So, Patches Saddle-Holes in Jeans?

I expect most of us have a few pairs of jeans folded and no longer worn at home, thanks to those inevitable "blowouts" that come from constant friction with the saddle. Brooks saddles really seem to speed up that process. Some of these jeans can be awfully expensive - does anyone on the Chainlink offer repair services? I don't have a sewing machine and would happily pay for a tidy repair and reinforcement. I'm surprised SWRVE, Levi's, et al don't reinforce the hell out of that... area.

Please let me know if we can do bidnez.

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Permalink Reply by grayn8 on September 17, 2013 at 5:57am
I've gotten a few pairs off the sales rack at REI of Kuhl pants that have reinforced areas as well as room for disproportionate body types. I've worn the climbing bouldering and riding all last winter (a relatively mild Chicago winter) and they've held up. Knock on wood. I think the style was called the Law. Eh. For names.
Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on September 17, 2013 at 6:26am

Every damn pair of jeans for me - and tights. Hate tossing them. I have tried this company for big $$ and it made a favorite pair last maybe an extra month or two, which was frustrating. But try it - they did do a good repair job for what it was, and I bet it lasts longer for men. (My theory is that it's worse for women - the whole "American thigh" thing going.) 

Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on September 17, 2013 at 6:43am

Most dry-cleaners offer repairs.

You could save an old pair of jeans to use for patching-fabric.

Permalink Reply by Rich S on September 17, 2013 at 7:08am

I will actually never buy another pair of Kuhl pants again. At least not for biking because I really do like them otherwise. I have a pair of pants and a pair of shorts of theirs. Within a few weeks of riding both I could no longer wear them for anything except biking because the dye had worn out of the fabric on my butt. It looked a lot like a hot iron was left on the pants for a few hours. With the pants they wore out to the point of ripping after less than a year. I'll post a pic of em when I get home tonight. 

I'm looking at getting a pair of cordura fabric jeans. I've read good things about the fabric even if it is a bit expensive. My panniers and messenger bag are made of that and have been super durable but they don't through the type of use as pants on a saddle do. 


grayn8 (5.3 - 36) said:

I've gotten a few pairs off the sales rack at REI of Kuhl pants that have reinforced areas as well as room for disproportionate body types. I've worn the climbing bouldering and riding all last winter (a relatively mild Chicago winter) and they've held up. Knock on wood. I think the style was called the Law. Eh. For names.
Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 17, 2013 at 7:09am

I saw a flyer at Smart Bike Parts which offered bike-specific denim repairs from a local seamstress (is that the right word?).

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on September 17, 2013 at 7:10am

Oooh, someone take a pic of that flyer, willya?

I have a pair that's on its way out unless I do something quick!


Kelvin Mulcky said:

I saw a flyer at Smart Bike Parts which offered bike-specific denim repairs from a local seamstress (is that the right word?).

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 17, 2013 at 7:11am

Call 'em up! I can't be sure if the flyer is still up...

Permalink Reply by Dirke on September 17, 2013 at 9:10am

I assume you mean like this photo?  These are the $$ Levis Commuters.

They reinforced the wrong area!

I am not a trained "seamster" but have worked quite a bit with sewing cordura, making cell phone cases, covered earlier... http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/phone-case-for-messenger-b...

If yours rip where mine do, right along the pocket, I don't think it's a simple repair.  Simply edging a small rectangle of cordura, or any other patch material, right up to the pocket edge will most likely rip again very soon since there is nothing for the stitch to bite into as it's been worn away.  One could place another, larger piece of material on the underside and stitch through the resulting 3 layers which would effectively patch the hole, but I'm not sure how it would feel on your butt, or look.

  The other option I see is to remove the pocket stitching adjacent the hole, sew a patch covering the hole going to about the middle of the pocket, and then sew the pocket back on.

But Cordura is so tough, it might then start to wear away at a real leather saddle, i.e. Brooks.  I once bought a cordura covered seat back in the mountain bike days, and it ripped through all of my shorts back then at a much advanced pace.

Issac of WIG bags is skilled and does (or used to do) some repair/alterations to army surplus fatigues to fashion knickers out of them.  But I understand he has some bigger things going lately and may not relish the challenge, at least not for less than $25.  I would be interested if anyone approaches a corner dry cleaner and what they would do and charge.  I have some sewing skills, but not exactly in this area, but I would guess it would take about an hour to cut the patches, rip some seams, sew in the patches, and clean the job up.  I would not expect anyone to do it for less than $10, and then how long will it last?

Sorry to ramble in my non-answer but I'm vastly curious too.  Please detail any experience you try.

My personal recommendation is to not bike in expensive shorts/pants.  I started buying regular Levis with stretch for $30-$40 at Kohl's/JCPenny's instead of the fancy Commuters, as much as I do like them otherwise.  Then, the money you save can be used to buy one of my cell phone cases!  Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Will on September 17, 2013 at 9:34am

Outlier makes spendy "Keirin Cut" jeans that are highly reinforced in the crotch and supposedly blowout-proof. Unfortunately, I could not abide the static-generating high-tech material, and had to return them.

http://shop.outlier.cc/shop/retail/keirin-cuts.html

Permalink Reply by Anne B. on September 17, 2013 at 10:00am

I hate throwing out jeans and they always wear out in the same areas (areas which cannot be fixed with duct tape!)  I did look into reweaving services  (like this http://denimtherapy.com/) but concluded that it's prohibitively expensive for the low cost jeans I buy. And I don't know of any local places that do it. 

Permalink Reply by Bez on September 17, 2013 at 10:42am

I asked my local cleaner/tailor about saddle rips recently and they assured me that they could do it, but that they weren't really sure how long the repair would last.  Also, much as Anne B stated, the cost of the repair doesn't really seem to be worth the cost of the jeans.  Considering that I can get several months out of a new pair (usually), it's worth it to just go get the new ones.  Also, to just wear sweats and cheap cargo shorts for riding whenever possible.

Permalink Reply by Dirke on September 17, 2013 at 10:58am

The DenimTherapy site was an interesting link.  Thanks for sharing.

It more or less confirmed my suspicions that it is not exactly a quick and easy repair, hence it's not going to be cheap.  The site has a before/after link that shows photos and the resultant repair costs, many of which are what you would pay for a pair of Levis on sale.  Chalk it up as a downside of our shifting all clothing manufacturing overseas and expecting a $50 pair of pants to be made with some level of quality.

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