I realized last week that I have now had this beautiful Brooks Cambium C-17 All Weather saddle in “Mud” (that’s the colour) on my bike for pretty much exactly a year.
This was my birthday present in 2021. Before that I was using a big thick cushy saddle off of a early aughts Norco Mountaineer (I think). It was great for long rides, but looked a bit funny and was starting to wear out. Thankfully, my amazing wife surprised me with this beaut.
First of all, I love the colour. Appropriately, it’s called “mud” and it really does look like mud — but like in the best way. In the sun, it kind of scintillates between the green of a dirty crocodile to the organic silty brown of whatever’s at the bottom of a still pond. I personally love the colour, and it reminds me of everything good in life.
After a year of riding on this, I think it suits my bum quite well. I’ve ridden it chamois-less for 100 km, and my beans get a bit sore at that point, but that could be just due to the fact that it wasn’t quite broken in yet. The feel of the natural rubber flexing under me is a lot more comfortable than it’d seem.
It also holds up to different conditions well. As you can tell from the photo, I’ve gotten it quite muddy and wet from the rain. However, give it a chance to dry out and it’s good as new.
The width is nice for me, the length is nice, it doesn’t cause numbness and it gives the bike a certain bougie cachet that has a good vibe. The aesthetic weirdo in me loves it.
I’m going to be putting thousands of kilometres on this. I love it.
Oh also, the packaging on the Brooks saddles? Fucking amazing. Trust me.