Brooks England Cambium All Weather Bike Seat - High Mileage, Waterproof, Carved/Standard Bicycle Saddle (C15, C17, C19)

I really want to like the C17. It is comfortable, but it is very heavy and it will destroy the seat of your pants. The rubber is abrasive and chewed right through a pair of dockers. There was noticeable wear after the first ride. I don't ride in lycra so I'm not sure how it'll do there, but if you wear normal cotton clothing to ride in, I'd probably get a B17. I wish I had.

This is clearly a luxury product. It comes to you in a beautiful box, wrapped in printed paper, the same way you might buy shoes from a French Attelier. The product itself follows this ethos. The aluminum rivets in the seat are anodized black and have a nice chamfer to them, the rails are coated in a tough satin black material that doesn't scratch off during adjustment. The (presumably) glass fiber plastic construction of the frame itself is without flaw. As a piece of design, it's what you expect when you spend this kind of money on a bicycle seat. It's well made and great looking. As a saddle, it's been a little mixed for me.The C-19 is the "upright" saddle for dutch style bikes (or in my case a cargo bike) and my initial feelings were not great: the seat seemed stiff and it was a little bit rough on the first 20 mile ride I took it on - not terrible, but I was worried I was going to have a sore behind the minute I got on it. I didn't. I was a little taken back by that, usually my butt knows these things and my brain refuses to listen. In fact, it seems to get better and better with each ride - I wouldn't be able to tell you if this is because of break in (literally nobody seems to suggest that this seat requires any), or because my butt has conformed to this new device, but whichever is the case, it's hardly noticeable any longer. That said, I'm not sure it's the "most comfortable saddle i've ever ridden" (as so many have claimed). The seat before this was half the price and a little more prodigiously cushioned (with an almost-as-good build quality) - that seat was also like sitting on a couch. In fact, the only reason that I switched is because the previous seat was pulled off of its rails and can't be fixed.Here's the thing - for my upright bicycle I think this seat is a definite downgrade, in terms of comfort, from the wide padded seats that you see on cruisers and dutch bikes. That said, just by looking at it, you would think that you were moving from a couch to a rock, but the change is actually much more subtle than that. It's more like the difference between a deep cushioned barka lounger and a more modern style couch - you sacrifice a little comfort, but you gain style in spades.I think you get what you pay for with this product, and if you're the type of person who really wants the style then this is for you, my only advice would be don't leave it alone for too long - I have no doubt these things get up and walk away from your bike while you're not looking.

I've been a regular rider for over 50 years and most of my early days of riding were on the old Brooks B17's. That's all I knew and they were heavy, but once broken in were like a comfortable pair of jeans....there was nothing else like it. The best thing you can say about a saddle is you don't notice it by the way. Over the years I traded comfort for weight savings and never had the long-distance (5-8 hours of riding) comfort I had with Brooks. However, you had to keep old Brooks saddles out of the rain or they would never be the same if they got soaked. So I bought the C17 with high hopes and they were realized. At least for me, Brooks has captured the distance comfort with the old saddles AND made them weather-proof. Perfect. I have about 3000 miles on them so far (I bought 2 of them) and it's been great! They may not be for everybody but they work for me, and they look cool too!

It might be OK for commuter, but if you care about going fast of climbing, stay away. Once I held it up in my hands, I didn't even bother to put it on my bike to check if it's comfortable. The weight is right there in description - I should've payed more attention to it.

Took a few miles to get used to this saddle. Initially it felt a little too stiff (compared to my B17 standard.) After riding on it for a few miles, my rear end got used to the new feel and I could just pedal and enjoy the ride. Just completed a century ride and had no seat issues. No lingering pain, no saddle sores. However, yesterday did a 35 mile gravel ride on my mtb with the B17 and I think it is still slightly more comfy for me than the C17. Looks-wise, the C17 is better for my road bike. Build quality seems excellent.