Originally Posted by
sbs z31
Do people use any of the ISM saddle for track racing?
They aren't very popular. I've never seen one at the track. I think Rebecca Romero used to ride one. But, she's a dedicated pursuiter (steady-state, no in and out of the saddle).
They aren't very good if you need to get in and out of the saddle like in a mass start race or match sprint and this is why:
I've heard of people slipping off of them on normal road/tt bikes. If that happens, you just coast and hop back up there. You can't really do that on the track.
The way you sit on them is quite different than normal saddles. Basically, you perch your "sit bones" on the edge...and your perineum (and your junk) hangs in front and doesn't get squished. I found one at a swap meet for cheap and tried it on my trainer...for 10 minutes. It never made it to the track.
A decent compromise is the Cobb Cycling saddle made by John Cobb (the same guy who designed the ISM):
(Pete Billington's Kilo setup)
It works. I used it for a while at the track when I was training in aero bars or using really deep drop bar setups. It feels good, but it was a bit wide for me and seemed to get in the way during high-cadence efforts. I used it for about a month then went back to standard saddles. Maybe I should have tried one of the more narrow options.
Cobb Cycling has a nice trial program where you can try any of their saddles for a month and return it to the shop if you don't like it no questions asked.