These are the two that are recommended to me via the Saddle Selector on ISM’s site. I’ve been playing around with Road for a few weeks, and it seems like the overall ISM shape will work for me.
Coming over from a Cobb Max, that I could never get quite comfortable on. 155lbs, aggressive position…sprints, olympics, and 20-40ks mostly, few 70.3s.
Can anybody provide some insight between the two? I know it’s a personal choice & I won’t know until I sit on them, but I’m hoping to get it right the first time.
I am considering the two as well…I have been demoing the racing II saddle for a couple weeks as a test of the rough TT saddle shape and really liked it (almost identical to the TT), but I wanted to try the prologue before buying the TT, bc it’s slightly longer. I put a prologue on last night and it instantly felt wider to me and not as comfortable. Granted all I did was sit on it and will not ride on it until tonight, but my first impression is the TT is more comfortable, bc it’s slightly narrower. Saddle choice is unique to the individual as you stated, but that’s my opinion since you asked…
I actually rode a Cobb Max until the end of last year, when I tried both of the saddles you are considering. After 10 minutes on the TT, I knew I was not going to stick with the Max. I had a few good sessions on the TT, but none longer than 45 minutes in aero. Tried the Prologue, and despite being pre-disposed toward the TT since I had felt so comfortable (plus I liked the prong on the rear), I quickly grew very fond of the Prologue. When it came time to pull the trigger, I did one last ride on the TT, and right at around the 45 minute mark in aero, started having some significant discomfort. This really surprised me, but it didn’t go away. Hopped on the Prologue, never had an issue. I got the Prologue, have been riding it several months and love it to death. Take your time to tweak its position and get it set up properly and you never even notice it, especially in aero. Huge fan of the Prologue, for me it was far and away better than the other 8-10 or so I have tried. Some talk about the chafing from ISM’s due to the wider front prongs, but I never had a problem with that and it seems like generally those complaints are due to not sitting far enough forward on the saddle. Just wish I had found it sooner… Both great saddles, but I was able to demo both before buying - I would try both if you can.
Can’t speak for the TT, but I ride a prologue and it is great. It’s also longer, which will let you get further forwards should you need to. I ride a 2003 Litespeed blade, so this helps steepen up the effective seat tube angle.
Ive ridden the ISM Road and Cobb max. Switched to the Prologue last summer and its my favorite yet.
Cobb is coming out with a new seat soon. My buddy has a prototype on his bike. It has a split nose like the ISM but the rear is shaped different. I cant wait to try it.
I have the TT and havent been the most comfortable with it. I demo’d a Cobb v-flow max and liked it, but cant stand red on my bike…I was looking at the ISM lineup and saw the width of the prologue may be more like the cobb so I tried it. The prologue was even better than the other two, and has a pretty flat profile that makes changing positions on the saddle quite nice.
I have the TT and I really like it, except that the front seems a bit wide - it rubs my inner thigh. It’s perfectly manageable, just a bit annoying. I do 5+ hour rides on it, there is just slight chafing due to the width at the front. I’ve heard some people zip tie the front the resolve that issue, but I haven’t tried it yet and I have a race next weekend so not keen to try anything new at this stage.
I just bought the saddle, but I really should have demo’d it first
I have tried them both on my TT bike. I started off with the TT and this winter just switched over to the Prologue. The prologue instantly felt much more comfy to me. It has much softer padding and i think the shape is a little more giving and not quite as hard as the TT. I have heard that it is better/more comfortable to have harder seats for longer distances but I don’t know where that school of thought comes from. That being said, I did use the TT for IMKY last year and It was not terrible but i do remember my sitbones being rather sore after the very long training rides/races whereas I have not had the chance to take the prologue out on a really long ride.
I can’t comment the tt, but I did two seasons on the Road and loved it. I just switched to the Prologue and so far like it more than the Road. I’ve never had a problem with the width of these saddles. The Prologue uses softer material. I don’t ride much on the horns, and I don’t believe ISM had that in mind, but the horns on the Prologue are softer for those times when you want to slide up there for a hard effort or give the sit bones a break.
In January I changed from CObb Plus (rode for three years) over to ISM TT. I am very pleased with the switch. The Plus while padded more caused my feet to go numb and messed with my prostrate badly on rides over two hours, I would piss fire for 24-48 hours after a long ride.
Since switching to the ISM TT I’ve ridden upwards of 3.5 hours without an instance of foot numbness or fire pee.
By the way I am also 155lbs and typically ride pretty far forward as you do.
I think I have tried just about every ISM and found the prologue to be most comfortable. The nice thing about the prologue is it gives you a little room to move around on it, where as the TT and Road do not. Full disclosure though, I sold my prologue for the new bontrager saddle and finally found saddle bliss.
can someone measure the width of the prologue and tell me how wide it is (in mm). The Cobb max is 55 mm I think, and I am struggling with it.
50mm right on the tips
I think I have tried just about every ISM and found the prologue to be most comfortable. The nice thing about the prologue is it gives you a little room to move around on it, where as the TT and Road do not. Full disclosure though, I sold my prologue for the new bontrager saddle and finally found saddle bliss.
Which Bontrager model specifically and what weight/height are you?
I have the bontrager RXL hilo (non adjustable version). I struggled with the width of the ISMfor years and this hits the sweet spot for me. I ride it just like the ISM (hanging off the front), but it is not nearly as wide.
These are the two that are recommended to me via the Saddle Selector on ISM’s site. I’ve been playing around with Road for a few weeks, and it seems like the overall ISM shape will work for me.
Coming over from a Cobb Max, that I could never get quite comfortable on. 155lbs, aggressive position…sprints, olympics, and 20-40ks mostly, few 70.3s.
Can anybody provide some insight between the two? I know it’s a personal choice & I won’t know until I sit on them, but I’m hoping to get it right the first time.
My team is sponsored by ISM so I figured I’d take the opportunity to get a good saddle finally. I had talked to Dave at ISM and he recommended the prologue based on my season plans and size. Where I got my fitting they didnt have prologues but did have podiums. The prologue has the most padding of the 3 they have with similar platforms (the ones with longer prongs) and I found it had too much padding for me. Im a big dude and the soft padding was giving way pretty easily. The podium was a good fit during my fitting so Im switching to that one this week. I tried the TT but I found it wasnt a particularly good fit for me.