Brooks Cambium C17

Intro

Comfort is the key to a delightful ride, and we’ve all experienced the discomfort of a poorly designed bicycle seat. With this in mind, I eagerly decided to upgrade my Brompton with a new saddle. As a first-time buyer of a bicycle seat, I was filled with anticipation to see what kind of upgrade this would be.

Review

I decided to go with Brooks. They have such a good reputation that, after reading a couple of reviews, I believed I could take the plunge and be almost guaranteed an upgrade to the original Brompton seat. I chose the Brooks Cambium C17, which is between the thinner C15 and more comprehensive C19 models. I bought mine from Amazon, and at the time of writing, it has over 1888 reviews, averaging 4.6 out of 5. Not bad!

So, my new bum cushion arrived, nicely packaged in a trendy, branded box. So far, so good. The thing looks good. It feels good. It has a flexible vulcanised rubber shell, which has the strange properties of being both rigid and resistant and simultaneously flexible. The flexibility allows for the form to adjust with your movements.

When it comes to appearance, the Brooks Cambium C17 saddle is a winner. Its sleek, understated design is sure to turn heads, and its lightweight build adds to its appeal. Did I mention how light it is?

Now to the most crucial part: the comfort. Comparing it with the original Brompton seat, it’s straightforward to address two areas that are comfort-relevant. The Brompton saddle is thicker, heavier and provides more cushioning and is suited for longer, slower rides out and about. The C17 feels more sporty. It positions you slightly more forward towards the handlebars, and its slim and flexible design makes me feel like it is a more aggressive seat, suited for faster rides that require more agile manoeuvres. With this, I lose some of the comforts. Claims that no ‘break-in’ period is required, as would be the case with other padded models, might be authentic, but I believe that your body needs to get used to the seat. The first few rides were the equivalent of going from sitting on a pillow on the floor to just sitting on the floor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Brooks Cambium C17 is undeniably a well-designed, stylish seat that will withstand the test of time and all weather conditions. However, as a fan of the original Brompton seat (I love it so much I moved it to my mountain bike!), the transition was a bit disappointing. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, there are certainly less comfortable options out there.