Brooks

Cambium C17 Carved Saddle

So glad I waited for this saddle! Brooks is an iconic saddle maker and I have considered buying one for years, but the long break in period, maintenance requirements and fear of getting it wet held me back. The Cambium C17 Carved eliminated those issues as it was extremely comfortable right out of the box and can survive an unexpected dousing with no ill affects. And of course, it is a Brooks, so it will last long past the 10-year guarantee!

For some background I ride lots of centuries during the summer months and about 4k on a trainer during the winter months and when the weather is poor outside. My 'usual' saddles have been the Specialized Toupe and Romin saddles that have worked well for the 100 mile rides. I'm starting to get into Randonneuring so now I'm looking for products that are comfortable over the longer distances. I'm willing to take a weight penalty as comfort is the most important factor. I bought a 155 size Cambium carved saddle (hole in the middle). The saddle is beautiful and will class up any bike. It was comfortable out of the box, but it takes a bit of adjusting the up/down angle to get the right feel. After a few hours I found that my chamois wasn't wide enough to cover my sit bones and it began to hurt. The Specialized saddles seemed to be designed so that the narrower chamois worked better, but they only 'worked' for 4 or so hours, and I needed something that would feel great for 24 hours. I then went on a search for wider chamois bibs. The endurance models (cinelli, endura) have models that have wider chamois. Endura actually gives you a choice and provides a chart to pick the size chamois for the saddle. It has been a few weeks of using these wider chamois on the Cambium 17 and it feels a lot better. So, after about 6 weeks and about 1000 miles on a smart trainer, my review of the Cambium is this: Great comfort right out of the box after getting the up/down angle worked out. Then after about an hour, if your chamois doesn't fit just right, it hurt. With new wider high quality chamois, comfort has improved with trainer rides about 4 hours without problems. With the up/down, start/stop of outside (real life) riding, I think comfort will be fine. I'll post another video this summer after a few thousand miles in the bag. Jury is out whether this is the most comfortable saddle I've owned, but in the running.

I got this saddle so I could have something comfortable enough to ride without having to wear padded shorts, and not have the break-in and hydrophobia of the leather saddles. This fits the bill, and in my opinion, looks even better than the leather saddles, especially on my more modern-looking bike. The texture makes it very grippy, so it's important to adjust it right since you're unlikely to move around much once you're on it. The carved part makes it even more flexible, which is good when I'm in street clothes, but I have a concern it might stretch over time. Another issue is the carved edge is sharper compared to other modern saddles, so proper fit, position, and clothing are important or it grabs your scrotum.