Since my last name has “ass” in it both forwards and backwards, I feel it is my destiny to be the saddle guy. So, in my fit studio, I have a lot of saddles, a SwitchIt, and offer free saddle testing. If I were to guess, the average number of saddles that a person will test during a saddle test session in my shop is just north of 20. I’ve had people test every single saddle in house (over 70). I know a lot of folks are wondering “what saddle is best for me?” and if you don’t have access to someplace with a selection of saddles you can try out, you might have to guess as to what will work, order it, and hope for the best. You probably don’t want to do that 20 times. So, if you have no choice, here are the saddles that tend to end up in the top 3 or 4 when triathletes (male or female) try out saddles in the shop.
Cobb Randee - This thing just works for a lot of people. It’s kind of noseless, kind of traditional. It seems to take all the good qualities of the Cobb Max and make them better. Start with the top level.
ISM PR 2.0 - Another one that seems to take all of the advantages of the noseless design and just works well. The padding, texture, and shape work well together. Start with the rails level and bring it up.
Fizik Mistica - I’ve only had this for a couple of months now, but it seems to be a hit. I typically don’t have that much luck with Fizik products being the final choice. The previous model, the Tritone, had a lot of good things going for it and seemed to be especially good for women, but a couple of things that needed some refinement. The Mistica was a very good evolution. What makes it interesting, and maybe what makes it work, is that it is grippy on the top, but the sides are smooth. It also comes with more hardware than any saddle I’ve ever seen. Start with the rails level.
I can’t speak for the ISM PR 2.0, but I have the ISM PS 1.0 on both my Tri and road bikes. Best damn saddle I’ve found. Good enough I don’t even want to try anything else.
The whole PR series is good. I currently have the 1.0 on my tri bike, and I’m like the Princess and the Pea when it comes to saddles. The PR 3.0 also does well. The PR series comes in at a nice price point, as an added bonus.
Since my last name has “ass” in it both forwards and backwards, I feel it is my destiny to be the saddle guy.
I don’t have anything to add re. the saddles you mentioned (I’m an Adamo Podium gal, personally), but wanted to give you a thumbs up for best opening line to a post.
The PN series is pretty hit or miss. The 1.0 tends to get tossed out in favor of the PN 1.1. The shapes are identical, but the padding is different. The PN 2.1 has been mostly a flop for me, with reactions generally in the “oh God, no!” range, but I recently had a guy fall in love with it, so there is hope.
The Fifty-Five seems to be a bit too firm for most. You really have to get the angle right on that one (I start with the front half level, and usually take it down a degree). If it is in the top 3 for a particular rider, it will often get beat by the PR 2.0.
Typically, I do a process of elimination - test everything quickly, with a couple of quick tweaks, pick the top 3-5 and then spend a bit more time on each of those to come up with a winner. So, there are a lot of good options like the Fifty-Five and the PN series that will end up in that top 3-5, but not be the final winner.
Cobb Randee - This thing just works for a lot of people. It’s kind of noseless, kind of traditional. It seems to take all the good qualities of the Cobb Max and make them better. Start with the top level.
I’ve been riding one of these on my TT bike for a while now. Only thing I don’t like is the very smooth leather cover. I feel like I’m sliding around a lot on it, and my attempts to put some form of grip strip on it have failed, they peel right off, nothing seems to stick to it. Tried some of that Sekur-grip stuff and no luck there either.
Fizik Mistica - I’ve only had this for a couple of months now, but it seems to be a hit. I typically don’t have that much luck with Fizik products being the final choice. The previous model, the Tritone, had a lot of good things going for it and seemed to be especially good for women, but a couple of things that needed some refinement. The Mistica was a very good evolution. What makes it interesting, and maybe what makes it work, is that it is grippy on the top, but the sides are smooth. It also comes with more hardware than any saddle I’ve ever seen. Start with the rails level.
The Tritone was the first noseless saddle that worked for me (ISMs are all too wide for me), but with the Tritone I couldn’t really ride it out on the road. Fast descents left me feeling like I was falling off the front of the saddle (whereas with the Cobb I can still ride it like a regular saddle on descents). Does the Mistica solve that? Is the nose any longer than the Tritone? I hope it’s not wider.
