Funny you should ask. I was riding a Slice with a ISM Adamo Road saddle. To be comfortable on saddle, I had is nose down as recommend by ISM. Felt like I was about to launch off the front of the bike all the time. My shoulders hurt after 5 minutes of riding. I then switched to a Cobb V Flow Plus as you are supposed to keep the saddle level. Loved it .... actually like I was now sitting "in" the bike rather than being purched.

I then got a pro fitting and the fitter, when making final tightening adjustments, put the saddle nose down. Hated it! A few days ago I got the level out, leveled the saddle keeping the same seat height and now back to loving it. No launching, no perching, no shoulder pain and more importantly, no saddle soreness or numbness.

My advice? Start by leveling the saddle. I'm 99% sure that's what's happening.......

For me it's a fine line. I have an Adamo Race and too much downward tilt and I find myself sliding forward. But if I put it perfectly level then the nose of the saddle puts too much pressure. But there's a narrow range in between where I'm actually comfortable: with just an ever so slight downward tilt.

And I'm most comfortable on the bike when I'm working hard. On slower rides I find the tri bike rather annoying.

Definitely check saddle tilt as the folks above have recommended. Personally I need a very slight uptilt with an Adamo Race saddle to avoid slipping forward but not so much that it's painful. It took some field adjustments to dial that in.

But if you're only finding yourself moving forward under harder pedaling and higher power conditions then it may also be a clue that your front end setup relative to your seat setup isn't ideal. IOW, your minimum hip angle at the top of your pedal stroke may be too tight and at higher power you're subconsciously sliding forward which opens up that angle. If that's the case then you'll either want to increase torso angle (not great from an aero standpoint but could be necessary) which opens the min. hip angle or find ways to open up your femur angle at the top of the stroke which can be accomplished with a higher saddle (assuming you're not too high at the bottom of the stroke), a more forward saddle (steeper seat angle) or with shorter cranks (which also means higher saddle to get the same extension at the bottom of the stroke).

I'd start by trying a bit more uptilt in the saddle till you find the point where it's uncomfortable then back off a tad. If that works and you hold that position under low or high loads then ignore the stuff about hip angle. But if you're fine under low to moderate loads but somehow find yourself sliding forward when sustaining higher power then you might revisit your working angles at the top of the pedal stroke.

Some good images here: http://bikedynamics.co.uk/FitGuideTT.htm

And pretty easy to shoot video at home and use this free software to look at your angles: http://www.kinovea.org/en/

-Dave

Silly question but.....is saddle level / tilt referenced off the rails or putting a level along the top of the saddle?

Well you can measure it from any suitable reference point that makes sense to you and is repeatable.

IIRC, the Adamo instructions start by setting the rails level and working from there. But in the end it's the tilt of saddle surface itself and especially the forward portion of the saddle in the case of the Adamo that will determine if you slide forward or feel undue discomfort. But in terms of figuring out what works and then being able to record it so you can reset it if it ever slips you can use whatever reference makes the most sense to you.

-Dave

If I may suggest something that worked well for me in tweaking my Adamo's for both road and tt. Find out where you like to sit on the saddle and level that part. Meaning get on the saddle, load it up with your weight and find out where it feels best, slide a finger under your leg and 'stuff' and feel where your tuberosity contacts the saddle. Then work that point in the leveling process. Then all you have to do is get that point in space over the bb where you need it.

I used to do the saddle shuffle quite a bit. I shortened my stem by 15mm and am much more compact in the front now. Basically with the longer stem I was sort of pulling myself forward with my arms until my elbows were under my shoulders.

Thanks for the replies. I ended up angling my bars up slightly which seems to have made a big difference.

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