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Now, after seven years of work, their $200 composite rubber-and-cotton saddle is finally ready for your ride, and your backside.

>People liked the idea of a Brooks seat more than the reality.

The story of the Brooks' new Cambium line starts back in 2005, when the company went to IDEO with a troubling discovery. After talking with bike riders, they found that people liked the idea of a Brooks seat more than the reality of owning one. The saddles were gorgeous, everyone agreed on that, but they needed maintenance—oiling and occasional readjustment. Worse, Brooks saddles demanded patience. Before getting to a good place with a new seat, riders had to suffer through an uncomfortable break-in period of a few months. As Thomas Overthun, IDEO's lead designer on the project says, it's just like a pair of nice leather shoes. "You have to walk in them for a while to earn the comfort."

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The brief was clear. The new saddle had to be comfy from the start, without sacrificing what it meant to be a Brooks. The answer, IDEO thought, wasn't just in one material but several. They proposed a "compound material" that could achieve the effect of a well-worn classic saddle through layering. "We looked into molded felt with a thin leather outer, and a lightweight mesh of metal layered with cork and a gel component," Overthun says. "We just proposed a whole range of different materials."

Instead of rushing into the new endeavor, Brooks spent the next several years exploring the possibilities, interrogating different methods fusing and melding materials to get the desired effect. The final Cambium seats combine a woven layer of organically-grown cotton with a vulcanized natural rubber base to create a flexible "hammock seat."

>The seat better absorbs vibrations and is impervious to water.

Though they sacrifice some of the handsome leather style of the original, the new materials actually bring a few key functional improvements: The seat better absorbs vibrations, is impervious to water and grundle sweat, and, crucially, is comfortable from day one. The line's main model, the Cambium C17, was one of 10 products out of 500 to earn a gold distinction at this year's Eurobike Awards.

Taking seven years to figure out a new bike seat might seem like overkill. But when you're a brand that relies on craft and quality as a competitive advantage, new products have to live up to those expectations. "They were very careful," Overthun says. "This is a company that didn't do anything for a long, long time. If you have a heritage brand like that, it's sort of a scary thing. You don't want to ruin what you have."