Cambium saddle cracks

[Gattonero]

Yes, one in how many thousands?

[Brucey]

Yes, one in how many thousands?

I have seen several that have gone the same way and the LBS that sells most of them report that it is a common problem.

cheers

[Gattonero]

Yes, one in how many thousands?

I have seen several that have gone the same way and the LBS that sells most of them report that it is a common problem.

cheers

Seems that customers of your favourite shop can damage pretty much anything

[iow]

perhaps the nosepiece doesn't strain the hull as much on the of the 'carved' version?

[Brucey]

perhaps the nosepiece doesn't strain the hull as much on the of the 'carved' version?

maybe. I found some interesting pics on t'interweb that show how the region around the nose is constructed and can fail. In fairness you cannot know what treatment these saddles have received in order to end up this way; they may have been abused in some way.













It seems that there is both fabric reinforcement and a metal plate inserted into the moulded nose of the saddle. If the bonding between the metal plate and the rubber is bad or goes bad for some reason this will help the saddle fail. Because there is a large change in stiffness at the rear of the metal in the nose, the saddle flexes more across a line at the rear of the nose metalwork; this can cause loss of the cover fabric on the outside of the saddle and may cause splitting on the underside.

Brooks currently offer a ten year warranty on their products. In the past they didn't say this exactly but they have been very helpful whenever I have had a problem. I am not sure where their 'wear and tear' allowance begins and ends, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Also spare parts are not that expensive, when you can get them. Until fairly recently the Brooks website listed spare parts for their saddles and you could obtain them mail order directly. However now they don't list these on their website, leaving the supply of spare parts to dealers instead, and/or intending to carry out repairs directly perhaps. I can't easily find a vendor of a new top for a Cambium, but if you could buy one it would be easy enough to fit.

I would assume that if you had a problem of the sort encountered above it ought to be sorted out under warranty but I have not personally had to do this in the last couple of years, so I don't know what their policy is exactly. U.S. Brooks customers have found it difficult to get warranty repairs (or indeed any repairs) carried out in recent years but maybe that situation has been improved now.

My take on it is that if I had to replace the top on a Cambium saddle every couple of years (very few fail inside that time it seems) and it cost (say) £20 to buy the part that would be OK.

cheers

[PhilD28]

Interesting pictures of the failure modes.

My own experience has been very good with these saddles, I'm about 4 years in now and have them on 3 bikes. For me they are the most comfortable saddles I've used in over 50 years so they obviously fit me, a very personal thing of course.
I've had three 2-3 month European tours on the one on my long haul touring bike riding every day at least 60 miles in all conditions and there's not a sign of wear, but I only weigh 66kg.

The one on my audax bike which is used with a saddlebag is showing signs of wear around the alloy saddlebag loops using a Carradice classic uplift support, even though it's not heavily loaded, I could see that as a potential failure point, must look into lining the alloy loops with some shim stock or similar.

Overall I'm really pleased with them and don't see any reason why they shouldn't last a lot longer, time will tell.

[Samuel D]

My C17 has been comfortable and shows no significant wear after a year and a half of frequent use. However, I’m fairly light at 65 kg. The alloy cantle has harmlessly corroded a bit.

They’re good saddles that unlike leather ones can be soaked without worry.

I take it back! A few months ago the rubber of my saddle failed at the nose in the way shown in Brucey’s photo. As luck would have it, the shop I’d bought it from in France had gone bust. I contacted Brooks and they allowed me to send it to them in England (at my expense, mind) for free replacement of the top. I got it back and rode it for another month or two until … one of the rails broke.

Given the high price of this saddle, I’m unimpressed. The rail in particular has no excuse for failing under my weight.

Since I can’t afford to replace a Cambium every year or two I’m looking for alternatives. I tried the San Marco Rolls in the hope that it would be around for the foreseeable future, but it does not appear to be the right shape for me. Feels too narrow because of the domed top as viewed along the saddle’s length. Any suggestions for something more Cambium C17-shaped but cheaper and/or likely to last longer and be available on the market for many years?

[pwa]

My C17 has been comfortable and shows no significant wear after a year and a half of frequent use. However, I’m fairly light at 65 kg. The alloy cantle has harmlessly corroded a bit.

They’re good saddles that unlike leather ones can be soaked without worry.