I had chronic saddle issues when I started going long on the bike, ISM Race on both road and Tri bike now and you could not talk me into anything else
PSA- when you try one of these you need to give it a little time, they hit your body in a different spot so they are not perfect the first couple of rides until your skin gets conditioned in this new spot. Also be very careful with how you set them for level and it may take a few tweaks to get it just right. You will not do a one day demo with them and fall in love, but you will eventually.
lol! I have a lot of funny stories regarding the mispronunciation of my last name. Like the time I was working as a substitute teacher in a Kindergarten class. This little girl who looked like she had a gallon of espresso for breakfast runs up to me, give me a big flying tackle hug, and says “I love you Mr. Assgrab!” My first reaction was, “oh my, I hope nobody else heard that…”
The Tritone was the first noseless saddle that worked for me (ISMs are all too wide for me), but with the Tritone I couldn’t really ride it out on the road. Fast descents left me feeling like I was falling off the front of the saddle (whereas with the Cobb I can still ride it like a regular saddle on descents). Does the Mistica solve that? Is the nose any longer than the Tritone? I hope it’s not wider.
I think you might like the Mistica. The top is very grippy. I’m trying to think of something to compare it to, but don’t have good analogy. It’s kind of a gummy rubber feel rather than a smooth leather feel (but the sides are smooth leather-like, so nice on the legs). The nose is the same width as the Tritone - 5.5 centimeters for the regular, 6.5 cm for the wide - but is shaped a bit differently if you look at the front edges. They’re now radiused, and don’t have the seam right on the corner like the Tritone. That was a deal-breaker a couple of times with the Tritone. There were just a lot of nice refinements with the Mistica. It’s kind of an evolution of the Tritone, but it’s a pretty big evolutionary step. It’s also nice that the Mistica retails at $175 for the magnesium rail version, when the Tritone was $225.
PSA- when you try one of these you need to give it a little time, they hit your body in a different spot so they are not perfect the first couple of rides until your skin gets conditioned in this new spot. Also be very careful with how you set them for level and it may take a few tweaks to get it just right. You will not do a one day demo with them and fall in love, but you will eventually.
You make a really good point here - this is something I’ve noticed, too. The Road and PS series tend to take a bit more time to like. The PR series seems to beat them out in comparisons because they provide a bit more instant gratification.
love the Fizik, both as a fitter and as a cyclist. It’s my go-to saddle ATM, as it fits well with my fitting philosophy
Hi Everybody,
Since my last name has “ass” in it both forwards and backwards, I feel it is my destiny to be the saddle guy. So, in my fit studio, I have a lot of saddles, a SwitchIt, and offer free saddle testing. If I were to guess, the average number of saddles that a person will test during a saddle test session in my shop is just north of 20. I’ve had people test every single saddle in house (over 70). I know a lot of folks are wondering “what saddle is best for me?” and if you don’t have access to someplace with a selection of saddles you can try out, you might have to guess as to what will work, order it, and hope for the best. You probably don’t want to do that 20 times. So, if you have no choice, here are the saddles that tend to end up in the top 3 or 4 when triathletes (male or female) try out saddles in the shop.
Cobb Randee - This thing just works for a lot of people. It’s kind of noseless, kind of traditional. It seems to take all the good qualities of the Cobb Max and make them better. Start with the top level.
ISM PR 2.0 - Another one that seems to take all of the advantages of the noseless design and just works well. The padding, texture, and shape work well together. Start with the rails level and bring it up.
Fizik Mistica - I’ve only had this for a couple of months now, but it seems to be a hit. I typically don’t have that much luck with Fizik products being the final choice. The previous model, the Tritone, had a lot of good things going for it and seemed to be especially good for women, but a couple of things that needed some refinement. The Mistica was a very good evolution. What makes it interesting, and maybe what makes it work, is that it is grippy on the top, but the sides are smooth. It also comes with more hardware than any saddle I’ve ever seen. Start with the rails level.
I’m a huge fan of the Shimano Aerofuel saddle. I’ve tried so many different noseless saddles and they all are just too wide for me. I keep going back to it.
It’s the only saddle that doesn’t give me saddle sores/pressure hot spots.
How about Dash saddles? I used an ISM for many years until the saddle literally started to come apart after the leather wore off. I decided at that point to try a Dash saddle (Stages). It took 3-4 months of subtle adjustments, but it is now so much more comfortable than the ISM ever was. I know the price is steep for the more custom saddles, but the ‘stock’ ones compare pretty well price-wise to ISM and other saddles.
I’m in the midst of evaluating a Dash for a review article on Slowtwitch. Without question, I would put Dash on the list of “noseless” saddles that everyone should try. I’ve never found one that I like before, but the consistent width along the entire length of the Dash has been amazing FOR ME. It’s the first noseless saddle where I don’t feel like I’m sitting “in space.”
I do wish I had some more experience with Dash - I should probably reach out to them. Obviously, my recommendations here are based on what I carry and what seems to “win” the comparisons that happen in the studio. It would be nice to offer Specialized, as their Power saddles seem to be a hit, from what I’ve heard.
