I just got a P2C, and decided to try the Adamo saddle for the first time.
It seems like it could work. I assume it will take a week or two of riding
to know for sure.
For those who LOVE their Adamos-or conversely those of you who determined
that your anatomy wasn’t congruent with the design-how long should it take
to adapt to the Adamo?
Any ideas/tips would be fantastic.
FWIW I am 6’3", 33" waist, and a bit of a steep nose rider.
I will only race halfs and full ironman distance on the Cervelo,
and usually ride 16-18hrs/week. So comfort is paramount.
In the past I rode the first generation Azoto(?) tri saddle with
the gel tip.
So I put one on my bike in Late July, and immediately started to race/train on it. I may have even raced before I trained on it I was doing TT’s only, I’m a sub-54m 40k-er, and before I got my Adamo saddle, I was a right-taint sitter on my TT bike with a standard saddle.
So to make a long story short, it was a welcome relief, balanced out my biomechanics because I wasn’t favoring on side, and the adaptation time was minimal if not non-existent because the saddle was a welcome relief (after a long spring/summer on an otherwise normal saddle).
BUT with that said, I spent some time away from the bike altogether this winter, and the re-adaptation to that saddle has been rough to say the least this spring. To quote Stepbrother, it has been very rough on my ball run, I have been going through a lot of Bag-Balm (too much info, I know). Hopefully in a few weeks with more time on the bike it will get better again. FWIW, I have been having similar but less extensive problems with my road saddle as well.
I bet part of the problem is just that your power output is down
more power = less pain on da taint
So I put one on my bike in Late July, and immediately started to race/train on it. I may have even raced before I trained on it I was doing TT’s only, I’m a sub-54m 40k-er, and before I got my Adamo saddle, I was a right-taint sitter on my TT bike with a standard saddle.
So to make a long story short, it was a welcome relief, balanced out my biomechanics because I wasn’t favoring on side, and the adaptation time was minimal if not non-existent because the saddle was a welcome relief (after a long spring/summer on an otherwise normal saddle).
BUT with that said, I spent some time away from the bike altogether this winter, and the re-adaptation to that saddle has been rough to say the least this spring. To quote Stepbrother, it has been very rough on my ball run, I have been going through a lot of Bag-Balm (too much info, I know). Hopefully in a few weeks with more time on the bike it will get better again. FWIW, I have been having similar but less extensive problems with my road saddle as well.
Setup is very important for this saddle. Someone else posted a thread which included a video from www.ttbikefit.com which helps walk you thru setting up the saddle.
You really need to take the time to find the “sweet spot” for this saddle, when you do I think the adaptation period is very short. Setting it up seems to be the opposite of what you normally would think (i.e .the setback is typically more than a standard saddle).
Once you get it setup properly, it feels great! I put my old saddle back on for comparison and it felt like i was sitting on a knife! The redistribution of weight and no pressure on the soft tissue is how a saddle should feel and work. I’m interested to see what the new saddles that John Cobb is working on which are due out around the end of April.
I echo the -tinker with it to get it right- efforts. I found I had to play with it a bit and try different angles, but once I got it set, it was gold and only took a few good rides to get the sit bones toughened up. Now I wouldn’t ride any other saddle.
I ride a p3c, previously with an azoto, then an arione tri2. both were pretty uncomfortable for me, especially when doing more than 100kms. last year i switched to the adamo race saddle. its true, its does take a bit of getting used too, but i was willing to give it a shot as the numbness from the other saddles was getting unbearable!
all and all, it took me about 4 long (150km and above) rides before i started really enjoying this saddle. its too bad that adomo don’t do a ‘test before you buy’ program, cos there really is a breaking in period for this saddle and many people end up giving up on this saddle too quickly. finding the sweetspot can be a slightly uncomfortable experience at first, as your bum has to get used to riding on your sit bones and also getting used to the slightly wider width of the front.
now that i’ve made the switch, i really cant go back. i tried riding with the arione tri2 last week and it was completely uncomfortable.
long rides in aero are a joy once again!
height: 6feet
weight: 72kg
P3C (56cm), with 80cm saddle height.
I am one of those where Adamo did not work or I did not give it enough time. One way or the other, I had it for 2 weeks, I was hurting in places where I did not think there was anything to hurt. It was causing numbness for me more than any saddle I tried, pain in hip, shoulders…everywhere. It was set up by the shop, I played with it, read and reread setup instructions, finaly thought it was too much to bear and gave up. Now, it is possible that it was never set propperly, that even though I was sitting on it IAW instructions, but had no one to look and see if I was doing it correct. So I can be blaimed for a failure just as easily. I am 155lbs, relatively small waist 29in, large thighs, medium steep(14cm aerobar dropp) nose rider. Settled with Specialized Tri Tip SL.
Love my Adamo. My road bike has a Specialized Toupe, so I was already ready to sit on my sit bones. My first ride on my Adamo was 128miles. No shi!t. Loved every second of it. Just make sure you set up the saddle in the right position. I’ve found you want the nose of the Adamo about 3cm further back than you would have a standard saddle.
I’m in the same boat. I’m about a week and a half into testing the Adamo saddle on my P2c. The pain in the center is gone which is great, but now there is pain on either side of center if that makes any sense. It’s not really my sits bones either it is in between the taint and the sits bones. I’m going to give it a couple more rides I’ve ordered a v-flow plus from John Cobb to try since I don’t think the Adamo is going to work. He offers a 180 day comfort guarantee. If that doesn’t work, I’m not sure what to do. I tried a couple different saddles on the trainer at my LBS and ruled them out pretty quick. My SLR T1 which worked on my last bike was ok before, but horrible on the P2c. If you figure it out, please post back as it might work for me as well.
Also has taken me about 6 months. At 1st it was great, then it SUCKED for a few months. Just rubbed the inside of my crotch/taint raw. After a month or 2 of that, I am now very comfortable on it. I will admit, I was close to giving up but the masochistic side of me saw me through to comfy.
ISM does have a demo program - many dealers do carry demo versions (typically yellow or pink) - I believe they have a listing of demo dealers on their site. I will echo what many here have said - setup is critical and tweaking is usually involved (that’s why I made the video - I got tired of typing instructions!). That said both my wife and I went 90+miles on the first ride and quickly knew that after 15 years we finally found a comfortable saddle for aggressive aero positions (I was a right tainter too with reg saddles). But I did spend a few rides tweaking it. Emphasis on tweak - we are talking a few degrees on tilt.
I had one sitting here for months, got an injury which forced me on the trainer. Put it on and it just clicked. Was pretty shocked how it made me feel like I could now just hang in the aero position! First “road” ride today after 4 weeks on the turbo and it was A-OK. But,I see where people get frustrated, when I sat up it was a little bit unconformable so I just stayed in the aerobars and problem fixed! Seriously it was easy to use in the aero position
I was doing TT’s only, I’m a sub-54m 40k-er, and before I got my Adamo saddle, I was a right-taint sitter on my TT bike with a standard saddle.