JAG410

Ridiculously priced. I was a buyer at under $100. Not anymore.

cyclotoine

Hmm I didn't get any discount offer which I was surprised by. I think when they do into regular production we will see the price come down a bit.

KonAaron Snake 

I'll wait until they're sitting around for a year and get liquidated.

I don't see anyone paying that much for a 400+ gram fabric saddle with steel rails. I can get a ti rail leather B-17 at this price, or a Berthoud (almost).

lostarchitect 

145 Euros might be the "special edition" price, maybe? I also won't be buying one at that price. At $125 or less I would buy one for my Colian, I have always felt the Brooks Pro looks a little out of place on that bike with its modern group, etc. But at $193... No, sorry.

gomango

I lost track of this thread.

We were talking on our ride about this saddle yesterday though.

Not one of the seven riders had interest at this price point.

Yet four of those seven own very high end bicycles that have Brooks leather saddles.

I am curious about the focus group research that would give this one the go ahead at that price point.

There must be another new market for them to pursue.

At least according to their research.

I certainly will continue to use and enjoy Brooks products, but I guess I am not their intended market.

Agree with Aaron on the Velomine tip.

Italuminium

maybe the market is new bicyclists who only know that brooks is the thing to have, and then proceed to pick the most practical and cheapest one of the line...

AZORCH

Let's consider three factors: Aesthetics, price point, and functionality - and remember this is only one person's opinion.

Aesthetically, the saddle design is a marginal call in my mind. It appeals to some and to others it is somewhat hideous: few people seem to be falling in between those extremes, which is interesting - but somewhat academic, because the role of designer is to meet the "wants" and desires of a purchasing population. (Sadly, the days of mass market designing for "needs" passed us by with Raymond Lowe.) So Brooks may have missed the mark in designing a saddle with limited appeal. Even though there is a niche market whose fancy this design seems to tickle, Brooks is in and of itself already a niche market: I fear the market therefore is limited from the outset. If that is the Brooks business plan, then I'll be interested to see how they move forward with things. For what it's worth, I was not initially in love with the look of the fabric covering, even though I do favor the Regal-like form. I've warmed up to the look, mounted to my Boulder, over the past few weeks - but I hesitate to mount it to one of my more vintage-ish bikes because I think the look may be a little too jarring.

Price Point. As already noted, Brooks misses the mark here. Just because a company prices something at a certain point doesn't make the perception of value exist in the eyes of a buying populace. This further limits the marketability of a product and - I am guessing here - I believe the demographic for pricey saddles may not overlap the market for this particular design aesthetic. End of story.

Functionality. For me, the functionality of a saddle is all about durability and comfort. The materials seems to be quite durable and after many outings of four and five hours at a time, my early fear that the rubber base would soften and sag under prolonged body contact - and thus, temperature - well, that has thus far proved to be unfounded. We'll only know through time and use ultimately how durable this product proves to be, but my initial thoughts are positive. Which leaves comfort. And it is here that the saddle excels. It is comfortable right out of the box and continues to be so throughout the length of a ride. There seems to be (for me) no hot spots; every position is potentially a sweet spot in fact - and that, frankly, is more than a little amazing. I think this would make an excellent saddle for someone wanting to enter the Brooks world for the first time (other than the ridiculous price point, so once again it seems designers and marketing personnel failed to communicate); I like it for long days in the saddle riding. I don't have any plans to do extended touring this summer and would love to hear from someone using the Cambium for that purpose.

gomango

Thank you for taking the time to share this information with all of the forum members.

Noticed and appreciated.

jonwvara 

Azorch, what's the fabric surface like? It seems to me that it would be sort of "grippy." One of the things that I have always liked about Brooks (and other leather) saddles is that the smooth surface makes it easy to slide forward or backward a bit with minimal friction, so you can adjust your position for going uphill, downhill, or cruising on flats. I may be inventing an imaginary problem--riding one of the saddles would answer that question right away. Although as others have said, the price means that I won't be trying a Cambium anytime soon. Or ever, more likely.

Italuminium

Azorch, again a very good and balanced review. Good call on brooks for choosing you as a tester

AZORCH

It is a little grippy, which came as a surprise to me. (Shouldn't have, I suppose.) But the bigger surprise is that I don't find it objectionable; nor is it ridiculously sticky either. I can easily slide to where I want to situate myself, however it's also easier to "plant" myself too. It's a different experience than the super slickness of a well polished leather saddle, but not objectionable (to me...YMMV.)

jim hughes

I just skimmed most of this thread, and the Cambium sounds like exactly what I want. The price is high, but it's a new product aimed at the high end. If it were available, I'd buy one right now. Unfortunately, it looks like a tedious and long-drawn-out campaign of pre-announcement, 'public beta', 'limited edition', 'click here to be notified', 'pre-order', and other forms of viral marketing. This stuff tends to turn me against a product. It also sounds like Brooks isn't really committed and might yet pull the plug.

