# Brooks Cambium C15 vs C17 - Who's used both?



## Wish I Were Riding (Nov 24, 2011)

While I'm really not interested in the weight, I am riding a borrowed Cambium C17 and I think I like it. But I feel that it might be a touch wide. 

So I was hoping maybe someone has ridden both and can offer some feedback (besides everyone's ass is different). 

And maybe cutout vs regular feedback too if you've got it.

I would probably buy the new "all weather" version, even though the original ones were marketed that way as well.

I think I'm not going to try the carbon railed ones because I weigh 200lbs, and that might not be okay for me.

Also considering the new Specialized Power Arc Expert, but that's another discussion probably.

Thanks! :thumbsup:


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## factory feel (Nov 27, 2009)

https://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13017932

Initial Reaction: Brooks C15 Narrow Cambium Saddle | The Radavist

https://bicycleambulance.com/the-brooks-cambium-3-years-on/

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cyc...arved-anyone-put-decent-amount-miles-one.html

https://www.foldingtales.com/home/2017/3/1/brooks-cambium-c15-carved-saddle-review

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/brooks-cambium-saddle-c15/

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=90819.0

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/ge.../brooks-cambium-c15-saddle-review-349222.html


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## n2deep (Mar 23, 2014)

Let me preface this review with my arse likes a flat saddle. The color of the C17 saddle matched my Ti bike but it got rounder and more uncomfortable with use and I replaced it. I rode this saddle for about a year and it looked like it was ten or 20 years old. I was amazed at how quickly it degraded.


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## Wish I Were Riding (Nov 24, 2011)

Thanks for those. Unfortunately I have actually read almost all of those already. I was hoping for feedback on some of the newer versions, as most of these are pretty dated comments. I haven't been able to find a review of the "newest" version.


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## 11spd (Sep 3, 2015)

Crickets here because many cycling enthusiasts that post on this forum have never ridden a Brooks and old riders like me have owned a ton of them but have moved on two decades ago when computer aided design and a pleathora of plastic saddles with designed localized flex were created with cut outs that don't melt in the rain and didn't weigh as much as a boat anchor came to the public all but obsoleting Brooks except luddites stuck in the stone age of friction shifters and toe clips.

Like any other saddle, one can't defer to another's opinion. You must try it for yourself because rear ends are like snowflakes and finger prints just look different. :yesnod: Not only rider weight but aggressiveness of bike position and pedal forces even if the same two rear ends existed differentiate opinions on saddle selection.

If you can't get a plastic saddle to work as the other 99% of the cycling community who ride plastic saddles, look inward. Its probably about your weight and fitness level.

Also the notion of a cutout in a leather saddle is such a flawed technical construct because leather inherently can not be created to maintain its shape over time if having a hole in it...it has too low a yield strength compared to engineered plastics which also do a better job of holding a rider in position.

Other than that, you are fine to continue your pursuit.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

11spd said:


> Crickets here because many cycling enthusiasts that post on this forum have never ridden a Brooks and old riders like me have owned a ton of them but have moved on two decades ago when computer aided design and a pleathora of plastic saddles with designed localized flex were created with cut outs that don't melt in the rain and didn't weigh as much as a boat anchor came to the public all but obsoleting Brooks except luddites stuck in the stone age of friction shifters and toe clips.
> 
> Like any other saddle, one can't defer to another's opinion. You must try it for yourself because rear ends are like snowflakes and finger prints just look different. :yesnod: Not only rider weight but aggressiveness of bike position and pedal forces even if the same two rear ends existed differentiate opinions on saddle selection.
> 
> ...


The Brooks Cambium saddles that were asked about are not leather saddles.


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## dmanthree (Aug 22, 2014)

I've ridden both, and the cut out variant of the C17. I've settled on the 'normal' C17. The C15 was just too narrow and there was too much flexibility in the cut out version of the C17. Note that this is a highly personal decision, so you may come to very different conclusions.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

dmanthree said:


> I've ridden both, and the cut out variant of the C17. I've settled on the 'normal' C17. The C15 was just too narrow and there was too much flexibility in the cut out version of the C17. Note that this is a highly personal decision, so you may come to very different conclusions.


I've been using the C17 and have grown to like it, but have also wondered about the C15. Can you compare the C15s shape or feel to any of the more conventional saddles out there?


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## QuiQuaeQuod (Jan 24, 2003)

Wish I Were Riding said:


> But I feel that it might be a touch wide.


Why do you feel that? What issues are there with the width? Friction for your thighs, numbness, other?


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## 11spd (Sep 3, 2015)

velodog said:


> The Brooks Cambium saddles that were asked about are not leather saddles.


Sorry for my mischaracterization to the OP and thanks Velodog for your correction. I had no idea Brooks made a non leather saddle...seems antithetical to the brand.

I was thinking the C series Brooks saddles with a variant of the Brooks Imperial with cutout which are made out of leather. My mistake.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

11spd said:


> Sorry for my mischaracterization to the OP and thanks Velodog for your correction. I had no idea Brooks made a non leather saddle...seems antithetical to the brand.
> 
> I was thinking the C series Brooks saddles with a variant of the Brooks Imperial with cutout which are made out of leather. My mistake.


Yeah, they're pretty much the same shape and construction of the B17, except instead of using leather in it's construction they use a rubber type compound with a burlap type cotton material molded into the top to give it some texture that knocks the slipperiness down. I find it to be a comfortable saddle without the concern of it getting rained on that there is with a leather saddle.


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## old_fuji (Mar 16, 2009)

Bump? I bought a C17 at the start of CoVid and loved it so much that I bought another for my MTB. I haven't been out biking in over a year (life got in the way, going back to school and starting a new job). 20lbs heavier, and I went for a 22 mile group ride last Tuesday, and I still feel (Friday) like my legs were worked over with a bat...I've literally never felt this sore for this long after biking (even when I used some sort of Cannondale takeoff saddle in college). Has anyone else experienced lingering soreness like this?

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Tapatalk


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

old_fuji said:


> Bump? I bought a C17 at the start of CoVid and loved it so much that I bought another for my MTB. I haven't been out biking in over a year (life got in the way, going back to school and starting a new job). 20lbs heavier, and I went for a 22 mile group ride last Tuesday, and I still feel (Friday) like my legs were worked over with a bat...I've literally never felt this sore for this long after biking (even when I used some sort of Cannondale takeoff saddle in college). Has anyone else experienced lingering soreness like this?
> 
> Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Tapatalk


Are you talking about leg soreness or butt soreness? AFIAK, Brooks saddles take a breaking in period before they are comfortable.

Glad to hear you're back on the bike!


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## old_fuji (Mar 16, 2009)

Lombard said:


> Are you talking about leg soreness or butt soreness? AFIAK, Brooks saddles take a breaking in period before they are comfortable.
> 
> Glad to hear you're back on the bike!


Both! Sitbones and hamstring soreness, radiating into my glutes and lower back muscles. Probably just a matter of getting reacquainted, but I was surprised at how sore I was and how long it actually lasted.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Tapatalk


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