One of the beauties of going synthetic is that care is minimal and easy. They have all been extremely durable and showed little to no wear. Synthetic saddles are pretty impervious to sweat or rain and they don’t really show dirt.

I love having a synthetic saddle for riding in the rain. I’ve soaked my leather saddles a few times and they always need some TLC afterward. If you don’t clean an oil them properly, the leather ends up stiff and dried out or covered with rain spots.

With a synthetic saddle, the elements are not an issue. So, toss the oil and the saddle soap. Not only are they unnecessary, but using these products isn’t good for a synthetic saddle. Here’s what I’ve found works well:

Wipe the sadde with a damp cloth after riding.

• If the saddle is really dirty, you can use a damp cloth with some mild soap. After scrubbing off the saddle, wipe it again with a clean damp cloth.
• Don’t hose down or soak your saddle, especially if it’s wool flocked. While the saddle surface will dry out relatively quickly, the flocking will be wet for a long time.
• If your saddle gets wet (say, from riding in the rain), don’t leave it in the sun to dry out. Instead, put it in a warm, shady spot.
• For equisuede, you can restore the nap and clean off dirt by brushing with a stiff brush.