Thoughts on Adamo Saddles
 

I've decided to try an ISM Adamo saddle.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...VbRIl5kBQBEgYf

Here are some things my research has turned up:

1. These saddles tend to get very good reviews (see an Amazon listing, for example).

2. The amount padding is different on different models. Generally, I've stayed away from padded saddles, figuring that by sinking into the saddle, you increase the amount of pressure on the perineum. Perhaps that is not relevant for an Adamo saddle? In this case, what would the disadvantage of more padding be?

3. I was considering the Road or the Century model. Then I learned that the Century and the Typhoon are identical, but that the Century comes out further in the back to meet road race regulations.

4. I was going to demo one of these with Trisports.com demo program ($25 for seven days), but decided to just get a used one from eBay, and sell it if I don't like it.

We wait with baited breath for a review. I'm on about my 6th saddle in 6 months (Rivet) which does show some promise, but I'm always interested in spending more money on cycling.

Re padding, I think it's the same with any saddle. Once you ride enough, any additional padding just makes you move around unnecessarily, or decreases efficiency. I have a Selle SMP Glider on one bike, and Fizik Ariones on others. Both are comfortable and efficient when I'm riding a lot, and I wish I had more padding when I'm only riding occasionally.

I have been riding an ISM Adamo Prologue for over a year. After trying several of the popular saddles and some suggested on this forum, I went with the ISM on the advise of my fitter. The minute I sat on the saddle I noticed the difference and it definitely won out by leaps and bounds over the others I tried. It was the most comfortable saddle I've ridden and it hasn't changed any a year later. I ride daily and put a lot of miles on my bike. Even after 100k+ rides, I don't feel any soreness or irritation from the saddle. I also haven't experienced any perennial numbness since using this saddle.

The only thing you need to make sure you do, if you are mounting the saddle yourself, is to watch their web site video on proper installation. You also need to see their illustration on where you are suppose to sit on the saddle. If you mount it wrong or don't sit on it correctly, it will be very uncomfortable.

I would normally agree with you but for the fact that you sit differently on an ISM saddle than you do on a conventional saddle. On an ISM, your sit bones go behind the prongs and not on the wide part of the saddle. On an ISM, you should have 1 to 11/2" of saddle slowing behind you, if you are sitting on it correctly.

Some good information there. I bought an Adamo before I got my SMP and tried to ride it without looking at their site. I didn't last a week on the Adamo and I didn't have a clue why. I gather the Cobb saddles came for one of the people that used to make Adamo and I have tried one of those as well. I am surprised that the Cobbs seem easier to mount and adjust, for me anyway. But some of my Tri friends swear by Adamos and I found them to be crotch hatchets. I still swear by SMPs but I wonder if I would have adapted to the Adamo even with the extra padding?

The fitter that suggested that I get an ISM now works for them. He told me the Cobb saddle and the ISM were designed by the same person at ISM. When the designer left and started making the Cobb, he had to change the design some because ISM held the patent on the original design. The change was a closed nose and a slightly different angle of the prongs.

Thanks, John.

I noticed that early versions of the Adamo say "Design by John Cobb" on the back:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ISM-ADAMO-Gel...GPQ~~60_57.JPG

Does the Prologue seem like a good compromise between performance and comfort.

I defer to your experience, but what does your position on the ISM saddle have to do with padding? Thanks!

Saddle nose has to be awful wide , since there's 2 ..

My understanding is that there isn't much area beneath where you are sitting to force the padding to disperse across a large area as there would be if you sat at the rear and widest part of a conventional saddle. ISM is a local company and I actually met the owner (after I got mine) at an open house of one of the LBSs in Tampa. He had a demo of the saddle and explained why the saddle is shaped as it is and why you don't sit on it like a conventional saddle. It probably doesn't make sense to most people unless they ride on one and feel the difference. BTW, I have no affiliation with ISM in any way except being a very satisfied owner of their product.

I know a lot of riders that ride on various ISM models and none of them have any complaints about comfort. The Prologue is designed for triathlon and distance riders. The prongs are more tapered toward one another rather than going straight out, like several of their models. With the Prologue, that design allows you to go from riding on the hoods to riding the drops or an aerobar without shifting the hips and it does work well. I ride on aerobars for most of my ride, when at the MUP, and it's a flawless transition to go from hoods to the aerobar and back.

