[Closed] Brooks Cambium

One came on my gravel bike and its been great so far

Obviously a good padded short helps but over the years ive been through all kinds of different high end saddles from bare carbon shell types to padded ones with relief channels etc... and the Cambium C17 has been the most comfy on 30 miles rides

As a long time swift and b17 user

I Got a carbon c15 as an experiment for my MTB (rigid to 29er) after my prologo Nago died.

Chucked it on the bike and rode 300k Cairngorm loop over the next 43hrs.

Very comfortable from the off since then it's done the puffer solo , 10 under the Ben solo and not once has my arse got sore.

The swift never lasted the puffer when I used it so had to swap half way because it had got too wet.

For comparison I have also done the puffer solo on a carbon 26 inch race bike with an slr165 ....so gives you an idea how hardy my arse is - YMMV based on how robust you are.... Im sensitive to shape but padding isn't a concern. I find the more padding the more discomfort creeps in over time.

Cambium C17 and the All Weather versions here. The best saddle I’ve ever owned, part of it was that I’d been on the wrong sized saddle for years. I’d used a Spoon for years with no problems, then over a period of a few months it became a torture device. Nothing else had changed except my arse. I measured my sit bones as in the video below and bought the correct sized Brooks Cambium. Comfort ever since.

Mrs. Slow and I got a pair of Diverges last year. I wasn't at all impressed with the saddle shaped contraptions which came with them - hard and flat. It's the flat that was the issue, hard is fine if the shape is suitable. I had always fancied trying a Cambium and managed to get hold of a couple of hardly used ones at a good price. I have a C15 and Mrs. has a C17. Very comfy, though I'm tempted to try a C13. I suppose I ought to try measuring my sit bones one day.

Thanks guys, that’s very useful.
Think I will have one.

I did a 400km audax on a c17 last year. No saddle sores and remarkably little discomfort.

Great saddle, I use them on everything now.

C17 for endurance racing and c15 for the more gnarly stuff.

I did a 400km audax on a c17 last year. No saddle sores and remarkably little discomfort

They way I used to sell the leather ones them was.

You'll jump on this saddle (assuming it's the right size.....we used to measure and had a wide selection of brooks models) Youll feel like your on a saddle it would not feel as comfortable initially as what your used to.

How ever - xKM down the road that feeling will not have got any worse.

It's pretty much a what you see is what you get .... The converse is also true....if it's not comfy straight away it's not going to get any comfier

Regardless of what grandad says about it breaking in if the shapes wrong it's going to get worse not better.

Trail rat, that makes a lot of sense to me, I recently got a pair of b17s for my bikes, I hadn’t ridden a Brooks for decades.
It was instant comfort, no break in.

I have a different saddle on every bike I own (6 in total) and the most comfortable I have is a Brooks Swift Ti (now on my fixed Paddy Wagon), it did take time to break in though, it develops little dimples from your sit bones. Next best is the titanium Velo saddle on my road bike which I got cheap from Planet x (much cheapness and weighs naff all). But my favourite saddle of all time was a SDG titanium but after breaking one, wearing out the cover of another I just couldn't face spending £60-£70 on a new one.

I would love to try a Cambium but would be worried I'd need to buy more to fit to all my bikes which would be expensive!

Let us know which one you get and how you get on with it.

Live my C17 carved on the commuter/winter bike.

Just dig the summer road bike out and the bontrager effort is pretty miserable in comparison. Might get a C15 for it.

I have a C17 on my gravel and hardtail. Love them. I don't have a full sus but if i did i would have one on there too. Not on a bmx though.

C17s on gravel and road bikes here and find them game changing. Just never a concern to me. C15 on the hardtail is not for me though. May be fit or that bit less give, but I'd really like to replace it with another C17. On breaking in, I'm not sure this really applies to these cambium saddles, certainly not like leather.

I’d used a Spoon for years with no problems, then over a period of a few months it became a torture device. Nothing else had changed except my arse.

This happened to me! Still going through it to be honest. 6 month layoff due to herniated disc and eventually surgery, then 6 or 7 weeks slowly building mileages back up in relative comfort (at least, it wasn't shorts/saddle causing any discomfort).

Then treated myself to some fancy new shorts (two different brands) and suddenly chafe city! Can only assume that the extra thickness of the new pads has somehow highlighted or exacerbated some positional issue I already had, perhaps inflexibility of the lower back is rotating pelvis forward and 'squeezing' everything together causing friction.

Either way, after being perfectly comfortable on my Fabric Line and Specialized Romin I'm now back on the market for saddles and going through copious amounts of chamois cream which I never used to need... Grrr

(sorry for hijack, don't think I'm in the market for a Brooks yet...)

Are the Cambiums more reliable now? I fancied one but was put off by all the breakages.

Re: the Spoon. I had the same problem. Initially comfy but increasingly less so over time until 6-9 months in it needs replaced. FWIW, a 143mm Specialized Phenom is a very similar size and shape and they last for years. More spendy, so you need to do your own cost:benefit thing.

Other than the super early ones with failing/corroding rivets I've not heard of any breaking for a long time.

What you experiance with saddle that start comfy and get bad is the padding moving/breaking down

@trail_rat I think I have a Swift but it messed with my muscles and soft tissue. Could never get it to be comfortable over 35 miles. Cambium on other hand - great, done Audax and long distance, no trouble. @scotroutes - not sure I was aware of breakages, I have two and they've been fine and super comfortable (for me).

Talking of decent leather saddles (and I know the Cambium isn't....), but the Spa Cycles titanium clones of Brooks' saddles are great. And just a bit cheaper.

What you experiance with saddle that start comfy and get bad is the padding moving/breaking down

It's not strictly this; many saddles (road saddles usually) don't really have padding. Often what'll happen is the shell will deform over time, some of the Selle Italia SLR saddles were bad for this, Specialized Toupes/Romins as well.

The Brooks saddles are too heavy in my opinion.

Prologo always used to make durable saddles that were put together properly, although I haven't seen any of the newer ones so not sure if this is still the case.

an SLR is not a spoon though

My ancient SLR 165 still as comfy as the day i bought it , Just bought a second for my Good road bike.

Charge spoon weighs 285g

C13 cambium 268g

hardly lardy.

The Brooks saddles are too heavy in my opinion.

150g extra for a comfy arse is a bargain IMO.

Prologo always used to make durable saddles

Have been looking at Prologo, Scratch or Nago I think, but stock levels seem to be all over the place and am wary of buying something that is a one off as I might eventually want three of them!

Funny thing is, just on looks alone it is the DEA (women's) versions which look most comfortable, more 'T' shaped than the men's versions with a narrower nose...

Have a cheap Selle Italia Flite on it's way from Wiggle, my first foray into the world of Selle Italia...

My SS bike has a ProLogo saddle on it, really happy with that.
Not idea of model though, it was ages ago I bought it!