Chombi

Oooh, the black actually turned to brown?? Wow!, that is bad fading......

NormanF

The rubber shell is intended to provide the suspensive effect of steel springs on Brooks leather saddles.... by absorbing road chatter before it reaches your spine.

Seems to work better than Brooks anticipated.

John Hood

I've had one for a few months now. I'd rate it, "pretty good". It replaced the Bontrager, or as I called it, the "butt raper", on my Raleigh. One of the main selling points to me was it's ability to get wet, as here in the Puget Sound region we have lots and lots of rain. I don't think it's any more comfortable than a good leather saddle, but you don't have to break it in either, plus it looks great. Comfort wise it is pretty close to a leather saddle. It has that same hard, yet suspended feel.

I guess my biggest hangup with the Cambium is the same one I have with all Brooks saddles...the price. For the same price as my Cambium I picked up two nice Gyes saddles and had a little change left over.

AZORCH

I have to say that the Cambium seems to fit my "but geometry" very well. Not to disparage the Gyes Saddles, but I recently acquired their Swallow knockoff model; despite finding the design very appealing, I cannot find a way to situate myself and feel even a modicum of comfort atop it. It has evolved into swap meet "trade bait" more quickly than any other bike thing I've ever owned! My point being, that while I agree and also find the price tag pretty stiff, in this case I like the more expensive product so well that I've coughed up the scratch for a second Cambium, a slate C15.

John Hood

I picked up two of them. One that's similar to a Brooks Swift with the slender seat and the big copper rivets and another with 3 springs, including one in front. I don't really have enough miles on them yet to pass judgement. The one that resembles the Swift seems to fit me fairly well and is reasonably comfortable. The other has very hard leather which hasn't formed to my sit bones yet. I rather like the 3 spring design, but I've only got about 150 miles on it so far, and at this point I find it too hard to be really comfortable. If 500 miles or so from now I'm not finding it significantly more comfortable I'll be moving on to something else.

jjames1452 

I love my two Cambiums.
However, I find them a little less comfortable as compared to a B17 Classic with a thousand miles on it.
I haven't found any saddle that matches that in comfort.
The ability to go through rain without sagging puts the Cambium's over the top.

The Golden Boy 

Based on the review of AZORCH, I ordered a Cambrium. My 2nd Brooks since June.

gomango

Azorch,

You got me.

I ordered one for my Serotta/Winter today.

-holiday76

i'll likely order one at some point. I like the idea of not worrying about it getting wet.

noglider 

Wouldn't the plural be Cambia?

AZORCH

Yikes! With great power comes great responsibility. Or something.

gomango

jjames1452 

Yep.

long john

I signed up also no such luck.

easyupbug 

When Tree Forks offered one for $119 delivered I added it to my order as an after thought. They are now up to $127 and I am doing my best to justify another as some of my Regals and Turbos are getting ragged and the early returns on the Cambium are excellent,

gomango

Here's the link:

Tree Fort Bikes - Online Bicycle Parts and Accessories, Bicycle Tools and Maintenance

cyclotoine

Mine has faded pretty quickly but I just got back from a tour where it saw lots of sun and some rain. Probably about 1500-2000 kms over 5 weeks or so. It's light grey now and the tweed has worn away around the rivits, still in the sits bones area I don't see any wear and the comfort of the thing makes it a winner.

This saddle is so comfortable I am thinking of ditching my 1981 professional select (thickest leather I have ever seen on a saddle) for another cambium. C17 again but perhaps in tan. I have never ridden a saddle this comfortable and I believe the pricing is very reasonable for these saddles. They are a major breakthrough in saddle comfort for me.

gomango

Good to hear.

I have been riding Regals and various Brooks' models for years.

Almost all of my riding is on gravel or country roads through the elements.

It will be fun to see how it works out.

The Golden Boy 

I'm interested to see how Grady likes his.


I've had mine for about a week, but last night was the first night I've taken it more than 15 miles. While I wouldn't say "the saddle disappears," it's certainly supportive and comfy enough- much more so than any of my other saddles that I've really liked (Avocet Touring II, San Marco Touring). I really can't say I like it more than my B17, but they're both fantastic saddles.

gomango

Happy to give a report after we build the Serotta/Winter frameset up.

[IMG]DSCN1354 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

AZORCH

Nice!

gomango

Thanks.

Wish I could move the build along faster, but I put in a self regulated rule of no new builds in the summer.

Just riding right now.

AZORCH

My rule too. Broke it, of course. But the rule still stands. And the riding is my priority, regardless of the weather or season.

toavii

That Serotta is beautiful. Currently stashing money away from the gal to build up something similar. Not having much luck finding a frameset that I can't do without around my area, yet...

As for my two C17s, still loving them. I have one on my MTB and one a road bike that sees rotational duty.

gomango

Thanks.

Just keep saving your money till you can find the right frameset.

Nice ones pop up from time to time locally.