How to Recover a Cycling Saddle

After a few years of riding, the fabric covering your bicycle's saddle may begin to fray and come loose. If the pad underneath this covering is still good and does not have missing chunks, you can usually replace the saddle's covering with new material and avoid the expense of having to purchase an all-new saddle.

Things You'll Need

  • Socket wrench
  • Pliers
  • Staple gun
  • Staples
  • Screwdrivers
  • Replacement fabric
  • Fabric adhesive
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the seat from its post by unbolting the seat from the metal frame post. Next, remove the bottom tray of the saddle by unscrewing the small screws on its underside. This will allow you to pull the saddle fabric off of the seat cushion.

    • 2

      Locate the staples that hold the seat fabric to the plastic seat tray and pull them out with the pliers.

    • 3

      Peel the fabric carefully off of the seat cushion to avoid ripping off chunks of the material and forcing you to replace it, as well. When the fabric is peeled off of the cushion, lay it over the top of your replacement fabric to produce an outline that you can use to cut out the new fabric's shape.

    • 4

      Cut around the old fabric to shape the new fabric, and then discard the old when you are finished. It's a good idea when doing this to cut approximately 1 inch outside the line of the old fabric. This will give you plenty of room when installing the new fabric onto the saddle to secure it in place.

    • 5

      Spray the upholstery adhesive on the backside of the new fabric and the seat cushion, and then carefully lay the fabric on top of the cushion, molding the fabric into the recesses of the cushion and smoothing it tightly into place. Seat fabric is slightly stretchy, so don't be afraid to pull it to eliminate pleats in the fabric.

    • 6

      Wrap the fabric around the underside of the seat, and then place the seat tray on top of the fabric. When this is in place, and the seat's fabric is tight enough to remove wrinkles in the fabric, use the staple gun to secure the fabric to the tray. When you have stapled all the way around the bottom edge of the seat, replace the screws that hold the seat tray onto the bottom of the seat.

    • 7

      Reinstall the seat onto the seat post and allow the upholstery glue to dry according to the package directions before attempting to use the recovered saddle.