Brookes England Cambium C17 Saddle

I rate the cambium saddles very highly.  Find them very comfortable.  I prefr the C15 but that's just preference.  Have them on two bikes.

I love the C17 carved. I have three. Can't see me buying anything else.

I'd be asking what you find uncomfortable about the Ragley saddle? Too unforgiving or is it the shape?

For instance, I find I get on very well with flat, 'T' shaped saddles like the Selle Italia Flite and the Fizik Antares. Cut-outs, padding and nose length don't factor into it much even on gravel (although I'm always tempted to spend some money on the Selle Flite Boost Max Novus Ergo Gel or whatever nonsensical name they've given it 😂)

Following - looking at buying a brown one if I manage to do my dream ti hardtail build this year

I too am close to spending on a Cambium, possibly a C15.

I shave struggled with a saddle over the last couple of years having been 'settled' on SDG or WTB with a bit of a curve in prior to that. I tried a Bontrager Avarda - too flat, slippery and after an hour was just painful no matter what I did, but for that first hour was super comfy. Then tried a Selle Italia Green Superflow - which I had too wide a version of and not really very giving, and over more than one day really annoyed my sit bones. So now on a Selle San Marco Shortfit 2.0 comfort - I have just done 250km on it in a week and it is 'ok', but it was messing with a nerve and / or my circulation on the three day tour I just did - a real rush of blood and feeling when standing up, but feeling comfy...

I do recognise I need a narrower saddle than I first thought, I need a bit of give, and that cut-outs etc seem to increase some of the pressure/issues I have had...

brooks also do saddles with springs built into the seat rail. If you're looking for comfort on a hardtail, its a pretty good feature

I’m a C17 convert. I was fine on Charge Spoon shaped saddles for years but they slowly became unrideable for me. I watched a “how to measure your sit bones video” on YouTube. Measured my arse, discovered I was on the wrong sized saddle, tried a C17 because it supposedly the right size.

Almost instant comfort. It took a bit of trial and error to get the tilt in the correct position, nose up very, very slightly. Comfiest thing next to a sofa now.

Measure your arse:

Mrs Slow and I both use Cambiums on road bikes. They are hard and unpadded like most Brooks but presumably well shaped and proportioned as they are comfortable.

On MTB I have a bog standard Ragley saddle on my Piglet. It's pretty basic but I don't think comfort is quite as important on the hardtail as a lot of time is spent standing up.

C17 and a C13 here, never had any issues. On road bikes so spend a lot of time under my backside and have been fine.

I had a C17 - it was a revelation but still gave me some sore bits on really long rides (like 10+ hours).  It's quite a wide saddle.

I decided to try a C-15 instead and it's perfect.  I now have one on a full sus, road and gravel bike.  I can ride all day and all night (literally) with no issues.  I can't recommend it enough

I'm happy with my C17 and prefer the shape to the C15. I still get discomfort on very long audaxes but that's 15 hours and longer. There's some give in the rubber which you can feel when riding offroad on a hardtail or gravel bike.

If you’re near the new forest, the woods cyclery have a demo fleet of cambiums in carved and uncarved versions. I tried both over a few weeks and ended up buying a c15 carved.

That's good to know. My charge spoon is finally beyond salvage after 17000 miles and I was thinking about getting a cambium but didn't really want to gamble £100+ to try one.

I cycle past there a couple of times a week on my commute so will stop in and ask to try one.

I’m a fat middle aged ****, bought a B17 a few years ago and found it instantly comfortable.
bought another for the other bike.
havent tried a C17 but am considering it for the gravel bike.
wow, bard isn’t hidden in the swear filter.
sorry.

I have a brooks on the gravel bike. Not sure if it’s the 15 or 17 but it’s by far the comfiest saddle I’ve ever sat on. If it wasn’t the weight of the moon and I could afford it, I’d have one on every single bike I own

For general mountain biking and long hours in the saddle then I can't see past a SDG Bell Air. They dont creak anymore either which is a very big plus.

Road/CX/gravel bikes need a flatter saddle IME. Fabric Scoop has been great on my cx bike. It came fitted to my mountain bike but it was not comfy at all, but when moved to my cx bike it was a revelation.

I've been tempted by the Cambian a few times but have been put off by reports that they can wear out quite quickly, not great for such an expensive saddle. They do look nice though.

Never used the newer all weather version, but I’ve two of the original ones and I love them. Don’t worry about the lack of padding, it’s the flex of the rubber shell that makes it so comfy.

I have seen my mate destroy the fabric covering during a wet gritty 24 hour race but I think the all weather is supposed to solve this.

I had a C15 all weather come with my gravel bike. Never even rode it, it looked like the cheapest, nastiest, plasticy, most uncomfortable thing I’d ever seen.

It went straight on eBay and replaced with my usual Specialized Phenom.

Was pleasantly surprised to get £55 for it though, so I guess somebody likes them.

C15 is quite a different curve to the c17. I like the carved versions of the c17 but the c15 was too acute a curve for my sit bones and gooch. I have a wide c13 on another bike and that’s very good. Not carved. I have a wide arse and chubby gooch. I’m ok with that. I find having them set nose up slightly helps with keeping the posture good.

I have a C17 carved on a gravel bike. I never think about my saddle, so I think that means it's a good saddle.

I hated the C17 I tried.

Clearly the person I had bought it off had hated it as well, judging by the condition.

I lost £5 after selling it on.

I loved the b17 I had for 20 years that was on a bike that was nicked. My saddle of choice for multi day rides.

I have the flyer - b17 with springs- on my road and commuter. Like a softail, but cheaper and uglier 🙂

I have C17's on all 4 of my bikes - I find them super comfy - saddles are of course a personal thing but I wouldn't use anything else.....

On price, I have never paid more than £85 for one (all weather version) - keep your eye out for offers but good sources are usually Wiggle or Spa Cycles in my experience.....