Brooks' web site does say they're (apparently?) taking orders for September but... waiting until "workers return from their summer holidays" ... seriously?

nybble

Anyone leave it out in the rain? Saw chipcom mention that he had, but didn't get the "after" post. Would love to know how waterproof it was.

jjames1452 

If the saddle is truly water proof, it sounds like the saddle for my Kona build.
Price point aside - I am planning on paying for once, and riding for years.

dpeters11

I just got an email yesterday that mine shipped. Really looking forward to it.

gomango

Did you buy the limited edition model from Brooks directly?

iab

I saw one at BAMF, maybe on a DiNucci. Cool saddle. Looks much better in person than in photos.

pastorbobnlnh 

I agree. Mine arrived yesterday, #137 of 1000. While it looks different, it does have a certain classy "Brooks" look to it. When I showed it to my wife she really liked it. I had not realized it is made in Italy.

Originally I too had thought the price was too high, but I was given a $ gift after a funeral. The widow insisted her husband would want me to buy something for my bikes. I decided it might be the perfect saddle for my winter bike when I ride through all sorts of salty-sandy runoff.

Citoyen du Monde

The saddle was on the Pegoretti John Coltrane special. I spoke to Dario about it and he has tried out the saddle and spoken to a number of other testers, all have spoken very highly about the comfort. As Azorch mentions at first thought one expects it to be sticky but in use this is not at all the case. Likewise, when needed, the saddle gives you more grippiness than any of the smooth leather or carbon fiber saddles. The upper can also be readily replaced by the rider in a few minutes. The upper is made of fully natural rubber. I also think that most people on this list are inveterate cheapskates (me likely included) and are simply out of touch with what prices are presently being paid for high end saddles: take a look at this saddle: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/selle-italia...-carbon-rails/ or https://www.wiggle.co.uk/selle-san-ma...carbon-saddle/. I think the prices asked are in line with where they need to be for the general market. The weight is also not outrageous and from what I understand, they are working on bringing it down further.

Pars 

^ Yes, but those saddles are 1/4 of the weight of the Cambrium (115g and 105g respectively). Plus they have "carbon" in their name, which immediately has one reaching for the wallet, much like digital, or nano, or quantum

I too think they are overpriced. I think I read one poster (maybe on paceline) who had one and said it ate a pair of Assos bibs, which would not be good.

Chombi

I think the high priced saddles you noted are mostly being sold at those prices on the basis of them being super lightweight "high tech" exotic components. This Brooks Cambium saddle might cost just as much to make, but unfortunately it does not have the "high tech" cachet that cyclists today are more than willing to pay for with big bucks. which results in many not taking the pricing favorably right away...
On the other hand, the design used by companies like Berthoud seemed to have pulled in more interest, despite its very high pricing as it takes something very familiar/traditional as the leather suspension saddle, and applied newer technology for its structural inderpinnings. Plus, admittedly many are just glad to finally find something new and cool from the French.....Everyione might have noticed that the hype on Berthouds have already mostly died down as most would suspect it would eventually, and I think the prices have stabilized and even slightly gone down a bit on some of them....
Other than the rubber base, which does not really give the saddle a "new tech" image, compared to CF and/or Ti present in other high priced saddles today, most might just look at the Cambium saddle as a very conventional design, except for it's unique cover material.....thus they are not willing to pay a high price for it.
I think it all comes down to the cyclist's perceived value of the saddle, and that has always been tricky to pinpoint for most companies competing in a very tough market. I'm sure the saddle makers are willing to sell for a fair price but they do have to push the price up to the maximum the market can bear for their saddle to be profitable and stay in business....
I suspect Brooks might still have to do some slight adjustments to their pricing as the production of their Cambium saddle ramps up to optimize profitability of their new product.

Italuminium

If I was in the market for a Peg or a bike of similar pedigree the price of the saddle is just a drop in the bucket. I think the cambium is right at home at modern steel bikes of the high end, and I think that's the market brooks is going for.

gomango

Greetings from Banja Luka!

Too much misinformation for me.

I'll wait till I get home and try one for myself.

One says no wear on bibs, another says it eats bibs.

The internet can be a silly place.

iab

Define limited appeal. What is the annual sales goal? At $200 per, 50K units will bring $10MM annually. That ain't chump change for a single SKU.


Why is that? Early adopters will always pay a premium. Also, you can't raise the price if you start too low, you can always lower a price. But it isn't a surprise that some of the cheapest people on earth find the price too high. I won't spend that money on that saddle, but it is still a pretty cool saddle in person.

Rubber is a thermoset. It will not soften with heat.

dpeters11

Yes, shipped from Italy Wednesday, gets here tomorrow.