Adamo Saddles
 

After a recent health scare, I am looking for a more "prostate friendly" saddle.
One doctor friend, a cyclist, has recommended an Adamo Cut Out saddle. Now my delima, which model?
I've watch some videos, most talk about saddles for road bikes, racing, and riding in an aero position. But I'm not a racer. I do have both a road and a mountain bike, but right now, I'm looking for a saddle for the mountain bike. But I'm not a traditional mountain biker. I use the mt bike to ride on pubic gravel/dirt roads (plenty of those here in rural Arkansas. Also, my mt bike is my "touring" bike, for over night camping trips. So I need something comfortable for a more up right riding position.
A search of "Adamo mountain bike saddles" turned up a link, but doesnt' say much about that particular model.
There is one model is called the "Typhoon". It's a little less expensive saddle than the road model. The reviewer that I listened to on Youtube, called it more of a "comfort" saddle, which is a bit scary, as I think of a comfort saddle as one that is comfortable for 10-15 mile rides, but maybe not so on a 50-60 mile ride. But claims it's a very comfortable saddle.
Any suggestions on a specific Adamo model?

5kdad, some very helpful information before your edit. Sorry to see it gone. Anything that can be done to help reduce UNNECESSARY biopsies of the prostate is good. While the PCA3 is useful as another tool in prostate health diagnosing, there are limitations and the choice to continue is a patient/doctor decision.

Just a recommendation that if/when your Dr. suggests a biopsy, you really should have a 3T mp MRI with targeted biopsy instead of a blind TRUS biopsy. A TRUS biopsy can miss the cancer entirely should there be some where the biopsy needles NEVER REACH.

Words of advice from a Gleason 10 prostate cancer surviving bicycle rider. 191 miles yesterday and 202 miles last Saturday for my 67th birthday tomorrow.

Thanks for your input. I did the intitial post, didn't think I was getting any interest, as the main point of the post was my interest in a new saddle, so I edited the post. So I'll repost that initial information........

About 2 months ago, I changed doctors, and he wanted to do a routine blood test (I turned 60 last December). I had some elevated numbers, which resulted in him referring me to a urologist. The PSA number had come back at 4.79. A couple weeks later on my visit to the urologist, he wanted to wait 3 more weeks, and have me do a second PSA test. That one came back even worse, at 6.5. His suggestion at that point, to do a prostate biopsy.
Before the first blood test, my PCP had suggested I stay off the bike for 2 weeks before the test. However, the urologist said it was only necessary to stay off the bike for 48 hours. I was busy, and did not get to ride for 4 days before the second PSA test.
After the 6.5 number, he told me he could do another test, to confirm the need for the biopsy. This time, it would be a urine PSA-3 test. About 2 weeks later I got a call from his office. That test showed a "normal" PSA number (4), and thus no need for the biopsy. They said, "We just need to see you in 6 months, to test again and see how you are doing".


OLDTRYGUY......I had read about the MRI option, and I did mention that to my PCP. But he gave me the impression, that he didn't think that was a "convention" option. My first thought was, perhaps the MRI might be an expensive test, not covered under insurance? Did you do the 3T mp MRI, and if so, was this done at a regular hospital, or did you have to go to some sort of specialty clinic?

I'm a prostate cancer survivor and I've been riding the Adamo Prologue (now called the PL 1.1) for almost 5 years and I won't go back to a conventional saddle design if you paid me. I ride daily and ride between 40-60 miles per ride. In the last 5 years, I have put almost 50,000 miles on my bikes so you could say that the saddle gets used quite a bit. In the five years that I've had the saddle, I have never had any issues with pain or discomfort in the perineal area and on most rides, I barely notice the prongs of the saddle even being there.

However, as much as I love this saddle, I can say that they are not for everyone. I used to rave to my friends about this saddle and even got some of them to buy one only to find out it was worst for them than the saddle they were using. My suggestion is to see if you can get one on a loaner plan and try several of their models before deciding to purchase one. If you don't have a dealer near you that has a loaner program, you can get a free loaner directly from ISM by calling this number - (813) 909-1441. It's been my experience, over the years, that the three major factors that cause issues with the ISM line of saddles are sit bones are too wide, saddle is mounted incorrectly and rider is sitting incorrectly on the saddle. If you decide to try one, make sure you view the videos on their web site on how to correctly mount and correctly position yourself on their saddles. If you mount and position yourself on an ISM saddle like you would on a conventional design saddle, you will not like the results. Also, since they have renamed all of their saddles (except for the Road) to two letters and numbers, make sure that you understand what the new names signify. For example, the PL stands for Performance Long, PN stands for Performance Narrow and so on.

Hope this helps.

Good words from all posters above. I'll add my 2 cents. The PSA test doesn't always "find" prostate problems. My PSA never got above 2.6. It was the digital exam (finger test) that discovered my problem. The doctor did the 3T MRI and found 6 hot spots and did a biopsy on these six spots - all cancerous. He said the cancer was very aggressive and I had 3 months to decide between surgery or treatment. For my wife and me it was a no-brainer, since we both had healthcare backgrounds. I opted for the devinci robotic surgery. Got the cancer. That was December 2015.

He knew I was a cyclist and said neither riding nor the type of saddle had nothing to do with prostate cancer.

