
« Reply #74 on: January 21, 2013, 08:10:44 pm »
May I solicit some views on my thoughts re a leather saddle?
Brooks of course. But I have a mental problem with leather being out in all sorts of nasty weather when I am away on a long long tour.
I know it will be "proofed" and I know they sell nice wee care kits but I still think it will suffer from snow ice and hot sun variations.

Someone put me right on this please

First of all, I agree with Jawine, but more so. I grew up in Africa, where all the bicycles had Brooks saddles, where the sun and the rain were fierce, where I never saw a saddle cover (what's that? what sort of a rooinek* newbie would want such a thing?), and where Brooks saddles routinely outlived their owners.

For heavens sake, it's a great big piece of horsy leather. The hunt and suchlike would never dream of covering up their saddles and other leather gear.

All that said, I have a Brooks cover and use it, not because I fear riding the B73 wet would ruin it -- that's what the tensioning screw is for! -- but because I don't want to have to deal with mold, which once started can be very persistent in leather.

A couple of other points that may not be obvious.

You may decide to soak your saddle in neatsfoot oil to break it in. I did, as related elsewhere on this forum. Whether you soak it in neatsfoot or motor oil or your wife's virgin olive oil or whatever you fancy, or just rub on Proofide, don't for a moment believe the protection of that little soaking goes deeper than the epidermis. My B73 (coil spring at each corner) was pretty comfortable out of the box, so I soaked in neatsfoot oil very briefly. But I ride in street clothes and my keychain has caught the saddle a couple of times, and I was amazed to see in the light scratch how little the neatsfoot and Proofide once a year since then have penetrated.

I don't think it matters what you use to weatherproof your saddle, or even whether you use anything at all. Most of those saddles that lasted forever in Africa got zero maintenance, no wax whatsoever, and they mostly looked good with it. A good leather saddle has to be really, really, really abused before it even looks tacky, and appalling cruelties have to be performed on it before it stops functioning. (Chalo Colina, the famous Boeing machinist and bike mechanic in Austin, Texas -- he's the guy who designed the famous 48 spoke Rohloff wheel and drilling scheme --, weighs 350 pounds and up. There's a photo on the net somewhere of an extension he's welded onto the stretching bolt... The leather of the saddle looks damned good.) And when it does stop functioning, it is more often because metal parts rusted through than because the leather was too stretched or torn to work any longer. Check what Brooks offers as spares: it's mainly the metal bits. All this worry about the leather is misdirected; we should worry about crappy Italian chrome plating or painting on our Brooks's metal bits, not the leather, which Italians do a great deal better than they do metal preparation.

A pristine Brooks saddle with zero discolouration (and that counts double if it is honey, which stains if you glance at it) and zero scratches is the mark of a poser.

A Brooks saddle is a tool, meant to be used, not jewellery.

Andre Jute

*rooinek = literally "red neck", sunburned, shorthand for a Brit just off the ship, who'd never seen sunshine like this before