I’ve been a fan of the Cambium line from Brooks since its inception, yet was always hesitant to put one on my carbon Argonaut road bike. Why? I dunno, they never really matched the sleek and minimal aesthetic of my bike. Read that as: they never came in black! Now I don’t really care about weight. I’m not a gram counter, especially when it comes to saddles- even though the C13 weighs 259g – less than any of my other saddles. What I like in a ride is comfort without sacrificing aesthetic or most importantly, functionality. A lot of the über weight weenie saddles look scary or don’t fit my sit bones right. Or they’re just too damn stiff.

On the other side of the coin, Brooks saddles have always felt great. Luckily, the Cambium C13 continues this tradition just with an undated material palette. It’s so sleek that it looks great on a road bike (full driveside photo coming soon with another product review,) which I have to say has been feeling a bit neglected as of late. Yet over the past few weeks, since receiving the C13, I’ve been riding my road bike more and more, just to test the saddle’s durability and feel before I even began to think about writing this review. I was worried the C13 would lose the springiness of the other Cambium saddles when adopting the carbon weave, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it give just the right amount. The only bummer was having to track down oversize rail hardware for my ENVE seatpost.

After what I would consider a lot of road riding for this dirt-minded individual, I’m completely satisfied with the C13. It’s elegant enough for a carbon road bike, fits great, and is made in Italy. The C13 saddle is available for $220 at Brooks Dealers of Excellence worldwide or online at Brooks England.

Any questions? Leave them in the comments and check out more photos below.