How to recover an old bicycle seat

After being asked by many a friend, I figured it was time to lay out the relatively simple steps I use to breathe new life into a tired and ragged bicycle seat by a simple recovering... not to mention a cheap and simple way to change the look of your bike, if aesthetics are your thing.

Using just a few simple supplies that aren't too difficult to round up, what was once trashed can be new again (if not better!)

Step 1: Supplies and a few notes

The photo shows it all. Here's the materials list:

- an old seat (for this example I used a basic Ritchey Vector Comp saddle)
- new seat material (see note on materials below!)
- 3M Automotive Headliner Adhesive
- Pliers (for removing staples)
- Pen (a sharpie, or any fabric marking pen)
- Scissors
- craft knife
- Staple gun
- Staples (see note on staples!)

Notes on covering material
The beauty of this is you could feasibly use just about any material you'd like for this project. I've used everything from leather seat cushions from thrift stores (or better yet, ones destined for the garbage) to heavy-duty red & white plaid picnic table cloths.

For this example, I'm using marine upholstery vinyl. It's durable, holds up to the elements, doesn't need any treatment (like many leathers), won't stain, and is relatively cheap and easy to get a hold of. I picked some up at the local chain fabric store.

The other nice thing about this project is you really only need a 12"x12" scrap of fabric (even less for most saddles) so just about any scrap material will work, and most scrap leather/vinyl can be had on the cheap.

Notes on Staples
While there are a wide variety of upholstery and industrial staples, I've kept it simple and used a bargain staple gun and the smallest (shallowest) staple available at the mega-mart home improvement shop. Ideally, if you can easily find them, staples that are 4mm (5/32") long are ideal, but I'm in a small town and didn't feel like going through the trouble/cost of special ordering, so I picked up some 6mm (1/4") staples (Arrow JT21 #214) that do the trick if you're careful.

Notes on Adhesives
I highly recommend Automotive Headliner Adhesive for this application, and the 3M version is pretty much the gold standard. This could be done with contact (rubber) cement or a myriad of other adhesives, but durability, permanence, and initial strength to hold while upholstering all make headliner adhesive a worthwhile choice. It can be found in small 5oz. cans (intended for touch-up) that is more than enough for a few bike seats.

Comments

[dgabert]

So, I have an old moped seat with some wonderful springs and no foam or cover... How would I work this out?

[naveed5571]

great work. worked out my kids bicycle. thanks a lot.

[nelagremlap]

Thanks for helpful instructions...I couldn't find short staples (shorter than 1/4 inch) so I snipped some longer staples, in groups of 3 or 4, shorter. Kinda a fiasco. When I went to staple, it ended up I needed the 1/4 inch length. I used pliers (and a protector for the seat cover) to press the staples "home". I only regret that when I was pulling the seat fabric up around the sides that I didn't reach down to do it and smooth at the same time. I got some nasty wrinkles as a result. But mostly they're in the back...and my seat looks way better than before. Protecting the foam is the name of the game. thanks again.

[profpat]

nice one!!!

[coachjoe]

Great job in describing how to refinish an old saddle! To add to the knowledge here, I have been using a hand technique that does not require staples--I drill directly to the saddle pan (plastic & carbon) and simply use leather lacing to finish off the edge. A double cordovan stitch covers nicely and when laid properly will not be rough on the thighs in cycling. Here is a sample I use on my road racing bike . . . custom leather tooling as well.

[B4SEC4MP]

This is an amazing Instructable you've put together here. Superbly well written and all of the photos are clear and informative. Thank you. Now that two years have past since the publishing, how has the seat held up? I'm curious as to how long those staples will hold on. I can hardly wait to try this myself, but I'm also trying to think of alternatives to using staples. Do you have any suggestions?

[Wasagi]

Beautiful!

[shooby]

How well does the new material hold up to wear and weather compared to leather?

[djeucalyptus]

If you use true marine grade materials, I find it holds up just as well (if not better, depending on the maker) as leather. More weather resistant for sure.

[reddogny]

Nice instructable. I'd like to point out however, that many bicycle seats have a hard plastic bottom that is very difficult for a standard spring-loaded staple gun to penetrate. I would advise anyone planning to do this themselves to buy/borrow an electric or air-powered staple gun.

[BtheBike]

that is a hard plastic bottom . Air power could be over kill , eh? An office stapler may not be enough though.

this could end up being pretty lucrative if it were mastered like DJ Eucalyptus has
. I'm gonna try this on a practice ,beat up seat, with an old plastic shower curtain .

[djeucalyptus]

Indeed. I've done this many times with many different saddles and have never encountered any difficulty with hard plastics. And I've been using cheap (for light weight and smaller size) staple guns, nothing heavy duty.

And BtheBike: let us know how it turns out. I'd worry that a shower curtain, once pierced, would be inclined to rip/tear at the points of stapling with wear and tear. Just worth considering.

[kouros IV]

this by far, is my favorite project here on Instructables. If only I hadn't thrown away previous tattered bike seats :(

[lampajoo]

road kill fur seat anyone? thanks, I was just going to ductape mine, but this is a way better idea.

[djr6789]

lol make it out of a hedgehog road kill!

[punkandska66]

I was trying to do this to my bike seat. But the metal rails prevented me from getting to some places with a staple gun. I could pretty much only do the back of the seat, but once I got towards the sides, I couldn't do it. How did you get around this?