[edit] Don't rely on your PCP for prostate care once a problem is discovered. Your urologist is the best person to answer any questions.

And for a saddle recommendation, I'd suggest the Selle Anatomica X series saddle.
BTW: I'm 72. [/edit]

Good luck.

[MENTION=75338]5kdad[/MENTION] - First things first. You'll get through this.

Did you take some days off the bike immediately before the PSA test? Pressure and/or vibration on your perineum can raise your PSA count, including riding a bike, or a horse, or even a lawn mower. If not, that may have skewed the results. I'm also a prostate cancer survivor, and my follow-up treatment includes a semi-annual PSA test. I take a week off the bike prior to the blood draw.

Adamo isn't the only company that offers saddles with a cutout. My "retirement job" is working in a Specialized shop, and Specialized offers several saddles with cutouts. Most other companies do too. I recommend making a fresh pot of coffee and spending time researching the various offerings via your favorite search engine. If you live near Fayetteville, you might want to check out the races there and find the guys racing Masters and check with them.

A couple of months ago I did a four-day solo climbing camp in the hills north of Clarksville. Y'all got some hills up there! :)

ETA: There were a lot of us writing at the same time, it seems, making some of the above irrelevant.

If you're looking for cut out saddles, Brooks make at least one cut out saddle. Worth looking at if nothing else.

MRI should be covered by insurance with doctor's request. A 3T has greater definition than a 1.5T. I did not need an MRI since the DRE, digital rectal exam, yielded a lump and the urologist knew where to biopsy. The reason why a TRUS is considered BLIND, is unless a hard spot is felt during the DRE, the samples taken are just pokes in the prostate. The MRI will show spots that might be cancer and a biopsy can be directed towards the spots; HOWEVER, no biopsy will be as complete as my doctor's 3D Prostate Mapping Biopsy that can consist of over 100 cores being taken throughout the ENTIRE prostate.

I do not consider myself a "survivor" rather simply surviving prostate cancer since total elimination of PCa can not be 100% guaranteed. Prostate removal by Da Vinci Robot is viewed by some physicians as being impersonal since the "feel" is eliminated and removal is not as clean.

future helpful site.... https://www.inspire.com/groups/us-to...-cancer/about/

I looked at that saddle. I have Brooks on both my road and mt bike. I really like them. But just by "looking", it's really hard to make a decision. All of them make pretty good claims. Have you used the Brooks cut out?

But could biking possibly agitate the prostate, causing the spike in PSA number?

Before the first test, I took off 2 weeks, as the PCP suggested. Before the second one, i took off 4 days. Before the third, I hadn't ridden in maybe 3 weeks or more.
I only suggested the Adamo saddle, because my former PCP, a cyclist, suggested it.
I know some racers, but am reluctant to take their advice. I'm not a racing cyclist, and don't use aero bars, so am in a completely different riding position. I sit in a more upright position, especially on my mountain/tour bike.
Yep, we have some doozy hills. I live in the northern part of the state, about 5 miles from Missouri. Not as hilly here as the area you mention, or the Buffalo river area.

My reason for suggesting that you speak with Masters racers is that they typically ride a lot and many have faced prostate issues as well. They'd have practical experience that you might be able to take advantage of.

I'm 67 tomorrow. 191 miles yesterday, 202 miles last Saturday. I ride Tues, Thursday and Saturday with at least 100/ride. With 6" rise bars on my Paramount and bar extensions I am in the aero position 60% of the time. Giant is drop bars with Profile aero bars.

Paramount seat is Nashbar FC1 Saddle - Men's or Women's

Giant seat is Nashbar FR1 Saddle

Simply a matter of personal comfort.

My wife and I are bike tourers, and usually do at least one mult-month tour a year. We have been doing this for a couple of decades, and probably average somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 miles a year. One trip had us riding 50 miles per day for 74 consecutive days; a lot of saddle time. The point is, I spend a lot of time in the saddle.

I had a radical prostatectomy 3 months ago and was back on my trainer in 6 weeks and on the road in 8. To celebrate my recovery and our anniversary we took a mini-tour by riding to a nearby town, had a good dinner, stayed in a nice hotel, and then rode the 45 mikes back home the next day. That turned out so well we did another 3-day mini-tour a couple of weeks ago and averaged close to 45 miles/day. We are planning on 2 more tours this summer, one 2 weeks long, and the other 1-2 months long.

I used the same saddle that I used before the surgery, a Brooks Imperial (with the cutout) on my touring bike. I've also used the Terry Liberator (with a cutout), both are comfortable saddles. I use Fitzik saddles on my road bike, because I don't spend near the time on my road bikes.

My Urologist asks me to stay off the bike 5 days before my PSA tests, but that was before the prostrate removal. Now my PSA is at a non-detectable level, and he said that it shouldn't matter if I ride or not before the blood draw. The last PSA I had before the surgery was only a 1.5, and that is the highest it ever was. PSA results are not always a reliable indicator of cancer.

That is true, but riding prior to your blood draw can cause a spike in your PSA, giving a higher number. He also told me that sex can do the same thing:)

I'm trying to figure out why you wouldn't follow your doctors recommendations. I'm having my second biopsy this morning. The first one, almost 2 years ago, found a trace of cancer. Have been monitoring it, and with my PSA going up, I will gladly have the second one this morning.

John