White sadle is stained!! Help :o(

[duffiegrl]

I have a white bontrager saddle and I tried out a pair of nashbar shorts yesterday. The dye from the shorts bled onto my seat and I have tried windex, softscrub, vinyl cleaner, tuff stuff ect... I was hoping someone may have another suggestion. I have never had this happen and the shorts are definately going back :o(

[Andrea]

I've used the Mr. Clean magic eraser to get grease off of mine... it may not work on dye, though.

[kjb]

Try some Simple Green. I haven't met a stain that can't be removed with SG.

[Skierchickie]

Last fall my cheapo Champion tights bled onto my white leather Fizik Arione over the course of a 120 mile ride. I noticed it looking quite dirty at the first food stop, at maybe 15 or 20 miles. It looked horrible by the end. I tried Magic Eraser, a bleach pen, saddle soap, Oops!, Simple Green, an Oxy-something something,.... The only thing that worked was Shout gel. It took repeated applications. I'd slather it on, wait overnight, clean it off, and start over. Sometimes I'd let it dry out thoroughly for a couple of days, because it was fall and cool out and not the greatest drying weather. It helped A LOT. However, I stopped short of really really white, because it started to raise the grain of the saddle, and I was afraid it was starting to lift the white off the saddle. So it looks a little dirty, but MUCH better than before.

I think the problem is that it is dye, and not just dirt. Now I'm afraid to wear anything on that bike that I haven't worn on it before.

Good luck! Personally, I'd go straight to the Shout, but your saddle may vary. Is it leather?

[spokewench]

Got to say this! Get rid of the white seat and buy a black one!:D

[duffiegrl]

Skierchickie,
Thank you so much, I tried the simple green magic eraser and goo gone after my earlier post and it faded it but didn't really remove it. I am gonna give the shout gel a whirl like you said. It is synthetic leather, the bontrager wsd rl inform.
Like you at my first stop about 17 miles in I noticed it but thought it would wash off. Hahaha, no such luck. My husband has a similiar seat and has never had a problem. Learned my lesson with cheap clothes..never again.

Thanks to everyone else for the ideas!

[duffiegrl]

Got to say this! Get rid of the white seat and buy a black one!:D

I know i know i know:p

[IGGY]

I'm definitely showing my age here. My mom used to use white shoe polish on our baby shoes every night, the kind nurses used to use with the sponge on top of the bottle?
What about that? It's made for leather? :confused: You could spot test it first.

I'd try the magic eraser. I haven't found anything that my kids can ruin with that around.

Or...now I'm really going crazy. They have stuff at drugstores that takes out hair dye. You could spot test that also. Since you use it on your head it must be safe for leather.

[Irulan]

Other than the "looks cool" effect, why would one put a white saddle on a bike? Just curious.

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

Other than the "looks cool" effect, why would one put a white saddle on a bike? Just curious.

Isn't that the ONLY reason? :-)

(I have a white saddle AND white bar tape)

[Andrea]

...the "looks cool" effect...

This. :D

[ilima]

Isn't that the ONLY reason? :-)

(I have a white saddle AND white bar tape)

Yep. I'm rocking the white saddle and bar tape combo myself. And it does, indeed, look cool.

[Cataboo]

Other than the "looks cool" effect, why would one put a white saddle on a bike? Just curious.

Because when I wanted a specialized jet 155mm, the cheapest I could find was white. So I deal with it.

[tantrumbean]

Well, I picked up a tip from work, which so far, has brought everything white back to white where oxi, etc failed (although I haven't tried it on a saddle yet). Good old dishwasher tablets...let one dissolve in a bowl of hot water, pop in whatever you want whitening and leave for a few hours. Obviously this might be more difficult with a saddle, not sure if just wiping it with the solution will work, but maybe leave a cloth soaked in it on the saddle for a while? Might be worth a try!

[AnnieBikes]

Well, my bike CAME with white bar tape and white seat. I rode the seat for 350 miles and could not get used to it...ended up with a black seat...:D

As for the tape, I used degreaser on them for the first time last week, after checking on this forum for solutions to the problem and it worked like a charm. They are good as new and I have 900 miles on the bike now.

[Skierchickie]

Mine came with the white saddle & tape, too. I would never have bought a white saddle, but it sure does look cool! And, since it is the first "right" saddle I've found, I wasn't going spend $130 on a different color. Other than those tights, nothing else has been a problem with it. I think on a road bike white should be mostly fine. DH's mountain bike came with a white saddle!

I'll have to try the dishwasher tablets. I think I'm nearly ready to attack it with the Shout again - just looks a little dingy in one area. Not worse than when I left off, I just got sick of working on it, and biking season was winding down.

[duffiegrl]

The shout is fading it and it is alot better than it was. I may try the dishsoap tab next.
I personally love the white combo but hear about how impractical it is all the time. :rolleyes:

[indigoiis]

Before shipping off my bike to its new home, I slathered the filthy white bar tape in a solution of herbal essences shampoo and water with a little white vineagar thrown in, let it soak an hour, and then scrubbed with an old soft toothbrush. It cleaned it right up.

[tulip]

Back in the 80s, they used to make nylon seat covers with all those, ahem, fabulous '80s patterns like leopard print and zebra and black-and-white ska checks.

Maybe they have just plain black ones these days.

[aicabsolut]

My Champion fleece knickers bled on one of my saddles! It turned blue. Luckily, the bike is blue, so it's not that bad. I tried a bunch of products, but nothing really worked. Over time, it has faded a good bit. I've washed the knickers a bunch of times and they still bleed when they get sweaty, so I figure that I can only wear them on that bike now. Then the saddle gets a new coat of blue. It always seems to fade again later, but I don't think it'll get really white again.

[TrekTheKaty]

I think everyone has stated the obvious questions. My 09 Trek has white handlebar tape (white seat came off right away--after nasty rubbing). I knew it wouldn't last, but DH thought it looked "cool!" It's filthy (I don't know how--I wear GLOVES when riding!) I'll stretch it a few more months, then change it to something "cooler." Either red or red/black leopard print?