Brooks England Cambium C17 Carved All-Weather Saddle
Made for years of hard riding, city commuting and world traveling, the Brooks England Cambium C17 Carved All-Weather saddle has a racy shape and lines, along with a comfortable cutout.
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- With the same contemporary design of the rest of the Brooks Cambium range, the All-Weather is a durable and comfortable saddle that's ready to ride
- Carved version adds a cutout to the top to help relieve pressure on the perineum for further comfort and shock absorption
- Flexible, maintenance-free, waterproof nylon cover is designed to follow the rider's movements to deliver immediate comfort and ease of use
- Vulcanized natural rubber and organically grown cotton canvas design enhanced by a thin structural textile layer for resilience provides performance with zero break-in period
- Updated fiberglass reinforced back plate has loops for a saddle bag or other accessory
- Equipped with durable anodized rivets
Imported.
View all Brooks England Bike Saddles| Best Use | Cycling |
|---|---|
| Saddle Type | Performance |
| Saddle Width | 164 millimeters |
| Cutout Seat | Yes |
| Saddle Cover Material | Synthetic |
| Cushioning Material | None |
| Rail Material | Steel |
| Dimensions | Unavailable |
| Weight | 446 grams |
| Gender | Unisex |
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Most Helpful Critical Review
Comfortable!
Purchased this saddle for my road bike based on recommendation from a friend who manages one of the local REI bike repair shops. I must say that it is INCREDIBLY comfortable. When I first received it, I thought "no way" as it feels "hard" but as I rode it, the flexibility and how it fits just made it really comfortable. My previous saddle was not a bad one - it was actually pretty high end from a high end bike - but it was causing some numbness and I wanted to eliminate that. Between changing to this saddle and a bike fitting, I've now ridden about 200 miles in about 2 1/2 weeks and no issues at all. I will be purchasing a second one for my gravel bike.
What I Was Hoping For
I was looking for a saddle for bikepacking and plan to use it without padded riding shorts. This is that saddle, and I think it will meet my expectations. I took it out for the first ride, over three hours on pavement and dirt road/trails, and it was so very comfortable. I had previously tried the Brooks Cambium C17 and it wasn't for me. But, the Carved version is perfect and I really like the black color. The saddle has a great deal of give, and I found it very comfy on the dirt roads and trails despite the fact I wasn't wearing padded riding shorts. The only thing I can say I don't like is that this saddle is heavy. But that's a trade off I'm more than willing to make. Just want to point out that there are three widths for this saddle. They are C15, C17, and C19. So if you try one and don't like the way it feels, be sure to try one of other widths as that could be the difference for you.
drop bar road rider
I ride road at at about 18.5-20 mph in a group and 17ish by myself. most rides are 50-65 miles long. For years I've used a Fizik Aleinte on all my bikes. Finally, i decided to go with comfort over image and bought a C17 Carved. Far superior to the Fizik. My first ride ws 60 miles @ 18 and I put down more power at the end than usual simply because I was not feeling the pain in my rear. Yea, it is heavy, but comfort is king and the extra weight is no more than an extra full water bottle.
Might not be as comfortable as leather
I've been riding on Brooks leather saddles, mostly on the B17, for 40 years. I don't find the C17 saddle comfortable at all. It feels okay at the beginning of a ride, but by the time the ride is over I'm sore. I'm not sure why this is. I know that leather saddles get broken in over time, but I don't remember being this uncomfortable on a brand new B17. Other riders may have a very different experience of the C17 and find it comfortable, but even if you love Brooks leather saddles, it's not guaranteed that you'll like the C17.
Good all purpose seat for everyday use
This is a really good saddle for me. The ride is as comfy as a bike seat can be. I was skeptical before buying it. Buying a saddle without being able to touch and feel it... Well, I trusted REI. Things I wanted to know before: The texture: there is a little bit of a texture. The feel: It feels just a little tacky. It is not a slick surface. There is good give on the seat. The construction is what I was expecting, it looks as good as it feels. I have now been on a few rides, gravel, road, and trail and I can say, I would buy this seat again. I ride about 1200 miles per year.
