Saddle Transplant

[Fifthgrace]

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!

 

[Fifthgrace]

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

 

[Fifthgrace]

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?

 

[Fifthgrace]

.......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.

 

[bikeworkshop]

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

 

[Fifthgrace]

And so to the the transplant....obtaining the donor cover

 

[Fifthgrace]

and to 'grafting' onto my old saddle:

 

[bikeworkshop]

How did you get the old glue off?
And what and how did you reglue?

 

[Fifthgrace]

And transplant complete, with a bit of 'feeding' to ensure my 'old faithful' is ready for service again!

 

[Fifthgrace]

How did you get the old glue off?
And what and how did you reglue?

Manual surgery, with fingers and surgical scalpel (seriously), no chemicals. I re-glue with brush and adhesives (I use a number of different types depending on what and where).