Saddle Transplant

Fifthgrace

Retro Guru
I have a favourite saddle, that sadly reached its end of life as the leather wore thin and became 'critical'. We've enjoyed fair weather and foul. Negotiated climb and descent. Travelled far and wide. A faithful friend to the end, I was reluctant to wish this one a final 'bon voyage', but what to do? My initial thoughts were to seek emergency aid. Could someone online simply re-cover it from the dead? I found the websites of three dedicated practitioners, but making contact revealed one 'no longer practicing' (business kaput), one 'now retired' and one 'willing to give it a go' but 'ouch, I've only ever attempted one of those before, and it was a pig of a job, (sharp intake of breath), and it'll cost well over £100, and no guarantees it will be any good'. So here's the 2003 Selle Italia SLK Carbonio, stripped and looking worse for wear!
 

Attachments

  • 20240601_155226.jpg
    20240601_155226.jpg
    894.3 KB · Views: 13
  • 20240601_134352.jpg
    20240601_134352.jpg
    528.5 KB · Views: 13
Last edited:
They say you should train before becoming a fully fledged surgeon. So here's my first three patients that I resurrected that went under the knife: a Selle Italia Flite Titanium, A Selle San Marco Titantium, and a Selle SLR Kit Carbonio Flow
 

Attachments

  • P1080480a.jpg
    P1080480a.jpg
    110.5 KB · Views: 11
  • P1060521c.jpg
    P1060521c.jpg
    50.3 KB · Views: 11
  • P1060446c.jpg
    P1060446c.jpg
    121.7 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
Now the SLK Carbonio really is a bit of a beast. If you've ever stripped one down you'll discover that to get the cover to fit the saddle cut-out, the manufacturer actually made the leather cover from multiple panels which are stitched together. You can't stretch a single panel of leather over one- believe you me, I tried, and then tried again. Unfortunately, stitching up the wounded isn't my thing (but maybe one day I'll give it a go), so like the A&E, I turned to supergluing, but whilst it did a job, aesthetically I could see it was going to leave a few very visible scars (edge joins). So what to do?
 
Last edited:
.......I needed a 'donor'. And oh boy, have I had to wait for that match. It's just a really rare saddle, impossible in non-gel guise. I've ridden the gel version, and weirdly, it just isn't as comfortable. Extra padding doesn't equal extra comfort. A good saddle is supportive, and too much cushioning, at least for me, just causes posterior aches and pains. But then I got thinking: a gel version should be OK as a donor. I only need the cover. And it will be slightly too big (accommodating thicker gel) and that will be a good thing, as it will provide some 'play' to aid stretching. So last week, I got lucky and picked up a 2005 SLK Gel Flow Vanox for little money. Donor secured.
 

Attachments

  • 20240601_134343.jpg
    20240601_134343.jpg
    770.8 KB · Views: 7
Last edited:
Amazing the leather wore through but the foam is still working right.

Unglueing and reglueing will be interesting.
I've had a go at repairing saddles a couple of times and was struck by how little you can stretch leather. It's much less than you'd imagine🙄
 
And so to the the transplant....obtaining the donor cover
 

Attachments

  • 20240601_151408.jpg
    20240601_151408.jpg
    772.1 KB · Views: 10
  • 20240601_151232.jpg
    20240601_151232.jpg
    593.8 KB · Views: 9
  • 20240601_150351.jpg
    20240601_150351.jpg
    758.6 KB · Views: 7
  • 20240601_150349.jpg
    20240601_150349.jpg
    772.9 KB · Views: 6
  • 20240601_150333.jpg
    20240601_150333.jpg
    701.9 KB · Views: 6
  • 20240601_150249.jpg
    20240601_150249.jpg
    448.1 KB · Views: 7
  • 20240601_145047.jpg
    20240601_145047.jpg
    712 KB · Views: 6
  • 20240601_141811.jpg
    20240601_141811.jpg
    305.3 KB · Views: 7
  • 20240601_141400.jpg
    20240601_141400.jpg
    788.6 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
and to 'grafting' onto my old saddle:
 

Attachments

  • 20240601_183916.jpg
    20240601_183916.jpg
    591.6 KB · Views: 8
  • 20240601_174538.jpg
    20240601_174538.jpg
    660.2 KB · Views: 8
  • 20240601_155130.jpg
    20240601_155130.jpg
    611.4 KB · Views: 8
Last edited:
And transplant complete, with a bit of 'feeding' to ensure my 'old faithful' is ready for service again!
 

Attachments

  • 20240601_185301.jpg
    20240601_185301.jpg
    413.2 KB · Views: 19
  • 20240601_185259.jpg
    20240601_185259.jpg
    477.1 KB · Views: 18
  • 20240601_185235.jpg
    20240601_185235.jpg
    439.9 KB · Views: 17
  • 20240601_185215.jpg
    20240601_185215.jpg
    570.8 KB · Views: 17
  • 20240601_185207.jpg
    20240601_185207.jpg
    546.9 KB · Views: 17
  • 20240601_185200.jpg
    20240601_185200.jpg
    604 KB · Views: 14
  • 20240601_185153.jpg
    20240601_185153.jpg
    584.5 KB · Views: 14
  • 20240601_185113.jpg
    20240601_185113.jpg
    813.9 KB · Views: 11
  • 20240601_185309.jpg
    20240601_185309.jpg
    182.8 KB · Views: 8
  • 20240601_185317.jpg
    20240601_185317.jpg
    475.1 KB · Views: 18
Back
Top