Matt's old bird

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks Chris.
I still have to pinch myself when I am out and about instead of working.

Thanks for the tip Dan.
I'll see what's left in the kitty and maybe treat myself.

Typing that  word "kitty" reminded me of a joke I heard earlier in the week.
Two kittens on a roof.
Which one sides off first?

[jags]

i give in which one.

[Matt2matt2002]

Too quick Jags.
I should make you wait.
But since it's you.....

Its the one with the smallest mu.

Geddit??
 

[jags]

Your mental 

[geocycle]

Which brooks is that Matt?  The patina is beautiful.

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks geo.
The saddle came with the bike last year.
A B17 believe. Been around the block a few times by the look of the brass tag o. The back. Its all most off.
But the fit is fine.
Patina?
Wassat? New word to me.

Matt

[geocycle]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patina
Patina is a tarnish that forms on the surface of copper, bronze and similar metals ( produced by oxidation or other chemical processes); stone; a sheen on ...
?Etymology - ?Acquired patina - ?Applied patina - ?Repatination

I was using it loosely to apply both to the copper rivets and the colour of the leather.  I think it's a B17 special, not your standard b17.

[John Saxby]

I think it's a B17 special

Matt, geo -- looks like my B17 Champion Special in the foto below.  I pat it now & then, esp in the bleak mid-wintertime.

[Matt2matt2002]

Yep, looks like mine.
In better condition tho' 
What do you rub into it?

Can't lay my paws on a picture of mine, at the moment

[Matt2matt2002]

Just found some.
Well, it's peeing down outside here in Aberdeenshire - what else is there to do but sort through the hard drive for snaps?







What makes you think it is a 'special' ?
I'm not up to speed on the types of B17

Thanks Matt

[jags]

on my sherpa the champion special has copper rivets and rails.
matt you need to proofhide it .the way i do it ,smeer it on with fingers  rubbing it well into leather underneath as well, leave it on overnight and polist off next morn last 6 months no problem, dont rub off the proof hide from under the saddle and always carry a plastic bag for cover when you pop in for a coffee stop you need something warm riding in those conditions.

jags.

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks Jags.
I must admit to being lazy re the proof hiding
Now you have told me - I will buy something next week.
may I ask what you use?

I am good at keeping the saddle covered and have a neat seat cover that velcros under the cross bar and comes with me whenever out in doubtful weather.

Pictures were taken last winter.
Not usually a fan of riding in those conditions but I had recently bought the bike and just had to get out on it.
 

[geocycle]

on my sherpa the champion special has copper rivets and rails.
matt you need to proofhide it .the way i do it ,smeer it on with fingers  rubbing it well into leather underneath as well, leave it on overnight and polist off next morn last 6 months no problem, dont rub off the proof hide from under the saddle and always carry a plastic bag for cover when you pop in for a coffee stop you need something warm riding in those conditions.

jags.

Yes, that's what I do. I try and apply proof hide on warm days so it absorbs more deeply. Proofhide is a special brooks potion made from mashed up earwax of the Siberian tiger....  Seriously, best to buy the official brooks product, it's good and lasts years.

[Relayer]

Proofide at SJSC

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brooks-proofide-leather-saddle-conditioner-40g-tin-prod795/

Well worth it for the way a Brooks looks after one's butt.   

Jim

[John Saxby]

Matt,

Good for you for venturing out on your Raven in such conditions!  Now I understand why my grandfather, one R Burns by name, left Aberdeenshire for London, a century or so ago...

My B17 doesn't have to endure the same weather as yours--I tuck my bike into the basement workshop for most of the December-to-March period.  There's a lot of Hard-Man mythology about Canajans--much of it self-glorifying, you may be sure--but we're now a very urbanized society, and I'd guess that the majority try to avoid weather like yours.  So, good on ya!

What do you rub into it?

  My LBS was out of stock on Proofide when I bought my saddle a couple of years ago, so I simply substituted Obenauf's Leather Treatment which I had on hand, sometimes in the "Leather Oil" form, sometimes the "HD" paste.  Obenauf's is a firm in the US Pacific northwest.  Have found their stuff to be exceptionally good--I learned about it on a hiking site, and use it on all my leather boots & shoes, jackets, and saddles.

Press on regardless, eh?

J.