I take it back! A few months ago the rubber of my saddle failed at the nose in the way shown in Brucey’s photo. As luck would have it, the shop I’d bought it from in France had gone bust. I contacted Brooks and they allowed me to send it to them in England (at my expense, mind) for free replacement of the top. I got it back and rode it for another month or two until … one of the rails broke.

Given the high price of this saddle, I’m unimpressed. The rail in particular has no excuse for failing under my weight.

Since I can’t afford to replace a Cambium every year or two I’m looking for alternatives. I tried the San Marco Rolls in the hope that it would be around for the foreseeable future, but it does not appear to be the right shape for me. Feels too narrow because of the domed top as viewed along the saddle’s length. Any suggestions for something more Cambium C17-shaped but cheaper and/or likely to last longer and be available on the market for many years?

Worrying. Did the rail break where mine (including a Rolls) did, exactly where the seat post clamp held it? I attributed that mode of failure to a sharp edge on a Kalloy seat post clamp. I don't get on with Rolls either. They give me severe bum ache.

[Brucey]

I have concluded that I have (by nature or nurture is not clear.. ) a turbo/flite shaped backside; I don't think this is a million miles away from a cambium in shape. [And Rolls was not comfy for me either...]

Since both these models have been widely copied, reintroduced by their original manufacturers, and in the past bought in their droves (so can be obtained used fairly easily) I don't anticipate any problems keeping myself in saddles until I have no further use for saddles of any kind, being in a wooden box.

This plan seems to being going swimmingly so far, in that I recently bought two quite usable Flite Ti saddles (for buttons) at a bike jumble.

BTW it occurs to me that if you will only get on with a cambium, and Brooks are prepared to deal with warranty issues directly, you may as well buy another one; this way you can have one away for warranty work and one to sit on. Doesn't make up for the ruined rides when the blessed things break though, I suppose...

Edit; one of my chums (who is not heavy and commutes on a Moulton, both of which ought to give the saddle an easy time of it) has done about 18 months on a cambium (about 4-5000 miles at a guess) and it is starting to show signs of distress behind the nosepiece. I expect it to fail, maybe inside another year's use.

cheers

[Samuel D]

Worrying. Did the rail break where mine (including a Rolls) did, exactly where the seat post clamp held it?

Yes, at the back of the clamp area:



(You may need to click that image to get a larger version to see the crack on the upper rail in the photo; the left rail on the bicycle.)

I’ve only used it with smooth Ritchey and Nitto clamps. But I suppose if it’s going to fail anywhere, it will fail at the clamp edge.

I have concluded that I have (by nature or nurture is not clear.. ) a turbo/flite shaped backside; I don't think this is a million miles away from a cambium in shape. [And Rolls was not comfy for me either...]

Will take a look at those. I love how the Rolls looks, which is the main reason I tried it. Must be less vain.

[PH]

Any suggestions for something more Cambium C17-shaped but cheaper and/or likely to last longer and be available on the market for many years?

Have you tried a Charge Spoon? I have that on one bike and a C17 on another, I find them equally comfortable though the Charge hasn't been used for anything longer than 200 km yet. Don't be put off by the bargain price, they seem well made and mine has lasted well so far (7 yrs), though again it isn't on my most used bike.

[Samuel D]

Have you tried a Charge Spoon?

A friend lent me a Spoon and a Knife when my Brooks was away getting fixed. They’re both too soft for me, so I ended up with pressure on parts that aren’t made for sitting on. I ride with a lower torso position than most of my companions; maybe that causes some of the trouble.

[Bmblbzzz]

Sorry to hear this, Samuel, and I hope it's a rarity; so far both of mine are going strong at about two years and eighteen months. It's a shame you don't get on with the Rolls, I could have sold you one, very little use indeed; guess why! I vaguely think I've heard the shape of the C17 is based on the Selle Italia Turbo (definitely not the Rolls!), so maybe that would be worth looking at?

Edit: Turbos are £30 at Planet X right now, but only certain colours:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SASITU198 ... 980-saddle

2nd edit: Turbo is 140mm wide, so quite a bit narrower than C17. And of course it's a shell saddle rather than a hammock type; so maybe not that similar other than in general shape.

[geocycle]

Have you ruled out leather? I'm just starting with a spa nidd. Quite impressed so far, good price and similar shape to c17 and b17 of course.

[slowster]

Have you ruled out leather?

More particularly, given that you are in France, what about the Gilles Berthoud leather saddles? Like the Cambium they are not inexpensive, but they look well made and I believe use better quality leather than Brooks. If any of your clubmates have them, maybe they would let you try.