scarleton

I am looking for a good saddle. I tried the Brooks C17 Cambium Saddle for a long ride and found it very comfortable, but... I cannot pull the trigger on a $160 saddle right now. Here is what I know I like about the saddle:

1: the width was GREAT, I need at least a 168mm saddle
2: the firmness was great, I tried a cheap $25 seat and it bowed in the middle under my 290lb of weight

The biggest problem I am having is finding a wide enough saddle, they all seem to be either 140mm or 150mm, not too many that are 168mm+. I did run into the Serfas CB-200 Saddle and it is the ideal width. The only question is, will it support my weight?

Does anyone have experience with the Serfas CB-200 and/or have any other recommendations for decent seats in the $50 range?

MRT2

I wouldn't skimp on a saddle. If you found the C17 comfortable, bite the bullet and just buy it. FWIW, I bought a Cambium and found it OK for an hour or less, not great for rides of over an hour.

My preferred saddle is the Standard Brooks B17. Worth giving it a shot. Costs a bit more than the Serfas, but less than the Cambium.

scarleton

Yea, I know I should not skimp on the saddle, but when you ain't got it, you ain't got it I have a 2 day century coming up next weekend and was hoping for something better then the 140mm seat that I have now and $160 simply is not in my budget in the next two weeks.

Another option out there is the Specialized Romin Evo 168, I am 99.9% sure that will work out well for me. I went to a Specialized dealer to be measured and that is what lead me to trying the C17 because it was 170mm.

My hang-up is... If I can find a nice firm saddle for $45, why spend $90 for the Specialized Romin Evo 168 or $160 for the C17 Cambium?

P.S. The ride I did with the demo Cambium was about 3 hours, so for me it worked fine.

linnefaulk

The Serfas should support your weight.
The rails are steel.

jazzgeek79

BROOKS ENGLAND LTD. | TOURING+&+TREKKING | CAMBIUM+C17
Brooks England lists the C 17 at 162 mm wide not 168 I've never owned or measured one so I don't know for sure. Just because one saddle doesn't work at one width doesn't mean you need to rule out that width from other makers. If your trying to find a cheaper saddle that functions like the c17 I'd try to find a less expensive saddle from a relatively decent maker that had a similar size and shape as the c17. It doesn't appear that the serfas cb-200 is shaped similarly to the c17.

TrojanHorse

As for your saddle budget... there's nothing so expensive as buying multiple saddles to find the right one. You might get lucky on e-bay with other saddle shoppers trying to unload one that didn't work for them.

linnefaulk

I understand wanting to get the best thing. Buying once is better than buying several times. But sometimes you only have $4 and no matter how much you beg, you just can't get the 10oz steak.

JohnJ80

Because you won't find a nice firm saddle for $45 unless it's stolen.

J.

Madtown Bob

I have a Serfas saddle. I've weighed as much as 250 and haven't had any problems. It's now about 10 years old and I'm thinking about replacing it. I don't know the model but I believe that I paid more than you. However, I like the looks of your model more. My LBS let's customers try them before they buy. An LBS should at least be willing to put in on a bike to see how it feels and maybe bounce on it a bit to see if it flexes at all.

bbeasley

My favorite saddle is from Wabi at $35.00. I'll hit 5K miles this year including multiple centuries. Won't help OP as his requirement is for a width wider than Wabi makes. I've found zero correlation between saddle fit/comfort and price. I guess I really am/have a cheap ass