[gervasegallant]

I liked this article so much, I went out and bought some marine vinyl and some 3M headliner adhesive. I think I might have messed up the first attempt. I didn't have the old cover to go by, the seat was already coverless. Also I seem to have a problem getting the wrap around the nose of the saddle. Is there any particular trick to fitting around the nose>

[djeucalyptus]

the nose is usually the trickiest part. I usually start at the very front of the nose and pull the vinyl as taught as possible. Then it's just a matter of pulling taught and folding the extra material inside the nose. The vinyl has a good bit of stretch to it and can be pulled a great deal without damaging it. what part of it specifically was giving you trouble?

[gervasegallant]

First of all, thanks for getting back to me. I see a lot of bicycle saddles get thrown out just because the cover is torn, so.... Maybe I should get some photos together, but not tonight. I probably have two problems with what I have been doing. 1) From what I see of your photos, I am wondering if the marine vinyl might be a little too thick for wrapping. I picked up a yard at Jo-ann Fabric store the other day. Your covers look to be much thinner than what I have. Another hint about this problem is that I bought some 1/4 inch staples and they don't work at all. I had to go back to 5/16" and even some of those won't work on the nose where the materials is bunched up a bit. So I might have to get longer staples. 2) Both saddles I have worked with did not have the original cover, so I've been guessimating. That means I have quite a bit of material. I notice your covers have about 1/2 inch for the staple. Having said all that, I have one saddle that is near completion. Not a perfect job, but if I can get the nose stapled, it might make the otherwise useless saddle useful . Thanks again.

[rada194]

Would a T Shirt work for the fabric.

[djeucalyptus]

It would definitely be worth a try. I'd be worried about it being a bit thin... and possibly the adhesive wearing down the material. Maybe try it with some sort of backing material and it might work nicely.

[HAZMAT2364]

Would it be possible to use an iron to get it flat without melting it?

[djeucalyptus]

I'm assuming you mean in step 4 with the old cover for tracing? Not a bad idea... it would probably work well (although it's not incredibly critical of a step... a rough outline that's larger than the original is sufficient).

[all_thumbs]

From where? ;-) (I once "recovered" a Contax 139 Quartz. Real leather made it a much nicer camera.)

[xenobiologista]

Great Instructable. I have to move out of the country and sell my bikes off soon, and one of them could definitely use a new saddle cover. Also, this would be a good way to spice up a bike's looks by changing the saddle color.

[kmpres]

Very nicely done and the results speaks for themselves! I imagine plain old 3M 77 spray contact cement would work as well. It's also available in my overseas neck of the woods (western Tokyo) where the headliner product gets a little fancy and would require quite a search. ;) Thanks for the well-written instructible!

[djeucalyptus]

Pretty much any spray adhesive would work relatively well – even regular brush-on rubber/contact cement would probably work fairly well. The bonding strength and lasting adhesion of the headliner adhesive puts it just a bit above the rest.

[camp6ell]

very nicely written up and the saddle looks great.

[dacker]

Great job! After about 10 years, the saddle on my Cannondale is cracked. I've been looking around for a replacement, but they are pretty pricey. It looks like I can DIY for under $10 since I would only have to buy the fabric and adhesive. Do you buy the adhesive at auto parts stores (e.g. NAPA), or do you have to ask them to special order it?

[djeucalyptus]

forgot to mention that one. Usually, you can find it at a good auto parts store... occasionally at some local hardware stores as well. I've found some at a well-stocked upholstery shop that carried some auto and marine materials as well (although they only had a larger can at the time). You can also usually find it in the auto section of x-mart/wallyworld/megamart/etc.

[Csebastian9]

sweet you can also do it with a book cover since it's stretch

[Csebastian9]

wow

[hot-fresh-rider]

awesome A++

[srilyk]

I imagine the split rail seats will be a bit more difficult to cover! I don't know if it would work the same but I know when you're stretching canvas onto a frame you tack one corner, then the opposite corner, and work your way 'round it. A seat doesn't have a corner but I wonder if tacking the nose/tail that way would work very well.

[Gonazar]

Very nice workmanship, I like the results a lot.

[Calorie]

Nice job. I'm inclined to look at this from a practical standpoint. Lots of fun to do. Your next task will be to recover your car panels. You can buy kits, or you can do it from scratch. I redid parts of my Saab 900. I had ALWAYS wanted a partial paisley interior. I reworked the interior panels and it rocked. Always confused new friends who sat in the car for the first time. They thought it came from the factory that way because it looked perfect. Auto Upholsterers do very well and you can have a lot of fun with it. They also make a lot of money, so it is a practical vocation. The guy I've used on occasion has been working for 40 years in the same shop. I had a custom convertible top made for a Saab 900 for $1,000 while a mass produced one that used the same type of material was $2,200. Drive on down to your local auto/marine upholsterer and ask to look at their material. They have every conceivable pattern, and some that you wish you hadn't actually existed (real Zebra leather.) Or you can do like I did, which was go to Mega-Lo Mart and pick up some cloth. It held up very well in the tropical sun.

[SKPhoto]

Great Instructable, maybe I can make my bikes look pretty now. For this step, I recommend using a large peice of metal (ferrous) as a base and neodymium magnets to hold it down. You can get it super flat and trace it without hindrance. I hope it helps

[theRIAA]

amazing job! so simple, great results.

[denona]

that looks so pro nice job i will have to try this

[twocvbloke]

Nice, and if you wanted to, you could add a foam layer to soften the bumps (I get saddle-sore easily on hard seats, not very fun!!!), varying the thickness according to your preferences of course... :) I think if I re-covered my seat, it would be in a dark blue to match the rest of the bike, just to make it look good... :)