Comfy saddles

Triathlon Forum
1

So, once again I am appealing to the ST brain trust for some knowledge.

I was wondering what the consensus is on the best saddles for taking pressure off the softer bits. I can only think of the adamo right now, but I’m wondering what else is out there.
After our team TT this morning, I realized that the stock seat on my tri bike is definitely not cutting it. It works perfectly fine during trainer rides, but anytime I really start to hammer on the roads, the little buddy goes seriously numb. So I decided it’s time to fix this problem.
It seems that the problem is coming from too much pressure on the nerves and blood vessels in the perrineal region. There is never any pain or tenderness, it just seems that I put too much pressure on the nerves and vessels that supply the family jewels with blood.
Oh, and if it means anything, I am typically a nose rider.

Thanks in advance.

2

something with a cutout in that area

if your nuts aren’t bothered by the nose of the saddle i think a cutout would work fine.

my problem was always my nuts being crushes in the aero position, which is why im trying the adamo now.

3

Nah, I always ride with the taint on the nose, so the boys just kinda dangle down in front of the saddle. I was considering something like the adamo so I could put my sit bones on the nose instead.
Thanks for the advice, I’ll look into some of the cutouts too.

4

Selle SMP, FTW:
'cause my urologist says so.

seriously, it’s even better than the Selle Italia Signo Gel Flow
on my other bike. i used to use the flite classic and flite TT.

5

You may want to consider the Specialized Tritip Gel or Tritip Gel SL saddle.

6

I would check out the San Marco Azoto and the San Marco Aspide. I had numbness problems with my stock QR saddle and they went away with the Azoto. I ride on the nose as well…

I’ve heard good things about the Fizik Arione Tri as well.

7

Thanks, good to know. The saddle I’m having problems with is also the QR stock one.

Another question I have for anyone would be, how do I go about testing out different saddles? Do most bike shops let you set your bike up on a trainer and test them out in the store, or do you buy them, try them out, and return them if need be?

8

John Cobb has just bought out 2 new saddles. They look like a cross between an Adamo and a normal saddle.

http://www.cobbcycling.com/cart/Seats_C1.cfm.

I don’t have personal experience with them (I ride an Adamo which I’m very happy with) but might be worth considering.

9

If you LBS doesn’t do loaners, I found this the other day: http://www.trisports.com/tri-before-you-buy-demo-saddle-program.html.

10

I ride the Selle SMP Glider on my tri bike, the Glider offers a little more padding and a wider cut out which I find to be more comfortable than the Evolution model which I have on my rode bike. I used to ride the nose of my saddle but with the SMP I find that I can now ride further back on the saddle utilizing my sit bones eliminating the pressure on my taint.

11

I went through about 6 or 7 saddles in my first 3 seasons in the sport before settling on the Adamo Typhoon. It’s a soft saddle, which I like, but the Adamo design, which I like. The Road and Race versions of the Adamo were just too firm for me. The Typhoon is perfect.

12

The Selle SMP line of saddles is awesome for this. I have one of the Statos models on each of my bikes. They are really amazing and well worth the money. The steeper you ride the better they are. Just buy from a knowledgable dealer because the various models have to do with your sit bone width. Call All3Sports and ask for someone who knows a lot about the Selle SMP saddles and you’ll get what you need.

13

Hmmm, I just though of another question too.
I’m really looking towards the adamo, since its design seems like it might work well for me. (Note, I haven’t actually tried one out yet, but I’m planning on it asap)
I was wondering, since the adamo has the front cut off, does that effectively make it shorter than a regular saddle? I have my current saddle jacked all the way forward, and it works well with my fit (other than the numbness issues). If the adamo is shorter, would this rule it out for me, since it would mess up my fit? Or is it designed to accomodate for situations like this?

I guess if that’s the case, I’ll probably have to go with something more like the selle smp.

14

The Adamo will actually let you sit a lot further forward because you sit right on the edge of the saddle. It’s definitely worth a shot.

15

My bike fitter told me that the Adamo is only ~3 or 4cm shorter than a usual saddle. It just looks stubbier because it’s wide at the end (because you use your sit bones). Because your junk is meant to hang off the front rather than getting crushed, the Adamo should work. I don’t know how extreme some people go with the whole “nose ride” thing but I can’t imagine people only using the last 3 cms.

Best advice though is probably to go to a store that lets you test ride.

16

Best advice though is probably to go to a store that lets you test ride.

That is my plan exactly. I am just curious, because I think I am one of those “extreme” pepole you mentioned. I ride really far forward on the nose of my saddle when I race. But if the difference is really only ~3 cm, then it may still work for me. I’ll just have to try it and see.

Thanks for the advice.

17

adamo is proven, just go with it. it is not sexy, but it gets the job done for me. also it works well for riding the nose IMO.

18

I would check out the San Marco Azoto and the San Marco Aspide. I had numbness problems with my stock QR saddle and they went away with the Azoto. I ride on the nose as well…

I’ve heard good things about the Fizik Arione Tri as well.
I have the Aspide on my tri bike, and the Arione Tri2 on my road bike. The Aspide has the cushier nose, but the back has some thin, not-so-soft padding. It’s definitely built for spending a lot of time out on the nose. The Fizik is a more balanced, comfortable overall saddle IMO. If you shift positions a bit and don’t spend hours out on the nose it’s a great saddle.
Both are well made and have held up well.