The Going Gets Easier
I have been one of those cyclist that keep trying (buying and returning, or selling) different saddles thinking there has got to be something better, so I have spent a few dollars on this search. I ride between 10,000 and 12,000 miles a year, some of that on multiple months trips across the USA, and have been fitted to my bikes by four different bike fitters. I ride a road bike, a tandem road bike and a touring bike. On the road bike and the tandem, I have my saddle close to level with my handlebars. I sit way more upright on the tour bike than on the other two bikes. I know that a saddle that works well for one person may not work at all for another and that too much padding in the saddle on long days is asking for saddle issues. So, reading that somebody says that "...this saddle fixed all of my problems..." does not mean that the saddle will work for you. I bought this saddle to see if it would make my 50 plus mile rides on our tandem more comfortable for me than the German made saddle that I was using that turned out to be a real pain. I have a Brooks B17 Imperial on my tour bike and have used one on my tandem. They seemed to work fine, but they would flare out on the bottom edges, no matter how I tied the strings in the holes or tightened the adjustment nut, making the saddle wider and causing rubbing on the inner thighs. Since the Brooks Imperial seemed be the most comfortable saddle of all that I have tried, I figured tryin the C17 would be worthwhile and it seems to be fine so far. I like that it is waterproof and that I do not have to season it with Proofide. The C17 feels like an already broken in Brooks saddle so there is no break in period. I have around 9 or 10 rides of around 50 miles each on this saddle and it is much better than the previous saddle I was riding. The only knock I would give this saddle is that it is a bit wide, but not as wide as the B17. When my B17 needs to be replaced on my tour bike, I will give this saddle a try on it. Time will tell how good this saddle holds up in the long run.
Fits your bum or not at all
I wish I could review this without giving it a score because saddles are so subjective. The build quality of the Cambium is very good (though it can squeak), it's definitely all-weather, and the back has handy attachment points for bags and straps. I first tried the narrower C15 with the (now discontinued?) cotton top, found it too painful a saddle after many seat and cockpit adjustments, returned it for the C17 (now without cotton), and after similar adjustments I found the C17 only moderately more comfortable (better size for me and my riding position) but still painful within an hour of riding. I feel like a Cambium saddle needs to fit your anatomy spot-on, because if it doesn’t then it’s very apparent that you are sitting on hard hard rubber (even with the slight give it provides can carve cutout). After 6 months of riding there was a little bit of a break-in, but if felt more like sag rather than forming to my shape. The newer non-cotton version also has very little friction, and I was constantly slipping forward and readjusting myself while riding. This required me to tilt the front of the saddle up rather comically to better achieve the “hammock” feel (and I’ve since seen this up-tilt from others using this saddle) but this made the carve cutout...let's say more apparent. Beware too if you scoot too far back because the rivets are very uncomfortable to sit on. I really really wanted to like this saddle for commuting and touring, and truthfully I was in denial for a bit because of the brand-name and price. But where other saddles can get away with feeling moderately okay even if they don’t fit you perfectly, the Cambiums seem all or nothing, in my opinion. I eventually replaced mine with the slightly padded, much cheaper Charge Spoon. I would still recommend riders try this out to see if it’s their Goldilocks saddle if only because REI’s return policy is so good.
Sit bone pain
A friend told me this was a great saddle to ride without a chamois, so I decided to try it. I’m riding on a tour so usually 50+ miles everyday and comfort is important. My first hourlong ride testing this saddle, I had immense sit bone pain for 3 days. The next ride was better, but still pretty painful. Maybe with enough time it could feel better, but with every break I’d have to go through the pain again. I decided to return it for a different saddle. To be fair I am quite skinny and I’ve been told my sit bones protrude a lot. Maybe this saddle could work for you if you are a bit more thicc.
I wanted to like it
I've wanted to be part of the cool Brooks team for awhile now and finally decided to give this one a try, especially since it's supposedly ready to ride with little to no break-in compared to its leather counterparts and weather-proof which is great for the damp PNW Winters. Take my review as you will as saddles are a very personal experience. I'm speaking only of my own experience, preference, and anatomy. To give some context, I tested it for a few weeks on my daily 12 mile commute without padded shorts as I was looking for a comfortable enough seat that I wouldn't need to wear padded shorts to ride for this shorter distance. I ride an '80s Schwinn road bike as my commuter with bull horn handlebars (to give you a sense of my body positioning). Here's the scoop: The cut out is great! That's often the first thing I look for. The bigger the better, and this one is totally adequate. However, I tried to reposition the saddle and my body in various angles, forward, back and everything in between to make this work, but man, my sit bones were screaming. It was just too hard for me. I've researched the heck out of saddles by now and I know that more padding isn't better necessarily, but I need a little something. By the third day of each week's commute, it was hard to sit on the saddle at all. I was pretty bummed because it is so well-made and looks so good! It's just not for me, but it might be for you!
Hot seat
I purchased the C19 version of this saddle to replace a B17 leather saddle. Although I live in a desert I ride my bike to a pool to swim. My wet trunks were damaging the B17 so I decided to go with a waterproof saddle. What I had not counted on is that this saddle gets scalding hot sitting in the sun; too hot to sit on until the water cools the surface. The saddle is not as comfortable as my leather saddle but for short rides is is satisfactory. Sort of like sitting on a rubber tire instead of a leather seat. I’ll likely get another pentaclip for my seat post so I can easily swap saddles.