Brookes Cambian saddle vs Brookes Swift

rodgers73
rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
edited September 2014 in Road buying advice
I'm looking to get a Brookes for my road bike for use on long distance rides. I've been told by the guy in the Brookes shop that I should either get the Swift or the Cambian.

The Swift is the usual leather construction and will need breaking in, the Cambian is rubber and is ready to go immediately. Is the Cambian too good to be true or is it a genuine alternative to going through the 500 mile of arse ache with the leather versions??

The reviews on Wiggle all seem to be from people who have had the Cambian for a short time only so I dont know what to expect. Has anyone any experience here??

Thanks

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    A bit cheeky, but I have a near new honey Swift if you are interested... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • marcusjb
    marcusjb Posts: 2,412
    Two versions of the Cambian (C17 and C15 (and the C17 Carved if you wanted a slotted saddle) - my experiences are all with C17.

    Personally, I have found it to be a myth about this breaking in thing, and I've ridden Brooks of all varieties for a long time now. The saddle is either comfy or it is not and that depends on two things - is it the right saddle for your bum and position. We all have different widths of sit bones and have a need for different saddle widths. Different positions of both the saddle and handlebar make a big difference to which saddle is best again (for instance, I ride a Swift on my main distance bike, but I wouldn't be able to hack it on the more upright position of the tandem (where a B17 Champion Special does the duties) as my seat bones are in a different position).

    So, I have never really got this breaking in thing - are people confusing it with moving the saddle about (fore, aft, height, angle etc.) which you have to do whether the saddle is made of leather, plastic, carbon, whatever to dial it into your position. I just don't know - I have never had to break in a leather saddle knowingly, but I have spent the first 100 or so km making small changes to get it right where I want it.

    Swift - good saddle, most of my big miles are done on one. I have narrow bony sit bones. I have the Ti railed version on the main bike

    Cambium C17 - I have one on my commuting fixed bike. Whilst it is still an expensive saddle, I hope that it doesn't quite attract the bike thieves of London as much as leather Brooks do (whilst I tend to leave my bike all day in bits of London, it tends to be areas like Mayfair and Kensington which have slightly less to worry about than mates who leave bikes in East London and have had Brooks nicked).

    It is a comfy saddle - slightly wider than my Swift, but, again, the position on my fixed is ever so slightly more upright, so doesn't worry me. I am about to replace the fixed with another fixed with the identical geometry to my Audax bike (Condor Tempo to match my Fratello), so maybe I will swap to a C15 at that point.

    Cambiums are great for the lack of worrying about maintenance. No proofide needed! And fully waterproof (not that my leather Brooks saddles have ever had any issues after serious drenchings). I am considering putting a pair of them onto the tandem before a trip to Thailand later this year.

    The covering is weird, it's a lot more grippy than a leather Brooks, so I am not sure how well that would help in long-distance riding - I like having that little bit of slip and slide on a leather saddle, but I am sure there are those that will argue that the stickiness is better. I have heard reports of the sides of Cambiums damaging shorts - I haven't experienced this, but tend to be dressed in normal clothes for most of my commuting anyway.

    Difficult to know which way to recommend - I only do around 4-5000km a year on the fixed and most of that is very short sub-20km journeys. But I think I could handle doing big distance on the Cambium.

    But, be warned that Brooks (of leather or rubber) are not the answer for everyone - whilst they are exceedingly common on the long-distance scene, there are many people who don't get on with them. Sadly, it's an expensive gamble finding out (and whilst you can get loan saddles from most of the manufacturers out there, I am not sure Brooks dealers have that option really).
    Stuff about riding a bike a long way
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    hmm, it sounds like I could do with the saddle equivalent of a bike fit. Is such a thing possible? I've always relied on tweaking the set up myself.
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Somewhat unbelievably, Brooks have just send me a brand new C15 saddle for no apparent reason. I'm very grateful and if any other bike part (or indeed bike) manufacturers wish to send me good kit free of charge, they would be very happily received....
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • bmxboy10
    bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
    mroli wrote:
    Somewhat unbelievably, Brooks have just send me a brand new C15 saddle for no apparent reason. I'm very grateful and if any other bike part (or indeed bike) manufacturers wish to send me good kit free of charge, they would be very happily received....

    Whats that all about then?
  • marcusjb
    marcusjb Posts: 2,412
    Did you apply to be on their testing program?

    I wasn't aware it was still running - a number of friends were selected for the original C17 test.
    Stuff about riding a bike a long way
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    mroli wrote:
    Somewhat unbelievably, Brooks have just send me a brand new C15 saddle for no apparent reason. I'm very grateful and if any other bike part (or indeed bike) manufacturers wish to send me good kit free of charge, they would be very happily received....

    It was meant for me, as I registered to be a Brooks tester... please bring it over
    left the forum March 2023
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Just checked their twitter feed and I guess I must've done - but I don't remember doing it! There was nothing in the box saying "please report back on the saddle" - just something saying "here you go. now go for a nice long ride"....

    Ugo - the only thing that I bring you are various wheel bits. And I expect you to put them in order and return them to me!!!!
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • vs4b
    vs4b Posts: 257
    I got a c15 this week too, looks good alongside the c17 and c17carved they've previously sent ;-).

    The c17 is great, best saddle ever (for me) super comfy on all my rides (up to 150 miles) I've done about 8000 miles on my c17.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    vs4b wrote:
    I got a c15 this week too, looks good alongside the c17 and c17carved they've previously sent ;-).

    WTF... I got nothing! :evil:
    left the forum March 2023
  • vs4b
    vs4b Posts: 257
    yeah, but now i have enough saddles to have a cambium on each bike, so i need them to start sending out wheels which is what i need at the moment!

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