Champion C9 Tights + White saddle = Grey saddle

[Skierchickie]

So, it was cool today, so I wore my thin black Champion tights over my Shebeest bike shorts for my double metric. My saddle is a white leather Fizik Arione. Sorry, it was a white leather Fizik Arione. Now it is various shades of grey. I first noticed at the first food stop, 15 miles into the ride.

I have tried Simple Green, saddle soap, an oxy stain cleaning kit of some kind, chain degreaser (seemed worth a shot), and a Chlorox bleach pen. I found a reference online to the bleach pen, or I would not have tried that. So far, it looks like the only thing that might phase it, if I use enormous amounts of elbow grease. I did find mention of Goo Gone removing stains from leather, so I'll have to get some. Magic Eraser? This stain has been ground in over the course of 120 miles.

I searched here, but didn't come up with anything (I may be too googley-brained from 10 hours of biking to have done it right), so sorry if white leather saddle stains have been addressed.

Mainly, I'm warning anyone with a white/light colored leather saddle to avoid these tights! No - they are not new. I got them 2 years ago, and they've been washed many times. I am really upset, because I've had this bike just shy of 2 months, and the saddle is the best I've ever ridden.

[VeloVT]

That really sucks. My Castelli gloves are staining my white bar tape blue. Much less of a big deal, since bar tape is much cheaper than a saddle, but still frustrating.

Most Fizik saddles are actually made of a synthetic leather, which is probably good in terms of the likelihood of finding a way to remove the stains. You might try contacting Fizik? Unfortunately dye is probably much harder to remove than any other kind of stain, since it's made to be fast...

I actually wanted a white saddle on my bike but opted for the Saunier/Scott team edition, which is black with a white center stripe, because I was worried about how white white would stay...

I wish I had more practical solutions to offer, because I can really empathize with how disheartening that must be... I hope someone here can offer you a brilliant trick...

Good luck!

ps baby wipes are amazing for removing grease stains on anything, so that might be worth a try... also, the kind of laundry stain stick that has enzymes and is basically gel that comes with a spiky plastic applicator might be worth a try...

[Skierchickie]

Thanks, Liza. I'll see what I can find. Hmmm - like Shout? (Skierchickie runs out to the garage and scrubs some on one area). I have noticed that, until now, the thing stayed really really clean, unlike the silver leather Terry I tried last year. Makes sense that it would be synthetic. Maybe it won't be as easy to ruin while trying to get the stain out! I worried about white, but after 900 miles it was still as clean as when it was new.

Grrr. Guess I'll be buying some PI Quest tights that my DH likes so well, and throwing these things out. He suggested just not wearing them for biking, but how likely is it that I will ALWAYS remember not to wear those biking. Right now, I don't want to have anything to do with Champion products, but I'm sure I'll cool off if I can actually clean this up.

[Jones]

That is a bummer. I have used rubbing alcohol and Soft Scrub, separately not mixed, to clean various stains on my saddle, grips and bar tape. Maybe one of these will work. Good Luck, Jones

[Misandal]

What about the stain "eraser" for kitchens & bathrooms - is it by Mr. Clean? I haven't bought one or I'd know but someone brought one to the office. It looks like a white sponge or markerboard eraser, and it's done wonders around here on white doors, trim, things like that. Maybe it'd do the saddle, too.

For white bar tape, my shop recommends Armour-All Cleaning wipes. I don't know how that translates to saddles...

[sundial]

If you know of a leathersmith or shoe repairman, ask if they have anything for that white saddle.