What saddles should I try?

Dec 11, 17 9:28

Post #1 of 24 (2763 views)

I've been using ISM for a while, on both road and tri bikes. They've served me pretty well, especially when it comes to the road bike. They've been the only saddles that have allowed me to stay on the bike, without going numb. But they aren't perfect and I struggle to ride much more than 2 hours without feeling those prongs digging into me. I've tried the Road, PR 2.0, PN 2.1, PL 1.1, so basically every shape they make and it almost seems like they are all a bit too wide. I've settled on the Road/PR 2.0 on my road bike recently as that seems to work best. Haven't been riding the tri bike much lately, but when I was, the PR 2.0 was also working decently.

Like I said, they aren't perfect and I want to start exploring other options. I tried a Fabric tri saddle recently on the tri bike and there were pros and cons. The one nose shape felt nice and also felt stable, but the saddle itself just wasn't right. I'm interested in tried the Cobb JOF and the V Flow on both the road and the tri and I also want to try the Fizik Mistica.

Any other suggestions? What did you go to if you left the ISMs?

PS: I know saddle choice is on a person to person basis. Let's forget that for arguments sake.

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 9:33

Post #2 of 24 (2753 views)

I know it's alot of coin.. but wow the Dash tt.9 is pretty damn good.

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 9:40

Post #3 of 24 (2745 views)

Shimano Pro has a killer TT saddle and a mount that can carry co2 which is nice. But they have come a long ways with their saddles.

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 11:49

Post #4 of 24 (2694 views)

I'm interested in this too. Somewhere in my old Specialized TT saddle there is a crack and I need to replace it. It was a good saddle for many years, but the old style with the fat nose. I'm looking to get a little more modern with upgrades. How was the Fabric by the way? What were the pros and cons? Also thinking of the Speiclized and Mystica.

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 13:06

Post #5 of 24 (2652 views)

Fizik Tritone. I tried 3 or so before settling on this one. I tried the Joff and couldn't even get 10 min into a ride.

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 13:29

Post #6 of 24 (2625 views)

The Specialized Power has been the best money I have ever spent on a bike.

Every split nosed saddle I ever tried always felt caused chafing.

The Power saddle is the only one I have ever used (even on the trainer) that I just forget about and ride. Perfect. For me.

Re: What saddles should I try? [svennn] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 16:00

Post #7 of 24 (2575 views)

svennn wrote:

The Specialized Power has been the best money I have ever spent on a bike.

Every split nosed saddle I ever tried always felt caused chafing.

The Power saddle is the only one I have ever used (even on the trainer) that I just forget about and ride. Perfect. For me.

If the Power works well for you than the Hilo is usually a good choice. I liked the Power, but there is only one position that works, so it can be kinda limiting.

To the OP, prong width seems to be a limiting factor on the ISM and Cobb saddles. If you have narrow sit bones, which the Specialized saddle testing doo-dad is pretty good at assessing, then the Power and Hilo are good options.

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

FindinFreestyle

Dec 11, 17 16:18

Post #8 of 24 (2562 views)

Try the PN 3.0 It is different enough from the others to be worth a shot. Also the Cobb 55. Many dig the new Fizik Mistica.

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 16:49

Post #9 of 24 (2550 views)

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 17:03

Post #10 of 24 (2540 views)

If you are wanting something more narrow, check out the ism pn3.0 or the Cobb jof 55.

Re: What saddles should I try? [stevej] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 17:04

Post #11 of 24 (2539 views)

Love the Sitero.

Re: What saddles should I try? [stevej] [ In reply to ]

Dec 11, 17 17:45

Post #12 of 24 (2507 views)

Cobb Randee is a bit narrower than the 55, but also with a different shape further back. It's a great compromise road+tri option, but for pure tri use I prefer the width of the 55.

Re: What saddles should I try? [niccolo] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 5:25

Post #13 of 24 (2430 views)

I'm also looking to try something different than my ISM saddle on my tri bike. It feels quite good, better than Fabric tri, but it think nose is to wide and chamois seams in my z3rod and dhb trisuit are placed exactly inplace where my body touches saddle and it causes pinching.

Re: What saddles should I try? [KamilN] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 5:40

Post #14 of 24 (2421 views)

LBS should be offering you some demo saddles to try. Or I'd suggest talking to your fitter, go over the fit he/she gave you working together to find a solution that works. I am always cautious of fitters who claim to have the fix and more trusting in bike fitters who ask questions.

Re: What saddles should I try? [spntrxi] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 8:48

Post #15 of 24 (2384 views)

spntrxi wrote:

I know it's alot of coin.. but wow the Dash tt.9 is pretty damn good.

Unfortunately that isn't even remotely close to being an option!

Re: What saddles should I try? [Jloewe] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 8:50

Post #16 of 24 (2378 views)

Jloewe wrote:

I'm interested in this too. Somewhere in my old Specialized TT saddle there is a crack and I need to replace it. It was a good saddle for many years, but the old style with the fat nose. I'm looking to get a little more modern with upgrades. How was the Fabric by the way? What were the pros and cons? Also thinking of the Speiclized and Mystica.

