egear

Now I love my B67 and will never part with it but this saddle is really good right out of the box. My LBS has a couple demo saddles in stock so I swiped one today and put about 25 miles in on it. It was really comfortable. Even with the nose virtually level it was completely comfortable. I might have to grab one of these. Interestingly enough the saddle also comes in a black covering, I have only seen the white. Has anyone else tried one yet? Durability is a question.

Ekh.

tarwheel 

My brother was one of the lucky ones chosen to test ride the Brooks Cambium. By test ride, I mean they gave it to him, and he reports back to them on its performance. He has been very pleased with it, and his other saddles are B17s.

mulveyr 

I've had one on my road bike since late summer, with around 800 or so miles on it. I've found that in terms of comfort it's almost indistinguishable from my B17 ( which is very comfy indeed ). I don't see any reason to think that the durability will be a problem, other than perhaps the covering getting worn down over time.

Hendricks97

Has anyone who has actually paid for theirs, thought it was worth the ridiculous price though?

mulveyr 

Considering that Brooks saddles are often still in use decades after they're purchased, if the Cambium has a similar usable lifespan it's actually quite cheap. I suspect that the typical Brooks buyer tends to be more well off economically as well, so the upfront cost of a $200 saddle spread over at least ten years is a great deal. The last non-leather saddle I bought for my go-fast bike was a midrange Specialized ( $70 or so ), and the covering on it was crap after two years. By my measure, I paid a ridiculous price for it. :-)

Hendricks97

I just dont see how theres anyway that a rubber and aluminium saddle is going to last long enough to justify its cost. The cotton in the cover will likely get worn off as well as the rubber eventually deteriorating due to the sun

SmallFront

I have a titanium Swift (and aimed at Hendricks97: It is much more expensive than the Cambian) - and even though the Cambian weighs a little more, I'm eyeing the Cambian as a possible buy. I would love to try one out at some point. But living in Denmark, I will probably have to buy it just to try it.

I am thinking of the Cambian, because I find that depending on the bike I put the Swift on, it is quite hard to get it "just it right". The nose of the Swift is always killing me the first month or so until I get it adjusted "just-so", and with my new bike, that has got me thinking of the Cambian as an alternative.

SmallFront

Cotton in the Cambian and the rubber detoriorating due to UV? Do you know more about the actual rubber used and it's lack of UV protection that the rest of us are not privvy to? And that goes for the cotton too?

No, thought not. You're making things up, just so you can make it seem like a rip-off, regardless of what the reality is.

mulveyr 

Most of my riding is on B17's, but I found that the Cambium was insanely easier to get adjusted comfortably. My B17's are very slightly nose up, and I had found that even very slight fore/aft changes had a substantial effect on comfort. My Cambium is level, and fore/aft adjustment is much less critical. The longer rails on the Cambium are likely to be helpful to riders who have trouble getting the correct placement as well.

SmallFront

Thank you, I will probably have to buy one at some stage in the near future from what you are saying.

Hendricks97

Im actually basing this off of things that I have read about the saddle and the basic properties of rubber and cotton that have been used in other products that I have dealt with. My point is that its easy to think its better when you havent paid for it and no one knows about its durability. I was actually very interested in this saddle and would pay the $200.00 if it is actually worth it and that its typically a more accurate review if you paid for, and own (rather than borrowing it for a short time), the saddle.
I am not attempting to make it seem like a rip off, Im trying to get an honest review and I dont understand how people are basing its durability on leather Brooks products (of which I am an owner and unabashed fanatic)

mulveyr 

Well, I paid for mine, so therefore my review should be more accurate. ;-)

Unfortunately that's not actually the case in real life. Unless something is absolutely terrible, people have a bias towards justification of their purchases if the price is somewhat above their "spur-of-the-moment" comfort level. So unless you know a lot of factors that aren't generally remarked on in someone's reviews, knowing whether they purchased it or were given a test sample isn't really useful as measure of their reliability.

In regards to your concerns about reliability, I've had canvas items outdoors 24x7 for years in Upstate NY and they've survived our summers and subzero winters just fine. Cotton can be amazingly durable stuff. The rubber could go either way, but I have no reason to think that Brooks wouldn't have accounted for the fact that it needs to be UV protected, especially if it's going to be a flagship product for them.

SmallFront

It's cotton canvas, not cotton wadding. There's that difference compared to PU covered cheap saddles.

As for the natural rubber dying from UV, I don't see how adding a bit of UV protectant to it, if you're that worried would be any more trouble than protecting and nourishing leather which you seem to own (like most of us in this thread).

nun

When I went online and saw the cotton covering I immediately thought that it would wear away pretty quickly exposing the rubber underneath.
The saddle looks cool and has a hint of italian styling, but I'll stick with my chrome Swift, at least until there's some multiple year reviews of the Cambium.

nun

Cotton duck is tough stuff, but constant friction can quickly wear it out so I'm on the fence about how well it will work as a saddle cover.

bhchdh 

Wallingford has it for $149.00 with their six-month unconditional guarantee.


https://www.wallbike.com/brooks/brook...ks-cambium-c17

mulveyr 

The covering on the saddle definitely wears down; I was initially concerned about snagging when I first got it, but it's smooth in the pressure-point areas now. I'm wondering if the cover is bonded by using some sort of adhesive, or if it's actually embedded in the rubber itself ( which would be a neat engineering challenge ). I'm actually leaning towards the latter, which makes me think that it's as close to being as worn in as it's likely to get.

nun

That would be nice and make for a interesting wear patterns. I also like the cast aluminum saddlebag loops.

djb

took a look at it, and it does look neat. For me what makes a leather Brooks more comfortable than other bike seats Ive had is:

-the "slippyness" of leather, eliminating a lot of friction that my other seats always had, especially when you take into account how a plastic seat tends to be more sweaty and "grabby" inducing (maybe not describing this properly, but a Brooks is way ahead in this regard compared to my old seats)
-the shape of a B17 works well for me, other seats Ive had were similar but didnt have-the "suspension" effect of a leather seat, the "give" that takes the edge off things
-how the "give" of the leather plus how it takes the shape of your sitbones while still supporting properly other parts and not allowing you to sink in and put pressure where you dont want it.

I too wonder about how this new construction will be over years time. I look at the expense of a Brooks saddle as absolutely being cheaper in the long run, especially since biking is such a big part of my life and when you look at how long a Brooks tends to give really good comfortable service.

TornadoCAN99

I paid $184 CDN for my Cambium 3 weeks ago from my local Mountain Equipement Coop (Canada's answer to the USA's REI stores). MEC has a killer return policy..."Rock Solid"...basically no time limits...refunds forever for any reasonable reason as long as you have your receipt. Took me about 1.5 weeks of daily Hybrid commuting to get to a comfort level...i'm coming off spongy/gel type saddles. I think it's a keeper.