Brooks Cambium - WTF!?!
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Brooks Cambium - WTF!?!
Ok, so I finally caved and bought a Brooks Cambium (at a greatly reduced rate) saddle solely because of the neverending glowing reviews. People say it's the most comfortable saddle ever, last saddle they'll ever buy, disappears beneath you etc. etc. Am I missing something hear? I know saddles are a highly personal/subjective thing but when 99% say it's great wondering if what the story is, at no point on the rails is it comfy. Way too much pressure on the sit bones. Anyone else have this issue or am I out to lunch..?
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I had a Brooks Team Pro and it was the most uncomfortable thing I ever sat on. I gave it a couple of months before I finally gave up on it. Some people say it takes a long time to break in (6-12 months?) but I don't have that kind of time to ride in pain and in hopes that it got more comfortable
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That Brooks BS has been going on now for a long, long time. Don't ask a Brit about it. You will be very sorry you did. Guys who choose to ride Brooks have to take a lidocaine injection in the butt before every ride. Either that or they were born without butt nerves.
#5
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That Brooks BS has been going on now for a long, long time. Don't ask a Brit about it. You will be very sorry you did. Guys who choose to ride Brooks have to take a lidocaine injection in the butt before every ride. Either that or they were born without butt nerves.
Utterly, absolutely, false.
And insulting.
#6
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I use a Team Pro on my rando bike and I attest it is quite comfy...no pain, no saddle sores,no discomfort even after a 1200km brevet.
And I do my randonneuring on a fixed gear bike, so I spend a bit more time in the saddle than freewheel riders.
I'm sorry yours didn't work out for you.
#7
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I am currently trying a team pro and I do not like it as much as the B-17. The B-17 (for Me) is all day comfy.
#8
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That Brooks BS has been going on now for a long, long time. Don't ask a Brit about it. You will be very sorry you did. Guys who choose to ride Brooks have to take a lidocaine injection in the butt before every ride. Either that or they were born without butt nerves.
I have a team pro and its awesome. Best saddle ever. I wont ride anything but Brooks.
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I got a Brooks and rode it daily for about a month treating it daily with Brooks saddle treatment it was still hard so one night I covered the holes turned it over filled it with unapproved oil until the next morning next ride was much improved, three yrs later no problems and two little indents for my sit bones provide just the spot for comfort.
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I love my B17 and am thinking about a Cambium. I didn't have any break in problems on it at all. I do a century once a week and it's the last thing I have to worry about.
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I gather by "same saddle" you mean the Team Pro. The Cambium is relatively new.
I use a Team Pro on my rando bike and I attest it is quite comfy...no pain, no saddle sores,no discomfort even after a 1200km brevet.
And I do my randonneuring on a fixed gear bike, so I spend a bit more time in the saddle than freewheel riders.
I'm sorry yours didn't work out for you.
I use a Team Pro on my rando bike and I attest it is quite comfy...no pain, no saddle sores,no discomfort even after a 1200km brevet.
And I do my randonneuring on a fixed gear bike, so I spend a bit more time in the saddle than freewheel riders.
I'm sorry yours didn't work out for you.
#12
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Christ Almighty, this thread has more miss information than the Contador Assplosion thread. And it's not even a page.
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brooks are great if you plan on sitting in the saddle in one position all day ( the indents that develop don't allow for much movement). but for hard sport riding/racing where you might be slamming back and high on a climb, or pulled forward on the rivet as you're desperately hanging on in a death line, there's less room to manoeuvre your arse around.
#16
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A fellow cyclist at work (who uses brooks saddles on almost all of his bikes) bought a cambium and tried it. He prefers his leather saddles.
For me, I tried the B17 and could not stand it.
For me, I tried the B17 and could not stand it.
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There's some mystique about liking your Brooks saddle. It's kinda like they say, "How do you tell if a person's a vegan?" "You don't have to, they'll tell you." It's like a religion, some sort of belief system. I'm sure they do love their saddles, love them with all their hearts, which is fine, but I find the proselytizing annoying. Most folks don't give a RA about their saddle, as long as it works for them. But this is the Internet, right?
OTOH, around here if you line up for a daylight start of a brevet, meaning a ride of 125-750 miles, you'll see about 10% Brooks saddles. Also, in spite of the "Steel is real" thing and all the carbon dissing that goes on here, the majority of them will be carbon. It's the same thing. So Brooks are not The Only Thing. IOW, you are not a failure. One particular saddle didn't suit your butt. That's the reason there are like 100 different models of saddle on the market. There probably should be 1000. Try something else.
OTOH, around here if you line up for a daylight start of a brevet, meaning a ride of 125-750 miles, you'll see about 10% Brooks saddles. Also, in spite of the "Steel is real" thing and all the carbon dissing that goes on here, the majority of them will be carbon. It's the same thing. So Brooks are not The Only Thing. IOW, you are not a failure. One particular saddle didn't suit your butt. That's the reason there are like 100 different models of saddle on the market. There probably should be 1000. Try something else.
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...the Cambium is a whole different deal, and I doubt it's gonna "break in" much.
One of my friends here got one as a tester from Brooks. He had nothing good to say about it,
so one presumes they did not use his comments as part of the advertising and marketing.
That 99 % of glowing reviews are the ones they decided to use.
It's a sort of canvasy covering over a rubbery base, IIRC. He said it transpires not at all, unlike leather.
One of my friends here got one as a tester from Brooks. He had nothing good to say about it,
so one presumes they did not use his comments as part of the advertising and marketing.
That 99 % of glowing reviews are the ones they decided to use.
It's a sort of canvasy covering over a rubbery base, IIRC. He said it transpires not at all, unlike leather.
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Now, head over to the A and S forum and say you won't ever wear a helmet because helmets are for girls.
Or post a video in the 'bent forum of a DF'er riding faster than a paceline of 'bents.
Or post a video in the 'bent forum of a DF'er riding faster than a paceline of 'bents.
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Saddles are a personal thing. I ride and love a saddle that my best riding buddy thinks is awful. Also Brooks are ugly.
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My brother has a B17 and he raves about how great it is (go figure. he also said my Cambium wasn't a 'real' Brooks) so I think eventually I'll have to try one out. At least with the leather Brooks you're sit bones actually form indents in the leather which I assume is very comfy, unlike the Cambium. Just wanted to try something other than my tried and true Turbo/Rolls/Regal. Maybe try a Flite out...
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My feeling is that taking advice from someone who willfully bolted a 1.25lb pound saddle on their bike, is, prima facie, asking for trouble.
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brooks are great if you plan on sitting in the saddle in one position all day ( the indents that develop don't allow for much movement). but for hard sport riding/racing where you might be slamming back and high on a climb, or pulled forward on the rivet as you're desperately hanging on in a death line, there's less room to manoeuvre your arse around.
So the saddle that gives rise to the saying may not be the best saddle if you are in fact on the rivet.
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I switched my saddle from a selle italia something or other to a brooks b17 select on my Roadeo recently. I'm sorry, but the brooks is just way more comfortable; I never feel any discomfort and honestly it does kind of dissapear on the ride.
I have no idea about the cambium model, but the b17 for me is tops.
Hey op, what saddle to bar drop are you running on your bike?
I have no idea about the cambium model, but the b17 for me is tops.
Hey op, what saddle to bar drop are you running on your bike?