What I loved about the Fabric was it felt like it disappeared underneath me. Which is the reason why I'm on a search to try saddles that are more that style as opposed to the two prongs of the ISMs. Cons were it was a bit uncomfortable out of aero and it was a little hard for my liking.

Re: What saddles should I try? [Fishbum] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 8:51

Post #17 of 24 (2375 views)

Fishbum wrote:

Fizik Tritone. I tried 3 or so before settling on this one. I tried the Joff and couldn't even get 10 min into a ride.

The Tritone got me through training and racing my first IM in 2014 but I moved away from it. I recently tried it again and I have no idea how I went 112 on it! But it was the smaller version which is why I want to try the larger Mistica. I think it might be really good for me.

Re: What saddles should I try? [svennn] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 8:52

Post #18 of 24 (2371 views)

svennn wrote:

The Specialized Power has been the best money I have ever spent on a bike.

Every split nosed saddle I ever tried always felt caused chafing.

The Power saddle is the only one I have ever used (even on the trainer) that I just forget about and ride. Perfect. For me.

I'm very interested in trying the Power, especially for the road bike. You use it on road or tri? Need to get down to my local Specialized dealer

I don't have any chafing issues with the split noses.

Re: What saddles should I try? [FindinFreestyle] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 8:53

Post #19 of 24 (2368 views)

FindinFreestyle wrote:

Try the PN 3.0 It is different enough from the others to be worth a shot. Also the Cobb 55. Many dig the new Fizik Mistica.

The PN 3.0 definitely caught my eye. It looks like a nice combo of the Road/PS shape and the PN shape. I'll keep it in mind, but I want to try some non two prong saddles

Re: What saddles should I try? [zedzded] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 8:56

Post #20 of 24 (2365 views)

zedzded wrote:

Love the Sitero.

The relatively new Specialized Power Arc is a combination of the Sitero and the previous version of the Power saddle.

I have it on my bike right now and I'm very pleased. I was happy with the Power but I'm happier with the Power Arc.

I also had the Sitero and one of the ISM saddles (I think the Prologue but not sure).

Last edited by: NewbieTri100: Dec 12, 17 10:13

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 9:22

Post #21 of 24 (2357 views)

teichs42 wrote:

svennn wrote:

The Specialized Power has been the best money I have ever spent on a bike.

Every split nosed saddle I ever tried always felt caused chafing.

The Power saddle is the only one I have ever used (even on the trainer) that I just forget about and ride. Perfect. For me.

I'm very interested in trying the Power, especially for the road bike. You use it on road or tri? Need to get down to my local Specialized dealer

I don't have any chafing issues with the split noses.

It's on my road bike. I have a Cobb 55 mounted on a 2nd seat post for TT use but I'm temped to try the Power.

Re: What saddles should I try? [svennn] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 10:04

Post #22 of 24 (2338 views)

svennn wrote:

teichs42 wrote:

svennn wrote:

The Specialized Power has been the best money I have ever spent on a bike.

Every split nosed saddle I ever tried always felt caused chafing.

The Power saddle is the only one I have ever used (even on the trainer) that I just forget about and ride. Perfect. For me.

I'm very interested in trying the Power, especially for the road bike. You use it on road or tri? Need to get down to my local Specialized dealer

I don't have any chafing issues with the split noses.

It's on my road bike. I have a Cobb 55 mounted on a 2nd seat post for TT use but I'm temped to try the Power.

I love the feeling of having the goods off the saddle out front. That's the issue I always have with traditional saddles. It just causes too many problems. Does that happen with the power? I know it's shorter than a traditional saddle, but it still looks like you sit on the wings like a traditional saddle and have your junk on the nose.

Re: What saddles should I try? [NewbieTri100] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 10:11

Post #23 of 24 (2331 views)

NewbieTri100 wrote:

zedzded wrote:

Love the Sitero.

The relatively Specialized Power Arc is a combination of the Sitero and the previous version of the Power saddle.

I have it on my bike right now and I'm very pleased. I was happy with the Power but I'm happier with the Power Arc.

I also had the Sitero and one of the ISM saddles (I think the Prologue but not sure).

Something weird is going on at the Spesh site below. It seems to show pictures for two different saddles listed under the Power Arc Pro. What is the fatter, stubbier one?

Re: What saddles should I try? [teichs42] [ In reply to ]

Dec 12, 17 10:18

Post #24 of 24 (2321 views)

teichs42 wrote:

NewbieTri100 wrote:

zedzded wrote:

Love the Sitero.

The relatively Specialized Power Arc is a combination of the Sitero and the previous version of the Power saddle.

I have it on my bike right now and I'm very pleased. I was happy with the Power but I'm happier with the Power Arc.

I also had the Sitero and one of the ISM saddles (I think the Prologue but not sure).

Something weird is going on at the Spesh site below. It seems to show pictures for two different saddles listed under the Power Arc Pro. What is the fatter, stubbier one?

You may find this review useful. I have the S-works version

http://www.bikeradar.com/...s-works-power-49275/

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