My Adamo Prologue arrived today ($120 from eBay), and I'll share the evaluation with you. I purchased this because my Specialized Alias, although comfortable, caused prostate problems after long rides (slow peeing). If I tilted the Alias forward a lot, I didn't have the problems, but it was less comfortable.

Here's what it looks like compared with my Specialized Alias 143. I lined them up based on where I expect my sit bones to go:



... and side by side:



The saddle is a bit more cushy than my alias.

I watched the installation video, and followed instructions, took a few trips up the street, then took off on a 16 mile ride.

At first it didn't feel that different from my old saddle, but after fore-aft and tilt changes, it felt like it was indeed going to be an improvement.

It's hard to know exactly where to sit, fore and aft wise. But as I rode, I gradually moved it back, sitting further forward. There was a point where I thought, "should I sit even further forward?" and when I did, there was a big improvement. There were a few "Wow, this is perfect" moments. You really do have to play around with the exact configuration.

I think my sit bones ended up just slightly behind the back-most part of the cutout. With a little discrete probing when no one was watching, I could tell that there was nothing between my perineum and the ground.

At the end of the ride, this is how I had things positioned:



The saddle is back as far as it will go. But I'm not actually sitting further back.

I was comfortable, though I could feel spots that hadn't been in contact with the saddle before. My sit bones are used to the pressure. There was no chafing.

Other considerations:

I had thought the saddle might look dorky, but it does not.

I had been worried that because the prongs come together at the front, I'd be sacrificing the benefits of the saddle. This was unfounded, since this narrowed part of the saddle is in front of the perineum. I can look down and see it while riding. It does reduce contact with my thighs, so I don't expect any chafing issues.

Someone had posted that you can't sit up straight when on this saddle. That's not true, and I could comfortably lean back and ride no hands.

I will do longer rides next week and keep you posted.

I love that "discrete probing" part! I'll follow your thread. Wait.... not because of the probing.... oh, you know what I mean.

Thanks for the update. Will follow.

Nice report Al. It looks like you are going to become another convert. I was lucky that I didn't have to fiddle around with the saddle to adjust it. The saddle was mounted and adjusted by my Retul fitter according to my fitting data. He got dead on with the first try.

The Selle Italia SLR Superflow also has generous amounts of spacing. They too say to scoot up on the saddle. I would compare that with the ISM.

Took my first ride on a Century ISM yesterday. No more "whoosh" pins and needles after standing up. Standing up is just standing up now. It definitely has a defined sweet spot but after the ride yesterday, I was merely stiff and not flat in pain like my "normal" saddle.

I think I'm going to like it, time will tell.

No more scratching my butt with the saddle nose, with one of those..

Actually, it works better than a regular saddle for that purpose. Twist a little to the right and use the right prong a little to the left and use the left prong.

TMI. Big time.

J.

Yesterday I went on a 60 mile ride with the Adamo.

Comfort

On a scale of 1-10 the comfort ranged from 6.5 to 10, with an average of 7.5. It wasn't that it got less comfortable as the ride proceeded, it would just change as I'd try different positions. I increased the nose-down tilt, and that was an improvement. The problem is that I am now at the maximum tilt allowed by my seatpost. Here is is after the ride:



Note that the rails are almost parallel to the ground, which is the starting point recommended by the manufacturer. Perhaps I'll swap seatposts with my wife and see if her's allows more tilt. It really seems that a little more tilt is what I need. I have no impression of sliding forward or putting more weight on the handlebars.

It is hard to know exactly where I should be sitting -- there isn't a clearcut sweetspot. When I'm sitting further forward, I don't feel like I'm optimally positioned on the bike, yet I'm still behind the standard KOPS position. The saddle is as far back as it will go (there is a "MAX" marking on the rails). If you are looking at the photo, and thinking that it looks wildly cantilevered, remember that one sits further forward on an Adamo than on other saddles, since the front is "cut off."

I think that most of the discomfort just represents new-saddle-syndrome; that is, my butt needs to adjust.

Prostate

Based on last night and this morning, the prostate was OK, but not perfect. I'd say 80% of normal, non-ride status. It didn't fare quite as well as with the tilted-forward Alias saddle. Note that this is hard to judge.

Conclusion: Jury still out.

I'm not going to argue anybody's opinion of the saddle, or the fitting suggestions of the manufacturer. The angle and the fore/aft positioning of the saddle just don't look right to me.

I know what you mean, but remember that you are comparing apples and oranges. Does this look better to you?



Because the location of my sit bones is about the same as with the Adamo configuration:



The Adamo essentially has the nose cut off, and "added" to the back (to meet race requirements for length).

Actually, I will say that the lack of a nose is more of a marketing thing. On my Alias, my body never touched the front several inches of the saddle, and on the Adamo, it doesn't touch the front inch. So whether it comes together in the front or not is irrelevant.

But when people are looking for a saddle that doesn't put pressure on the perineum, they see one without a nose and say "that's what I need!" Anyway, that's what I did. Not saying it won't work, I'm just saying that the lack of a nose isn't what will make it work.

That looks to me like the frame doesn't fit you with the seat all the way back on an offset seat post.

Also, the down angle to me looks fairly extreme.

Recently, I started to get some numbness after upping my mileage. I was riding on a Fizik Alliante VS (middler version with the channel) but that wasn't working any more. So I put my Koobi Alpha PRS back on my bike and problem was solved, no pressure. The PRS has a channel that runs almost the length of the saddle and my problem was solved - very comfortable.

