Brooks Cambium C15 alternatives

[D.A.L.E.]

The Brooks Cambium C15 fits my arse. It's my audax saddle of choice. I'd love one of each of my bikes, but I'm poor AF.

Brooks, on their website, give the dimensions as 283mm long by 140mm wide.

Does anyone know of any saddles that are of similar shape and size but waaaay cheaper? Or if you're a Cambium C15 user, what other saddles are you getting along with?

[whosatthewheel]

If it's not for Audax, then I assume it's short distance riding... then they all work fine.

For my commuting I have an old beated Fizik Arione.

Up to 100 km /4 hours a saddle is just a saddle

[Samuel D]

The San Marco Regal has a similar shape to the Cambium C17 – which is similar to the C15 – by reputation, appearance, and personal experience. Not nearly as well made as a Brooks, but since my beautifully made Cambium broke in two places anyway, all that craftsmanship was wasted on bad design. At least if the Regal dies early it’s cheaper to replace (check Planet X prices).

For me, some saddles are uncomfortable after only an hour. The San Marco Rolls was like that. Felt like I had half my weight on my perineum as soon as I got into a racing tuck. Perhaps as a reaction to that, I then got a Specialized Power with a cut-out that felt comfortable on the shop’s turbo trainer and gave me my first ever saddle sore a week later.

The Regal feels similar to the Cambium, i.e. good for both sit-bone comfort and perineum pressure.

[D.A.L.E.]

If it's not for Audax

I never said that.

Then I assume it's short distance riding

It's not.

For my commuting I have an old beated Fizik Arione.

I have one and hate it at any distance.

[D.A.L.E.]

The San Marco Regal has a similar shape to the Cambium C17 – which is similar to the C15 – by reputation, appearance, and personal experience. Not nearly as well made as a Brooks, but since my beautifully made Cambium broke in two places anyway, all that craftsmanship was wasted on bad design. At least if the Regal dies early it’s cheaper to replace (check Planet X prices).

For me, some saddles are uncomfortable after only an hour. The San Marco Rolls was like that. Felt like I had half my weight on my perineum as soon as I got into a racing tuck. Perhaps as a reaction to that, I then got a Specialized Power with a cut-out that felt comfortable on the shop’s turbo trainer and gave me my first ever saddle sore a week later.

The Regal feels similar to the Cambium, i.e. good for both sit-bone comfort and perineum pressure.

Too wide though.

[fuaran]

Charge Spoon / Madison Flux looks kind of similar, available for less than £20.

[Samuel D]

Too wide though.

By 9 mm if you assume your C15 is precisely perfect?

I’ve tried a few widths, albeit usually with different saddles. I can barely tell the difference, which makes sense considering no part of my anatomy touches the widest part.

But everyone is different, of course.

[Samuel D]

Charge Spoon / Madison Flux looks kind of similar, available for less than £20.

The Charge Spoon puts high pressure on the perineum and even penis because it has masses of soft padding. Feels nothing like a Cambium.

[D.A.L.E.]

Charge Spoon / Madison Flux looks kind of similar, available for less than £20.

Had one before and it's not far off in shape and size, but the stitching on it seemed to eat my lycra shorts for fun.

[Brucey]

looking here

https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/components/finishing-kit/saddles

the bodyfit squadra saddle looks a lot like the OEM saddles that are fitted to a lot of  Giant road bikes. The Giant ones have a fairly benign shape, IME, not wildly different from a C15 (but obviously padding is different).  The hull shape is very similar to the PX superlight team saddle (which seems OK to me, although the longitudinal seams in the cover may not suit everyone).  So the squadra is a £7.99 experiment; IIRC saddles of this sort are often waterproof so are good for hack bikes. 

In a similar vein is the holdsworth gran sport. Not tried it myself but the shape looks worth a go at that price.

As with any saddle if you don't like it you can always sell it on and take a small loss on it; in practice with a cheap saddle it turns into a ~£5 experiment.

Some cheap saddles are built on the same hull moulding as far more expensive ones so are more comfortable than you might expect. Others are just, er, cheap. FWIW the way a C15 works is different from most other saddles on the market today (at any price, leave alone cheap) so finding an exact match isn't likely to be at all easy. Stir in a bit of 'everyone's backside is different anyway' and YMMV, so best to try a few and see how you get on.

BTW Turbo saddles of old had firmer padding than most. No idea what the current turbo reissues are like but they look the part anyway




cheers

[fuaran]

Charge Spoon / Madison Flux looks kind of similar, available for less than £20.

Had one before and it's not far off in shape and size, but the stitching on it seemed to eat my lycra shorts for fun.

I think the Gusset R Series is much the same saddle, but without the raised stitching.

