chasm54

I bought a new tourer before Christmas, and just out of curiosity I put one of the "new" Brooks saddles on it - the C17. As far as I can see there hasn't been any discussion of these saddles in the touring forum, so now I have a few hundred miles on it I thought a review might be useful.

The Cambium is a departure for Brooks in that it isn't a leather saddle. It's vulcanized rubber, with a fabric surface bonded to the rubber. It comes in C15 (narrower, like a Swift) or C17 (similar dimensions to a B17) versions, with or without a cutout. Mine is the C17 with no cutout.

It's an impressively made item, high quality materials and well finished. And it is immediately comfortable out of the box, first impressions were extremely positive. I very much liked the fabric finish - one of the few disadvantages of the Brooks leather saddles, imo, is the fact that they are slippery when new and one tends to slide around on them for a while.

Those positive first impressions lasted throught the first few rides, the saddle felt excellent, just enough give in it to be comfortable but no cushioning. Like other synthetic saddles it's the same every time you ride it, it does not deform over time to the riders shape like the leather versions.

However, those early rides were relatively short, no more than a couple of hours. On longer three hour rides I found the firmness of the saddle began to be obtrusive. Not painful, but definitely present - it didn't disappear like my leather Brooks do, and its ride quality felt more and more like a racing saddle than a touring saddle, to me. It's likely that the cutout version might be more yielding, and that may be a better choice for tourists who wish to give one of these a try.

So, verdict. Nicely made product, immediately appealing, zero maintenance and looks pretty bulletproof, very comfortable for up to a couple of hours at a stretch. Less suitable, imo, for touring and long relaxed days in the saddle. The B17 will be going back on the bike.