ISM is a local company (headquartered just outside of Tampa), so a lot of our shops carry a wide variety of their saddles. I don't know how it is where you live, but my suggestion is to see if you can try several of their models. Each of their models are made for various types of riding and it depends on what type of riding you do as to how the saddle will work for you. From what my LBS tells me, the Road and the Podium are the two most popular models but they also sell quite a few Prologues. If you haven't been on their web site, here is a link so you can see the differences in the saddles. ISM Saddles

Thanks again, John.

This thread has several user reviews, and a lot of discussion of the different models:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Sl...view_P3699697/

Even discounting the honeymoon factor, I see a lot of very favorable reviews. The Prologue may be the best for me.

The triathlon community is really into Adamos.

I think the biggest issue with the Adamo saddles is that riders perceive them to be like conventional saddles. Many of them level the saddle when they install them and you should really level the rails. Then they adjust the fore/aft to match their old saddle and end up sitting on the rear of the saddle and complaining that the prongs make the saddle too wide, so they end up pulling the prongs together with nylon ties. That ends up making the saddle very uncomfortable and they end up getting rid of it. I guess they don't read the packaging that tells them to visit the web site for correct installation and adjustment settings.

For those that are interested and/or wondering what I have been trying to explain in the past several posts about how to sit on an ISM saddle, here is a photo of me (taken by one of my teammates at the last MS 150) properly sitting on the saddle. Notice where my sit bones are located compared to a conventional saddle. This is why they aren't set up and adjusted the same as a conventional saddle. I was having some knee issues that day and thus the reason for the knee brace.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...03331059_n.jpg

Yeah, with just about any other saddle you'd get people saying you're sitting way forward. I wonder what the function is of the extra saddle behind where you sit? Seems like a waste of materials.

My understanding is that it is there to make the saddle legal for races.

Thanks John!

Just won a white "ISM ADAMO PROLOGUE seat/saddle in excellent condition. This is gently used with no rips or tears" on eBay for $120.50, including shipping. $16 less than the max bid that I sniped in with 30 seconds to go. eBay sure can be fun.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ISM-ADAMO-PRO...z6Q~~60_57.JPG

That really looks like it's brand new. Good find at a good price; they're normally between $170 and $185 depending on the LBS. Now we need to get a ride report.

Edit: One other thing, Treks and other manufacturers that use seat posts where the saddle clamp bolts are on the side vs the bottom, often have instances where one of the prongs will drop lower than the other. This is not a problem with the saddle but an issue with the these types of seat posts if one of the clamp bolts is not tightened enough. This just happened to my riding buddy on his Trek 5.2 and I mentioned it to my friend at ISM. If this happens, loosen the clamp bolt on the lowered side, straighten the saddle prong and retighten the clamp bolt. It is best if you tighten the clamp bolts with a torque wrench to the specified torque.

I have had a lot of people tell me that. Then I tell them that it's the way you sit on this type of saddle and they look at me as if I was an idiot or something. I had one guy at one of my charity rides yell at me, as he passed me, that I was going to slide off my saddle if I didn't put my a$$ where it belonged. It does make for a good conversation piece at times.

"Then there are saddles,” I went on—I wished to get this lesson home to him. “Can you think of any saddle ever advertised that you have not tried?”

He said: “It has been an idea of mine that the right saddle is to be found.”

I said: “You give up that idea; this is an imperfect world of joy and sorrow mingled. There may be a better land where bicycle saddles are made out of rainbow, stuffed with cloud; in this world the simplest thing is to get used to something hard. There was that saddle you bought in Birmingham; it was divided in the middle, and looked like a pair of kidneys.”

He said: “You mean that one constructed on anatomical principles.”

“Very likely,” I replied. “The box you bought it in had a picture on the cover, representing a sitting skeleton—or rather that part of a skeleton which does sit.”

He said: “It was quite correct; it showed you the true position of the—”

I said: “We will not go into details; the picture always seemed to me indelicate.”

He said: “Medically speaking, it was right.” Three Men on a Bummel, Jerome K. Jerome, 1900