Recovering a saddle Part 2 and 3……

Following on from my last seat recovering project a year ago (see http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-project-recovering-a-tatty-sdg-bel-air – still using with no issues including road/off road including a C2C and more!) I wanted to try it again.

I made a decent job of it first time but it wasn’t perfect. I need a new saddle for a bike I’ve just ordered so onto evilbay I went.

Picked up 2 SDG Bel Air Ti saddles for less than £5 each…..

(Saddle 1 – first try a year ago!)

Saddle 2

This one was bought as a Ti version which had been “recovered in fancy leather from new”. Looked like a good candidate as although it was a bit tatty I thought that as the new leather had been put over the original cover the foam should be pretty good underneath. As you can see the ridges of the original cover can be seen through the newer leather.

Not really happy with the condition of this one to be honest but the rails are straight and it was very cheap.

On the walk back to the car from work (where I took these pics!) i pulled the front plastic cover off because the numpty before me had chucked loads of staples in it and it was falling off. 🙁

He probably had to do this because there isn’t enough room under the plastic bits for 2 covers so it wouldn’t screw down properly. Thankfully the screw was still in there so should go back together ok and the staple holes won’t show.

Saddle 3

This one was in better overall condition although the rails are slightly bent. I may try to straighten them but it’s not too bad so may leave it.

Next step is to remove the old covers VERY carefully so the foam underneath stays intact…….

Some of the pics may be smaller as I had to use my wifes phone after my battery died…

*bookmarks thread 🙂

I’ve done this a couple of times using stretchy cloth-backed vinyl. It’s quite tricky and you need to do it somewhere warm so the vinyl is soft and pliable. You’ll need Evo-stik and a staple gun and some Evo-stik solvent for removing it from your fingers afterwards. The hardest part is stretching it around the rear of the saddle without creating too many folds. The vinyl soon settles to the shape of the saddle and looks good as new.

I started on Saddle 3 at home first…..

Took the plastic bumpers off – these are good seats to try with as these plastic bits hide the hardest bits to glue down so if it doesn’t look very pretty when you do the gluing it doesn’t matter.

Rails are slightly bent…..

Some needle nodes pliers used to pull the staples out but its fiddly.

Foam looks ok….

After about 30 mins of careful peeling it’s off! I use a scalpel to gently tease the glue away from the foam as I peel it off as the foam is delicate and a little bit of glue can pull big chunks out…

Even the edges are pretty good.

Only bit where some foam pulled out a little was the channel section. The leather I am putting on is thicker than the original cover so this should be invisible once covered – Saddle 1 ended up being lumpy as I wasn’t as careful pulling the cover off.

Saddle 2

Started peeling the cover of this one off on the way back to the car…..

Bumpers off

Peeling off….

I wasn’t happy at this point as it was clear that this saddle hadn’t been “recovered from new” as the original cover underneath had holes in it. Grrrrrr. I don’t like being lied to so may take it up with the seller on principle…

Same method as the other one, slowly and carefully with a scalpel. The glue had dried a bit more on this one so it was slightly easier.

Done – although the foam isn’t as good as the other one – but it’s saveable. Its a Ti-railed one so it’ll be worth it.

I don’t think I’ll keep both, one will be for sale I think as I don’t need both of them……….

Next step is to decide what colour leather on which one…

Registering interest as I have a Formula FX Ti saddle needing covered.

How about this?

Globalti – seen that before but I prefer the leather!!

Sorry for the delay guys, not managed to get back round to this since the first posts….

Saddle 2

Next step was to remove the foam very carefully, it managed to come away quite easily to be honest

Then to prep the saddle hull I used sandpaper to smooth out the edges where the leather would be wrapped around and remove any final staples and old glue from underneath as best as I could manage.

Saddle 3

The same was done for this one, but the foam seemed to be stuck tightly on so I did the prep with it still there, just had to be a bit more careful.

I’m going to cover this one first as its my favourite. It’s going to go on a red bike so I’m going for red leather on this one, a nice even colour this time rather than the distressed stuff I used last time.

Roughly drew a shape and cut it out of the leather.

Next step – GLUE!!

Fantastic. You have inspired me to do something with the pile of old flites that I have been collecting.

Wow! Real leather! Keep ’em coming…. I can’t wait.

Is now a good time to start a new thread, just showing the reconstruction?

What sort/grade of leather are you using?

Watching this with interest as I have a couple of Ti Rocket Vs that have very worn covers.

Whitestone – no idea. I got the offcuts from a fabric shop. I chose the medium thickness stuff as it would be tough enough to withstand scrapes but not so thick that I could stretch it round the curves on the saddle. Just picked up a few bits and chose what I thought was best.

Reckon it’s possible on something like a spesh toupe. I bought a cheap one with it rails last year, and it’s still on the bike now, but it’s the wrong colour and tatty. Would having the cutouts make it difficult?

It’s going to be more difficult but no idea if it’s doable by yourself. I think the more complex shapes need thinner leather or professional expertise!

Saddle 3 continued. (All the pics make the leather look pink – it’s actually a nice rich red but I couldn’t get the camera to get the colour right!)

Gluing time!

This bit is a pain in the butt. You never know how it’s going to go…..

I ironed the leather carefully on the back of it to make it smooth.

Everything ready to go

Next job is cover the leather and the seat in contact adhesive and let it dry.

This took a few minutes to get right, smearing it round both items with a plastic card.
As you might know it does smell strongly this glue so I was soon pretty wasted.

Put the saddle on the leather and start smoothing it out by hand from the centre groove outwards.

This bit was the hardest. Fast work with scissors and glue got it sorted. However it was more difficult than the last saddle I did as the leather is slightly thicker and not as stretchy. So it was very hard round the tight curves.

Back end was easier.

Front end turned out ok.

Plastic bumpers were a bit scuffed so I sanded them and used a bit of wet and dry on them. Didn’t work brilliantly but it is better now.

(Before shot!)

Bumpers back on and voila!!

Total cost around £12 for a custom covered titanium railed Bel Air! Bonus!

Nice 🙂

Thanks!