Yeah - Brooks are generally pretty hardy. But, they are way different from what most people have experience with. Since there is no plastic formed layer keeping everything in place, soaked leather will stretch. But, just to be clear, I regard this as a good thing. I think that Grant's warnings are to make folks mindful that a natural material is a bit different than injection molded plastic.
The other thing which folks tend to do is over-oil the fabric - using a can's worth of Proofride or Obenauf's on a saddle will greatly soften it. Follow that up with aggressively tightening the tension bolt and you won't get many seasons out of your saddle. They have very good reference about general care and feeding on the Rivbike site - Also, there are a number of detailed care threads in the archives on this list - some good, salient tips and admonishments. One thing I found to help is using NikWax Aqueous wax periodically. This gives a good layer of protection if you are doing longer, seated rides, and gets butt-buffed to a slightly sealed and shiny surface without extra work. I'll put a layer on in the spring, then maybe mid-year (when I notice that after a longer ride the saddle is pretty soaked) and then before the rainy season (winter) starts. I generally get the cover in place if it starts raining fairly hard. Though I find with fenders and a seated position, it's not overly necessary in lighter rains and misty conditions. Hope that helps, - Jim cyclofiend.com / [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/x-02feAkBhEJ. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
