It’s only been a few weeks since we first heard about the upcoming C13 Cambium and its public test phase, and already Brooks has surprised us with the new saddle. We had been mildly led off the trail when we had asked about the possibility of Ti rails on the new saddle, with the tech team’s comments that tubular steel rails were as light as solid titanium. But that’s not we get here, in what is a striking departure from their brand norm, and not something realistically we would have expected from Brooks. A carbon-railed Brooks; who would have thought?
Jump over the break for details on the C13 and more from the Metropolitan bag range…
As expected the new Cambium saddle will be both the lightest and narrowest saddle that Brooks have ever made. At just 259g, the Cambium construction of the new saddle seemed to offer a good amount of flex along its edges, which could make it an excellent saddle for holding an aero position. And that could be something Brooks has in mind as it oddly didn’t seem out of place on an aero bike that Brooks had on display.
The C13 gets aluminum rivets to connect it to the full carbon saddle rails, which are braided at the clamp. The entire test process and September availability stays the same with standard retail expected in early 2016.
Brooks is adding a new urban line of bags called Metropolitan that combine the solid treated cotton canvas outer of their successful panier and on-bike line of bags with the natural rubber base and accents reminiscent of the Cambium saddles. The bags aren’t bike specific for the most part, but are build on a heavy-duty construction and shape that makes them either comfortable to carry on the bike or to throw on a rack. The Rivington backpack offers a waterproof construction and a roll-top closure for good versatility. Like all of the Metro line, it gets a lightly padded bright yellow inside lining to make finding small bits easy.
The Mott is designed as a weekend bag. It comes in this large 40l size and medium 32l variant, both with a detachable shoulder strap. It gets sturdy stiff construction, and like the other bags will come in either black, musk green, red, maize, and natural colors.
An on-the-bike briefcase, the 13l Lexington offers a more professional looking bag that easily hooks on a tubular rack. The KlickFix rack attachment is secure and easy to use, and can even be removed from the bag as well. The Lexington is sized to fit a 15″ laptop in a padded internal sleeve, and also includes the yellow lining and detachable should strap.The bag also gets an outer pocket with a snap down magnetic flap pocket. Bag availability is expected in early 2016.
