Brooks England Cambium C19 Carved, All-Weather, Waterproof Bike Saddle 184mm

I had a Bontrager saddle on my 14 year old Gary Fisher Mendota/Trek cycle and wanted a new saddle. I tried a new Wittkop gel foam saddle - not for me - thick, hot, squishy and it chafed.I put this Brooks C-19 saddle on my Trek bike and it was perfect. I’m a big guy, 6’1” and 220 pounds.I didn’t have the patience for a new Brooks leather model break in so I went Cambium. Worked perfect - rode 50 miles on it the first day and it felt great and another 1000 miles in the ensuing weeks - works perfect.It was a battle to figure out the proper saddle width - no one around me stocks Brooks saddles. So I measured my ischial tuberosity (“sit bone”) width and it was a toss up between The C-17 and the C -19 sizes so I caught an Amazon Warehouse deal on the C-19 for $80 and rolled with that. There are a lot of good videos on Google for “sit bone” measurements.It was a good size choice - this Brooks CambiumSaddle is the best bike seat I’ve ever owned. Simple install, zero maintenance, no break in required, waterproof and high comfort. Hope that helps!

Excellent addition to the Brooks line of saddles. Get one, I love mine, it’s a similar feeling to the Brooks leather saddles, but distinct. For all the people below saying the classic Brooks leather saddles need to be “broken in,” you don’t know what you’re talking about. You are repeating stuff you’ve heard others say. When the saddle is adjusted properly, it is comfortable day one. Don’t believe the fake experts.

I’ve seen the Brooks saddles around for my entire riding history. I could never get over the look of the saddle enough to give it a chance . But one thing was always consistent , every Brooks saddle owner I’ve ever talked to says the same thing “Best saddle EVER”. I saw the Cambium saddles and thought they looked pretty nice and the reviews were very good on them. I am always on a quest to make my road bikes more comfortable so I figured it was time to make the switch to a Brooks saddle. Wow, from the first test ride I knew I had made the right choice. I had read reviews where folks said they could ride without riding pants due to the comfort and that is true. Outstanding saddle at a very good price considering the comfort. High quality craftsmanship and even the packaging was top shelf. If you want to improve your comfort , which will enable you to ride longer and faster, this saddle should be on your list.

I put this saddle on my Giant Toughroad, which has a more upright riding position. I found it to be one of the most comfortable saddles I have ever used. I'm a big guy and the C19 carved was a perfect fit. I have tried Brooks saddles in the past and quite frankly found them to be extremely uncomfortable. The "break in" period was more than I could take. But this saddle is truly "broken in" out of the box. One minor note on installing this saddle, you may need to tip the nose up, just slightly. I generally set my saddles level, but the all weather surface is a bit slippery. By tipping the nose, I was able to eliminate sliding forward. I also have concerns about the construction, since the frame of the saddle is made of plastic, rather than aluminum, so I'm not sure how long term or heavy use will affect it's durability. It's also pricey, but all Brooks products are expensive. You get what you pay for, right? At the end of the day, what matters most is comfort - and this is an extremely comfortable saddle. I highly recommend it.

Brooks saddles have a legacy of quality. These cambium (non-leather) saddles are perfect for bikes that might be ridden in the rain. They do not need to be broken in like the leather saddles, and they feel softer and more pliable under use than when first unpacked.Do your sit bones a favor and try one of these out!

Very comfortable for my particular sit bone width. Greatly improved over the C17 I previously used.My sit bone (or ischial tuberosity) measurement is about 125mm. In theory, the 162mm wide C17 should be wide enough and I rode that for many years. However, the surface of the Cambrium series is not flat and the strong curvature means that much of the width is not usable unless your sitting on the rivet (in which case you're sitting on the stiff outer frame). So while the C17 Carved I had was pretty good, I did want something wider but Brooks had not yet brought out the other variants.Fast forward to today and the Cambrium is available in both wider and narrower variants, so when I bought a new bike I bought a the C19 Carved. At 184mm, this should be too wide for me. However, again because of the strong curvature it sits like a much smaller saddle (and the curvature also means that my thighs are not rubbing up against the saddle nose). Eyeballing it, I'd say that you could probably comfortably sit up to a 140-145mm sit bone size but as that is not my actual measurement I really can't guarantee that. What I can definitely say is that the C19 has proven to be an excellent fit for my personal geometry and ride comfort feels truly dialed in.The other notable points are with regards to materials used. In the original Cambriums, the rear part of the frame (cantle plate) is aluminum (and it looks awesome). In the all-weather version, the cantle is plastic. Also, the fabric on the top surface used to be cotton (or organic cotton supposedly), but in the all-weather version the fabric is now nylon. At least when new, this is a little bit tacky to the touch but I hope that this will soon wear off. More to the point, the old cotton covers (at least in the older ones) are prone to fading...my old C17 was a limited edition "faded denim" and over the past few years has faded to a neutral canvas color. Allegedly the black nylon of the all-weather should be fade resistant.While the Brooks website now lists only the all-weather version of the C19 Carved, the cotton cover/aluminum version is still available on Amazon but at a significantly higher price than the all-weather version. So if the above matters to you, there is an option.