Saddle repair, stitching coming away
peter.cheyne
Posts: 45
in Workshop
The stitching is coming away on my Specialized Alias saddle. Can't afford a new saddle for a while. Any ideas on repair, such as using glue or re-covering with some material? Here's a couple of photos.
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I think it's past the point of repair... you can do a cross stitch to avoid the patch coming off, but otherwise ride it as it is, with or without the faux leather it doesn't matter. You can buy saddles for less than 10 quidleft the forum March 20231
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Well, that saddle cost around $140, so I want to re-cover it. It's all fine, save for the stitching going. Seems so wasteful to throw it away on that account.
I'm thinking of unscrewing the base, then either gluing new fabric on the top of the old, or removing the old then gluing new fabric and rescrewing. Something like this:
https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=142889&pagenum=1
That person ended up with this:
Thought I'd ask here first, to see if anyone has done this and has tips.1 -
My wife has done a few jobs on saddles, but she is into leather working. Problem with your saddle is the shape, it's quite hard to re-coverleft the forum March 20231
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I was thinking, with the right glue, just smooth on the material, whether leather or something else. When I remove the original cover, that will be a template for the new one. If it is too difficult a shape to work into place smoothly, then forget about keeping the gaps in the saddle as gaps, and just cover those up too.0
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try... you need some means of keeping the material under tension while the glue is dryingleft the forum March 20230
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Staples on the underside of saddle was what I had in mind.0
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Definitely remove the old cover. Apply contact adhesive both to the new cover and foam base -this bonds on contact, therefore removing the need to keep under tension. It's an awkward shape to do.
If you use leather you might have to wet the leather first, stretch it over the saddle and leave to dry. This will give you a basic shape and a fighting chance of covering the complex rear section without any sewing.1 -
Cheers, Masjer!
That was my plan, and I intend to do that when this cover finally gets stripped. For now, however, I decided to go bodge job. I put some hot glue between the foam and the loose flap of covering, then ran some more hot glue around the rear section panels (the grey inserts). No prizes for aesthetics, but it solved an immediate problem. Here are the results:
One day soon, I'll rewarm the glue with a hair dryer and try smoothing it down with an ice cube—a trick I learned about after I did this bodge. Another lesson learned after I've done it is that using a mouldable glue called Sugru would probably have been better. This instructable shows how that's done.
If I get hold of some black Sugru, I'll melt off the hot glue, replace it with the Sugru, and report back with photos.
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Or you could have just spent the same amount of time working and the money you would have earned would have paid for a new saddle.0
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I don't earn $420 an hour. This job took 20 minutes and the saddle cost $140. I don't want to throw away a saddle with titanium rails and everything in good condition except for worn stitching.1
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100 miles in to your ride, your ar*e might be thinking $ 140 is cheap. Saddles do have a life span. I’ve binned ones with no obvious damage other than they seem to have lost something in their structure.0
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I wanted to repair it as the stitching had come undone undone at the rear left inner panel and I was worried about the foam getting soaked in rain and both panels coming undone over time. Comfort-wise, I had no complaints.1
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Obviously the risk here is that on top of a new saddle, you will need a new pair of shorts, once they get covered in glue.
I have seen better bodges... it looks a mess and maybe a cross stitch as suggest would have been neater.
$ 140 for a Specialized saddle seems a lot. For comparison, my Selle Italia SLR with titanium rails was only £ 50, so maybe 65 USDleft the forum March 20231 -
I agree, a cross stitch would have probably been neater, but would have taken a lot longer, and I'm not very good at sewing beyond the odd stitch in time to repair torn clothing.
Where I'm based (Japan), the Stelle Italia SLR with titanium rails costs over £100. (Not cheap in the US, either.)
I've been considering a Fabric Line Shallow Elite for £40.1 -
I've glued saddles before using Shoe Goo, but usually only small tears not the whole thing
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peter.cheyne said:
I agree, a cross stitch would have probably been neater, but would have taken a lot longer, and I'm not very good at sewing beyond the odd stitch in time to repair torn clothing.
Where I'm based (Japan), the Stelle Italia SLR with titanium rails costs over £100. (Not cheap in the US, either.)
I've been considering a Fabric Line Shallow Elite for £40.
I have a Fabric Line Shallow Elite saddle before that a Fabric Scoop on my mtb. Most comfortable and durable saddles I've ever owned.1 -
Cheers, reaperactual! Good to hear that endorsement. I succumbed and ordered the Fabric Line Shallow Elite from a store in Japan for about ¥5,400.1
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Excellent choice, you won't regret it neither will you're nether regions! 😂👍👍1
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Will report back after I've used it for a week. It'll arrive in a few days. It's much cheaper than my Alias, but I got that over 10 years ago, so maybe the designs and technology improvements since then make themselves felt in the Fabric Line.1
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Happy to report the Fabric Line (Shallow Elite) is firm and comfortable. Seems to be remarkably good value for money.1
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Agreed, far exceeded my expectations too. Money well spent and a great choice! 😎👍0