After talking with the Koobi folks before I bought the saddle, and explicitly discussing the ISM with them, they say that they are very similar in practice. What I did notice was that I did have to adjust my seat down at the noise a bit - but we're talking less than 2 degrees as measured by the gyroscopic level app on my iphone which tends to be pretty accurate. In the photo you've posted here, based on looking at the seat rails, you've got way more than that going on and it looks to me like too much. What I'm wondering is that if the frame size is an issue that it may be cramping you up on the frame and causing your hip position to be wrong putting more pressure where you don't want it to be.

J.

It's possible. I've been very comfortable and happy for years, but trying to keep the prostate happy too has opened a Pandora's box.

As for too much forward tilt, it may look funny, but if I'm not sliding forward or being pushed onto the handlebars, perhaps it's not an issue.

It does look better, but I don't think I would be comfortable on that. Also, I seem to have more power available with the saddle in a more forward position. Whatever works for you, works, not for me to say.

I've been using a saddle with a large cutout all this year, over 2000 miles. I won't say which saddle it is until I use it more. Generally, it's been great at relieving pressure on the soft tissue. I've had some minor saddle sores, probably from me not positioning my butt on the saddle properly. Still working on that. I'll keep you posted..

Here is a photo of me, taken by a teammate, riding my Prologue. After losing a lot of weight, I don't have much of a butt, but there is less saddle showing if I sit more upright. That ride was this years MS 150 where I had absolutely zero saddle issues. While my fore/aft position is different then yours, the rails are set level with the ground.

I sent an email to ISM with a reference to this thread, and here is the response I got:

It does seem that when you mess with one little thing that the whole fit gets screwed up. Been there for sure.

With things like this, I always start to wonder when things are getting up against the max or min adjustment if there isn't something else going on.

I guess not seeing you on this particular frame it would be hard to tell, but getting a fitter to take a peak wouldn't be a bad idea. Getting other eyes on the problem while you are on your bike would probably get you pretty close to where it needed to be and then you could adjust from there.

My other idea would be to give a Koobi a try as well. I would think that vis a vis prostate pressure, their relief channel is going to be similar to the ISM since it runs pretty much the whole length of the saddle. You could probably replace it without a lot of fooling around too.

J.

28 miles today, riding slowly with my wife (thus more pressure on saddle).

My sit bones were sore from Monday's ride, but as Dave said, that's a good thing. IOW, it just felt like they are getting used to the new saddle. Prostate is OK.

I have to say that I still like the nose-down tilt.



I lowered the saddle about a centimeter, which seems good.

I did another 61 mile ride yesterday, and I've concluded that this saddle is not going to work for me. Although I could probably get it to be comfortable, it is still putting pressure on the prostate such that at night, I pee slower.

Here's my thinking on what's going on:

This is a pelvis:



The arrows point to what are usually called the sit-bones. The widest parts, called the ischial tuberosities are where my butt meets the saddle. The narrower forward parts, called the pubic rami, would meet the saddle if I were leaning a lot further forward.

While riding (again when no one is looking), I can put my finger under my butt and palpate the sit-bone [something one normally pays extra for ]. I can feel exactly where the pressure is.

I can also measure the width of my sit-bones, and it comes out to about 120 mm.

Based on that 120 mm width, this is where my sit-bones sit on my old and new saddles:



I can confirm that by palpating with my finger. I am sometimes even further forward on the Adamo, like this:



My conclusion is that because my sit-bones are hanging over the side of the Adamo, it is exerting pressure on the perineum. On my old saddle, when I'm on the black pads, and the saddle is tilted forward, there's no pressure one the perineum. That's why I may be less comfortable, but don't have any prostate symptoms at night.

I'm open to other viewpoints on this.

My plan is to do some rides on the old saddle, and compare the effects the night after a ride -- make sure I'm not misremembering.

Al, bummer. I've been also considering trying one of the ISM Adamo saddles. I'm riding a Rivet now. I love the shape, but it's so stiff I can't get it broken in. I may try treating the saddle (not recommended by Rivet) or just send it back.

Look at Koobi Saddles. That's what I'm going to and have been fairly happy with them. The are wide in the back where you are supposed to sit and then there is a long and generous relieve channel that runs the length of the saddle with the nose turned down. You are supposed to set up the saddle with 0-10 degree down angle, I have mine at about 1 degree. I do notice the complete lack of pressure all along the whole nose of the saddle on the perineum. It's a "sit on the sit bones" sort of saddle.

J.

sorry to hear it didn't work for you. i recently bought a Selle SMP Dynamic saddle and tho i found the configuration kind of wierd, the way they make it once i got it adjusted by far one of the finest saddles i have ever ridden. the smp may not be for everyone and they are costly however i had about 5 saddles that i have tried recently laying around in boxes that just didn't work for me. my problem was not a prostate issue more of a spondolytis issue, DJD in my neck and spine as well as RA. the smp saddle inmo is really great.

Another saddle you may want to look at or email some questions too and they will answer, is Cobb saddles..best of luck on your search

Dave was my Retul fitter before he went to work for ISM. He also mounted my Prologue on my Colnago from my Retul settings and got it right on the first try. Great guy and he really knows what he is talking about. Part of his job is Retul fitting some of the cycling teams in the bay area that use ISM saddles. He has also fitted some pro riders that use ISM saddles.

Al,

Sorry to hear that you are having issues with the saddle. I know a lot of ISM users and haven't run into many where their sit bones are too wide for the saddle. Let me know if you want to sell it and I can see if I can get some of my cycling friends that have been wanting to try one to to buy it from you.

This sounds like a good idea as long as they don't charge you an arm and a leg to look. If you have a fitter that you have previously used, I would try him first if he did a good job fitting you.

I've got my hands on an ISM Adamo Podium to try. It might be a bit firm (OTOH, I'm 200 lbs!), but it will be a good test of the shape. I suppose I have a small concern about chaffing since my legs are fairly large.