When riding for a long time or for many days on end, it’s important to get a few things right. One of those is to choose the right kind of saddle. (And just a note here for the un-bicycley, it is saddle and not seat.). Making a poor chose in this department can result in miles and hours of discomfort in the form of really bad pain and chaffing and other physical problems specific to men which I won’t go into here. Paying top dollar for a good saddle is almost always worth it for anyone who will spend a significant amount of time riding, and I say this as someone who really isn’t a believer in always buying the “best” components.
Here’s my new saddle, the Brooks Cambium C17.
I’ve long coveted one of Brooks traditional touring saddles, all of which are made of leather. A leather saddle has the nearly unique characteristic of conforming to the shape of your body in the way that other saddles don’t. The result is a ride that is way more comfortable over many miles and hours. But what has always me back (aside from the significant price tag) is the fact that leather saddles are sensitive to weather, and can be damaged by repeated exposure to rain. Given where I live and my level of dedication to keeping my bike dry (nil) owning one always seemed like a poor idea. That’s why the C17 is so rad. Same butt-conforming properties and comfort, but it’s made out of rubber and a denim-like fabric that render it waterproof.
I’ve been on this saddle for just over a week now, and have put perhaps 80-100 miles on it. There’s a “break in” period of about 100 miles for these sorts of saddles, which means mine is just at the point of reaching its proper shape. At first I thought the saddle felt harder than my previous synthetic one — my first couple of rides ended with more soreness and a bit of disappointment. But after my last ride (just last night, 22 miles over 1.5 hours) I started to feel it. I wasn’t sore at all, and I have a sense now when I get on the bike that there’s a sweet spot where my body just fits on the bike. Later this week I’ll have the chance to try it out over a longer ride of perhaps 3 hours, but so far I’m very happy with this saddle.