Sy Reene

Just received and installed a Brooks C13 Carved..to replace a Fizik Antares VSX. Seems great but haven't ridden yet.. hopefully tomorrow.

Anyway, quick question.. looking at a couple reviews and photos online, there appears to often be tape on the rails (where clamp attaches). My saddle didn't come with this preinstalled.. does this implicitly mean I don't need to worry about it? If I do need to tape, what do folks use.. just some type of cloth sports tape (eg. hockey stick tape), or something specific to this purpose?

FWIW I think my clamp is fairly long, (fizik R1 seatpost), and I suspect the carbon Brooks saddles may be made in some part by Fizik (same parent company, and the carbon brooks are advertised as made in Italy). That said, I had the impression Fizik saddles usually ship with taped rails.

Some examples of where I've seen the tape:
https://ridingagainstthegrain.com/20...ambium-review/

Brooks England?s C13 Saddles are in Stock and I?ve Been Riding One | The Radavist

ARPRINCE

Review: Brooks Cambium C13 | road.cc

The carbon rails are really nicely made, with a grippy cloth bonded into the resin around the sections where the seatpost clamps.

Maybe the CARVED model does not have that cloth.

On their US website, the C13 CARVED 132 shows no cloth on one angle but with a cloth on the side view. The C13 CARVED 145/158 show no cloth on both angles. Maybe send them an email or ask them on twitter.

https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/saddles.html

Sy Reene

Hmm.. I have no such bonded-in grippy cloth. The carved should be the same, just with a cutout in the top of the saddle. I sent a query thru Brook's customer service portal on their website. I'll see what they say. In general though, is there any consensus on need for tape on carbon railed saddles?

C13 Product shots seem to differ out there also.. from Wiggle

in this view, the tape is obvious:


In this view, I can't see any?

redfooj

I put gaffer tape (I.e. cloth) tape on it.

Maybe it helps the head clamp to not bite into the rail, and help distribute the load....doesn't hurt to do.

Also seen it installed on pro bikes with and without. More the former than the latter

cycledogg

Wow, that can be very deceiving. If it were me, I would apply the tape you mentioned, (hockey stick tape) just to be on the safe side. That would help the clamp serve its purpose and help prevent over tighting of the clamp.

TimothyH

I can't see how cloth tape is going to do anything but interfere with the interface between the clamp and rail.

At the clamping forces and loads seen on a saddle it certainly isn't going to protect the rails. My bike isn't a show bike and people clamp all kinds of things to carbon parts all the time. Handlebars come to mind.

Tape bonded into the resin to give texture makes sense but absent that I'd use carbon assembly paste and forget about tape.


-Tim-

Sy Reene

I'm going to try out the saddle doing nothing for now I think. In the meantime, I'll see what Brooks comes backs with as a response, and see if there is any slippage. I'm of a mind that if the saddle didn't come with tape, nor instructions that I need to install tape, then I'm ok. Then again, there aren't instructions on how to install a saddle in the first place..

I just cranked the clamp to hand tight with a mini-tool torx key.. guessing in the neighborhood of 6nm. I'll revisit if I hear any creaking or experience slippage. At least this is an adjustment easy to perform while out on a ride. Reading other online posts, the tape thing is a grab bag of opinions. Many folks seem to take if off if it came from the factory that way, having issues fitting in clamps for some models of seatpost clamp. Others left it alone and indicate that it wears off and falls away eventually anyway.. who knows..

I may use assembly paste later.. don't want to do this until I know I'm keeping the saddle -- paste can mar a CF surface a bit.

joejack951

As Tim notes, if the issue is slippage the weak adhesive on any type of tape isn't going to help at all. Bonded tape sorta makes sense, and the Fizik Arione R1 I recently purchased has just that, but I'd much rather see the textured finish that Ritchey applies to their handlebars that this tape bandaid (at least that's how it appears to me). Carbon paste seems like it ought to solve both slippage and creaking if any arises but I understand the conern with marring the surface. The Ritchey carbon rail clamp for my post seems to fit the taped rails fine but I will definitely look into removing it if it seems to be causing any noise or slipping.

redfooj

If the head clamp has raised and sharp edges from poor manufacturing...hypothetically speaking

TimothyH

I don't ride a hypothetical bike and an expensive carbon rail saddle with a poorly made seatpost doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

The solution is to get a decent seatpost, or at a minimum, sand off the burrs.

Sy Reene

I got a response from Brooks. For now, I'll use the saddle as-is (no tape) and see how it goes.

"Thank you for getting in touch. This is indeed normal. A lot of our customers would have preferred using the saddle without wrapping on the rails as it was forcing some users to purchase oversized rail clamps and/or seat posts. This is why the newer ones do not have the wrapping.

Kind regards,"

fietsbob

probably depends on the seat post, if it cuts into the Carbon structure or Not.

woodcraft

Makes a connection to Brooks' organic past-

the tape should probably be treated bi-monthly with 'Tapehide'.

FullGas

have used 3 different carbon rail saddles with a Thomson seatpost. considered using some kind of tape, but didn't.

four years and 20+K miles...zero problems.

joejack951

Fizik specifically warns against even having any sharp edges on the clamp let alone a clamp that tries to 'cut into the carbon structure.' I would be surprised if anything of the sort exists.

TimothyH

I think some are conflating the shape of the rails with the material it is made of.

Many carbon rails are 7x10 oval. Some manufacturers, Thomson for example, have oversize rail clamps specifically for oval rails.
Apart from a poorly made seatpost which should go into the garbage, if your seatpost is cutting into the saddle rails then you may need a different rail clamp due to the shape of the rail. What the rail is made of is really secondary to its shape.


-Tim-

FlashBazbo

This response makes sense. I have purchased Fizik carbon railed saddles in the past that had the textured outer carbon layer on the rails. They did not fit my seatpost clamps, so I returned them. I have never seen their carbon rails without the texture.


It's time I gave them another chance -- with the Brooks C13.

Marcus_Ti

Never guess with composites. Have a loved one get you a click-torque wrench for belated XMas. There are several on Amazon that are good and very affordable (and frequently on sale).

Sincerely, your composite bicycle parts

Sy Reene

I only have a Ritchey 5nm fixed tool.. that said, fwiw, my C13 didn't come with any torque setting indicated on the rails. My seat clamp has one, but that doesn't tell me what's safe for cf rails.