djb

That's funny, I actually bought a used one. Have ridden on it on a few bikes, it's ok but find the leather ones more comfortable.
anyway, this is completely unobjective, completely depends on the individual and trying a seat for a while.

Tourist in MSN

I bought a C17 that was very uncomfortable. Mine was stiffer than most of them, rolled the dice and bought a second one that was their weather resistant one. That one was average stiffness, but it also was uncomfortable too. One is on my errand bike at this time, I rarely ride that bike over five miles at a time.

That said, I have met several randonneurs that like the cambium saddles, and they are all high mileage riders.

Polaris OBark

That is indeed off-putting. I rarely look at youtube videos, but I watched that one and then let it roll over to the next one, in which the same guy documents his "tour" from Sacrademento to San Diego on a fixie wearing a frame backpack and attempting 175 miles/day. Oddly, it did not end well. So I'll take that saddle review with a grain of salt.

My review is after the first ride I had a sensation comparable to adult diaper rash. Also, it was rather hard, and didn't strike me as anything special compared to a dozen other non-leather saddles I have tried and rejected over the years. It didn't cause me acute pain like Fabric.

Germany_chris

Hello Chris,

Thanks for reaching out and for your interest in our products.
I'd recommand you get our 700 x 60 fenders with either a long front end or short front end depending on whether you have a front rack or not. I'd recommend getting an extra pair of fender stays too as it'd be wise to add an extra stay on the rear fender for extra stiffness and durability.
I know we recommend at least 8-10mm between actual tire size and fender width but it's a bit different with our 60mm wide fenders : they tend to run a bit wider than 60mm and they also have a flatter profile than our other models, so they can be mounted a little higher and cap very wide tires without any issue.
Here is an example, a little extreme, but proof that it works : https://www.flickr.com/photos/44bikes/21336870108
So it will be even better with smoother tires as it gives more clearance.

Just a warning point though, I checked a few pics online and saw that the rear tire can get pretty close the the seat tube,so you might want to check for clearance at this specific spot before trying to install fenders. Consider downsizing to 2.1" or 2" if it looks complicated with your current 55mm tires.

Hope this helps !

Best regards,
Clément
Berthoud Cycles


Here’s what I got from Berthoud

djb

Very good to put this up, so the polaris guy can get some clearance recommendations from another reliable source other than us.
If there isn't much clearance, it can be tricky.
I mentioned setting up my fenders with a lot of leeway, just in case I had to buy some MTB knobby tires during a trip if the roads warranted it.
Here's a shot showing this.
Also my fenders are right at the limit of my tire size, I'm pretty certain they are the sks 55 (not 45) model, my tires are 45\50mm in the photo, but I have used 53mm (2.1 in) tires with knobs on the outside edges, and these worked fine with the fenders as is, so I'm happy with the large gap I left.
* To be clear, I only set this gap because of possibly traveling on really bad, rocky and possibly muddy roads in other countries.

djb

Another thought, the 55 and 60 size fenders that I have seen are real giant wide things, to have proper official clearance for tires of a given size. I have a friend who put the big wide planet bike MTB or whatever fenders on his bike for his 2.1 inch tires , and I found them to be so overly large looking and heavy also, so that's another reason that I went with the 55 not 45) model.(much lighter)

I figured most of the time the bike would have tires in the 40-50 range, and then also I really found the silver 55 model with mudflaps really nice looking -- so had the aesthetic angle also, but that is personal.

Tourist in MSN

On tire clearance, I find that about 8mm wider rating than the tire width is about as tight as I want to go, wider clearance is better in my book. The stays are metal, occasionally get bent a bit and getting them bent back just right so it does not rub after you hit a bump, is a nuisance. More clearance is better.

If your new fenders lack mud flaps, I think I mentioned above that I use lids from Folgers containers when I want black plastic for a mud flap. On my red bike, I used a lid from a Hills Brothers can for the front mud flap, that is red.

Polaris OBark

I'm beginning to regret choosing a user name to commemorate a dead (female) puppy.

In that last pic with the Surly, those aren't 700C wheels, are they? They look like they could be 26" or 650b.

I'm beginning to think a 650b wheelset might be they way to go, especially if I can get a good dynamo hub on the front.

My point of least clearance is the rear seat-stay bridge. A 6mm Allen wrench barely slides in there:

Germany_chris

Those are Berthoud fenders with 7mm, nominal 38’s under 45mm fenders. Now that that bike can go back to being my commuter I might give the fat Berthouds a try.

Polaris OBark

Germany_chris

Two off-topic questions, if you permit me:

(1) Is that cut in the wall completely horizontal? If so, my Berthoud saddle is still not as up-tilted as yours (I'm still trying to find the ideal setting).

(2) Who makes your head-lamp? I want to be able to mount one the way you have.

Germany_chris

It’s thick foam tape to protect the doors of the car if they’re not opened carefully, the saddle has moved nose up a bit as it’s aged but most of what you see is leather stretch.

The light is an Edelux II mounted to my Tubus Tara

Polaris OBark

OK, so is this what attaches it to the Tubus Tara?

