Touring saddle

gsk82

I bought a brooks b15 cambium saddle for use on my Condor Fratello about 6 weeks ago. The bike is primarily my winter bike, but i plan on doing a multi week tour in the summer. I've ridden on the saddle 4 or 5 times and found that its eating my tights. I find it comfy enough, but i can't be buying new tights/ shorts every couple of months, so i think it has to go.

Does anyone have any recommendations of alternatives? I don't want a huge sprung touring saddle. But also not a skinny racing saddle.

mercia_man

If you Google Brooks Cambium, it seems this saddle has a reputation for wearing out shorts because of its slightly abrasive fabric/rubber construction. What suits one rider might not suit another but Brooks traditional leather saddles have been overwhelmingly the most popular for distance riding for more than 100 years.

I’ve tried various saddles over the past 30 years or so of touring and nothing has been as comfortable over multi-week rides as my B17 titanium. The smooth leather doesn’t abrade shorts and (unlike the Cambium) it moulds to the individual shape of your backside. It doesn’t have springs. A similar but slightly narrower alternative is the Brooks Professional. Be aware that you should buy a slightly wider Brooks than a standard saddle. The leather is riveted to a U-shaped metal cantle plate at the rear. You don’t want to be sitting on that. Your sit bones need to be inboard of the rivets so that the leather will flex and mould to your shape.

gsk82

Thanks MerciaMan

Ive had an email exchange with Brooks who have stated that the cotton Cambium can be "abrasive". They're fazing it out this year, but for now have it listed as the "special" on their website. It's a pretty dire show from them. They know its causing damage to people's kit!

Anyway my local shop have replaced mine with the all weather version, which brooks have stated they haven't had any reports of problems with. For now I'll just be using my cheaper 5 year old tights until I'm confident it won't be a problem.

ugo.santalucia

I've had the Cambium C15 cotton for a couple of years now... haven't had to bin any shorts or tights due to wear in the inner leg/bum part yet... might be that you need the narrower C13 maybe...

pblakeney

I've had C13s in all sizes. Some shorts have shown wear but nothing serious.
The wear also indicated my saddle being a few degrees off straight. 😉
I tried a C13 157mm carved on my winter bike for comfort and liked it so much that I got another to replace the narrower version on my "good" bike.

gsk82

ugo.santalucia said:

I've had the Cambium C15 cotton for a couple of years now... haven't had to bin any shorts or tights due to wear in the inner leg/bum part yet... might be that you need the narrower C13 maybe...

Possibly. The nose is a little wider than I'd like. I don't think it would explain the sit bones wearing though. It seems to be the right width for comfort and isn't too different from my other saddles.

They've admitted to having problems with it and are phasing it out. Hopefully the all weather will be fine and that'll be the end of it.