[guidon]

selle anatomica are releasing a "cambium" version of their saddle at the moment...Intro offers are 99 dollars - maybe too much but orthy of a look (I dont know the dimensions...)

[Peat]

Fabric Scoop range is basically a Charge Spoon with lots more options - and no stitching!. I have been using the Shallow Elite recently, nice saddle. For reference, I use a Cambium C17 for distance.

I don't think you'll find anything that feels like a Cambium that isn't a Cambium tbh. They are pretty particular in how they deliver their comfort. There's usually a few knocking around on ebay. Failing that, I was offered one of the old TEST Cambiums for a song from a shop looking to declutter.

[Dave_C]

I was givena bike with a San Marco Rolls in the summer. I found it very comfortable, so much so that I bought one recently from Planet X for under 40 notes:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SASMROLLS/san-marco-rolls-saddle

I don't have it to hand but will get the calipers out later and see how it compares to your dimensions.

[Paul H]

Fabric Scoop range is basically a Charge Spoon with lots more options - and no stitching!.

Fabric also offer a 60 day exchange if you don't like it (Possibly only from participating dealers, I think I saw it in Cycle Republic) you only get to swap it for another model rather than a refund, but at least you'll have a new one to sell on...

[Samuel D]

Selle San Marco says the Rolls is 143 mm wide but mine is about 149 mm.

It’s a profoundly different saddle from the Cambium, though. The Rolls is steeply curved when viewed from behind, straight when viewed from the side, has significant padding, and doesn’t have much give over big hits. The Cambium is the opposite in all those respects.

What’s unique to the Cambium is its absorption of big hits. On the other hand, it has no padding so static sit-bone pressure is high. Because it has no padding, perineum pressure is low in a low riding position (assuming the saddle tilt is correctly adjusted).

Rather than trying to find a saddle superficially similar to a Cambium, I think you should find a saddle that has similar functional qualities to those you like in the Cambium. People like (or dislike) the Cambium for several different reasons. What are yours? Identify those and then search for a saddle that has those properties (which is easier said than done due to the lack of useful photographs and good information by manufacturers and the useless reviews that people including pro reviewers make of saddles).

Trying to match width to the millimetre is probably not a useful approach.

[PeeJay]

I love my c15, I've got 3 on various bikes.   I also get on with the 143mm wide Specialised Romin and the Bontrager Montrose.

Saddles I don't like include charge spoon and fabric scoop - they're just too short.

Does that help?

[PeeJay]

I guess you've tried ebay?

[D.A.L.E.]

I love my c15, I've got 3 on various bikes.   I also get on with the 143mm wide Specialised Romin and the Bontrager Montrose.

Saddles I don't like include charge spoon and fabric scoop - they're just too short.

Does that help?

The Spesh Romin is one I really want to try. I've been keeping an eye out for one second hand but no luck so far. Ta.

Out of interest, how many Cambiums have you had that have failed? Me and Deano were talking about it last night.

[PeeJay]

I've had to send 3 back.  2 of them, the rubber top split across the nose.  1 the rails broke just behind the seatpost clamp.  All replaced no problem under warranty, all less than 2 years old.  It's not as if I'm a fat bastard either.  If the saddles weren't so comfy and look so ace I'd have given up on them cos of this. 

[Samuel D]

Mine split across the nose after 18 months (or earlier but that’s when it became obvious from above). The shop I bought it from had gone out of business, but Brooks offered to replace the top if I sent it to them in the UK. A couple of weeks after getting it back, one of the steel rails failed. I weigh 66 kg.

The new All Weather model appears to be black from below. That has made me wonder if its rubber has carbon black as a reinforcing filler. What colour was the rubber in your cracked ones, PeeJay?

[PeeJay]

Mine have black rubber tops. 

I have heard of other folks' saddle tops failing too - all in the same place behind the front rivet. I've also seen many cambiums with that tell-tale line on the fabric behind the front rivet showing that it's starting to give. 

But while they continue to replace them under warranty......

10 year warranty too if you send the card back that comes with the saddle.

[D.A.L.E.]

I have heard of other folks' saddle tops failing too - all in the same place behind the front rivet. I've also seen many cambiums with that tell-tale line on the fabric behind the front rivet showing that it's starting to give. 

This is what I was telling Deano about; mine has it and so does his. It's disappointing tbh.

[Samuel D]

Mine have black rubber tops.

Hopes dashed.

If Brooks made these things of out whatever rubber is used in Michelin car tyres, they’d last a hundred years.

[Brucey]

IMHO the rubber only splits because the fabric reinforcement is failing.  If the fabric reinforcement was better (and there wasn't such a sharp edge just behind the nose) I think the cambium saddle tops would last longer.

That there is a very high stress at this point in a Brooks saddle is nothing new; I have had multiple brooks leather saddles fail just behind the nose too....

cheers