Germany_chris

Its the stock mount

Polaris OBark

OK, thanks, and sorry for putting you to all that trouble, but it really helps. I appreciate your efforts!

djb

Sorry to hear of user name.
Yes, those are 26in wheels. Surly troll is \ was 26.
I like 26, lower gearing overall (handy for carrying lots of stuff and in countries with steep roads, poor road surfaces) , no toe overlap, and maaaaybe easier to buy a tire in rinky dinky town in Guatemala or wherever (I always carried a spare tire anyway) but buying a cheap 26 MTB tire probably easier.
But newer tires often not available in 26 anymore, but still lots available.

As anyway, pluses or minuses, its what I have.

Re tire frame clearance, I'd have to look at my bikes, but your clearance must be too tight for fenders. You would think that actual tire fender clearance would be awfully tight.

Polaris OBark

It's a wheel-set borrowed from another bike, so I am thinking if I really need fenders, to do it with smaller wheels.

BTW, Rene Herse has several 26" tire options. I have their treaded one on my wife's mtn bike.

Tourist in MSN

A lot of dyno powered lights are poorly weatherproofed on the bottom or back, thus tire spray can damage them.

The front fender that Germany Chris has extends further forward than most, his fender directs tire spray downward so his light should not collect any such spray. But if you lack fenders or if your front fender allows some of the tire spray to go up, that could be a concern.

I have not looked closely at Edelux lights, perhaps they are better waterproofed than B&M lights or the other competitors out there. All of my dyno powered headlights are B&M except I have one that is an AXA.

If you do not have a front platform rack on your bike, I think that a fork crown is best for headlight mounting.

Even though I do not have a full coverage front fender on the bike in the photo, the light is high enough that spray from the tire won't directly reach the bottom or back of it. Light is a B&M IQ-XS. (I have a temporary fender behind the fork, but that does not protect the light at all.)



Photo below is 10 years old from my battery light days. You can see that it collected a bit of tire spray (or mud) on the back, this is a Tubus Ergo rack that is discontinued. My front fender did not provide as much coverage as the one Germany Chris has.

rumrunn6

what is that front rack thing? that might be fun to experiment with
this internet photo has it too

Polaris OBark

Tubus Tara low-riders. The hoop keeps the front panniers parallel and more secure in the absence of a fork that allows a bolt to go all the way through. (They also make one without the hoop if you indeed can mount that way with your fork, but this design is inherently more stable.)

rifraf

Just remember to check both your new bottom bracket height and thus potential for pedal strike once off the tarmac, before committing to a smaller wheel size.

I remember reading of the issue within a forum concerning a Surly bike where a smaller wheel size caused a pedal strike problem making for a pricey fix.

I don’t remember exactly which bike it was but think it might have been an ECR, and was potentially serious enough that when I recently purchased some new cranks, I grabbed a set 10mm shorter than has graced my Ogre up to now, as to build in some flexibility should I wish to try a 27.5 wheel set in order to try tires wider than the 29ers 2.5’ width limit.

Ive been happy with using a max of 2.35 width, but wanted to have the ability to stretch my options should I wanted to do more off road bias touring

rifraf

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/gilles-berthoud-fixing-bracket-set-for-rear-fender-on-brake-bridge/?

A couple of these bracket sets are in my Wishlist in the above site.
Im unhappy with a couple of the bracket choices I made when I originally got my Polished Stainless Steel fenders when I was unaware of the above being available so had settled for a couple of these:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/35mm-sks-stainless-steel-rear-mudguard-bridge-each/
which haven’t been a great fit being either 5mm too narrow or 5mm too wide

autonomy

I've been looking for minimal-clearance fenders for 50mm tires and the best I could find was a recommendation for SKS speedrockers, though they advertise only up to 42mm, from this thread.
I guess the point is, with wide tires and minimal clearance, we need to be looking for a split front fender for mountain bikes (29in wheels are the same as 700c) and possibly clip-on fenders.

Also, I envy y'all who can ride a Cambium, they're really cool saddles. I got a carved C17 for Christmas, and it just rubs me the wrong way no matter what I wear or how I set it up, so I'm finally giving up on it. Tried a carved C15 and that felt like an ass hatchet so a no go right off the bat

edit: https://www.cyclingabout.com/list-fa...ds-wide-tires/ might be helpful

Germany_chris

So based on what Berthoud said and the IG picture I bought a set of 60mm fenders and some smooth 55mm tires and it all works. Now I have my preferred long fenders on a fat tire bike.

rifraf

Those polished stainless Berthoud fenders really look the biz on your Monkey.
I've never regretted them for my Ogre or my choice of black colour frame choice for a classic look.
Enjoy!!!!!

phughes

His advice doesn't make a lot of sense, despite my respect for the man. The better fenders have mounts that break away if anything gets stuck in it, making it a non issue. Of course in the eleven years the Cascadias have been installed on my Surly, no such thing has happened.

I ride the GAP often, and have done the entire GAP and C&O as well. I did it once while a hurricane was hitting the DC area and cannot imagine not having fenders. Actually I can imagine. I saw a rider going the opposite way, and he was covered in mud, as were his bags. My belongings stayed clean, as did I.

After riding the GAP a lot with my wife, whose bike did not have fenders, I got tired of cleaning her drivetrain of the crushed limestone that go on everything, even on dry days. We installed fenders on her bike and her drive train has remained clean. Fenders don't just help with rain.