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Ouch. Bike saddles

 Any tips for a good saddle. Just getting back on the bike, but having discomfort, especially when trying to go aero. Heard adamo and Cobb v flow were good. I'm a 220 lb Clydesdale, so that's a lot of pressure. Hoping this will make it easier to roll hips and sit more on the nose. Any tips?

Comments

  • Brian, I'm in the market for a good saddle as well. After 7+ years of roadie riding with a Koobi saddle (with slight numbing of the Australians after around 2 hours) I'm looking for comfort. Lots of fans for Cobb and Adamo saddles in the house based on searching the forums. I'm going to try out one of the Cobb saddles based on the reviews I've been able to find in here. I'm also going to watch this thread for feedback to your question. Good luck in your hunt.
  • brian, saddle choices are very personal. Last year I switched to an adamo (I too am a clysdale) and it has made a world of difference in terms of comfort for long rides in the aerobars.

    I would encourage you to go to the trifit.com web site as they hav a couple of great videos about how you set them up (in addition to EN getting a discount to buy through them) as they are not the same as normal seats in terms of tilt, where your weight sits, and the amount of seat that you are NOT actually sitting on (not to mention that the nose of thesaddle is actually not coming all the way up past the taint.

    I have been very happy with adamo.

  • I'm a Clyde-lite currently weighing 205lbs... I used the Cobb V-Flow Max all yr last yr with great success. I did a couple of HIM's and IMLou with no issues at all. I also did a couple of 150mile bike rides and had no issues. This winter I started getting a bit of numbness on my trainer for 1 HR so I decided to give the Adamo (time-trial) a try. I generally like it but it rubs a slightly different place (the inside of my legs on either side of the taint) because it is wider in the front. I know several people who tried the Cobb and then switched to the Adamo and it solved their numbness issues completely. I like the Cobb better as an overall bike seat and infinitely better than something like a Fizik as far as I'm concerned, but the Adamo wins (barely) for me if you plan to be locked into the aerobars greater then 90% of the time.

    Bottom line, they are both good and you just need to find which one works for you. Cobb has a 180 day money back guarantee with no questions and awesome customer service. I for one will be keeping my Cobb V-Flow Max on my road bike forever. I think I'll stick with the Adamo on my tri bike, but the difference for me is just barely marginally better when in the aero position for a long time.
  • I've been riding an Adamo for three years now and it has always been okay.  I decided to test out some new saddles over the past month to see if I can find something better.  I have been trying the Specialized Romin Evo and the Cobb V-Flow Max.

    The Romin Evo is Specialized's attempt at making their Romin road saddle more Tri/TT friendly.  It's the stock saddle for the new Shiv.  It rides great when sitting up more like a road bike.  Super comfy in that position.  They still have a lot of work to do to get it comfy in the aero position.  The nose area still puts way too much pressure on my naughty bits.

    The Cobb V-Flow Max just might be the saddle I'm looking for.  I rode it for 55 miles last weekend using Cobb's basic positioning advice for the saddle.  It felt pretty good.  I got a little squirmy with it the last 45 minutes or so which means there's still some tweaking to the position.  I tilted the seat slightly forward/down and raised the seat post a smidge.  I'll see how that works this weekend.  It was every bit as comfy as the Adamo with just a basic setup.

  • I have a Cobb V flow and like it. I find it less comfortable when my bike is locked in the trainer than when outside and my bike moves with my body a bit. I also find that what Bob said is very true. Its not just the saddle but how the saddle is positioned on the bike. I actually have my saddle tilted down a bit to take some pressure off when I'm in the aero position. I also find that my saddle is more comfortable with less padding. this is a bit counter intuitive. I'm better on my bike wearing tri shorts than wearing bike shorts. believe the extra padding prevents my sit bones from interacting with the cobb saddle the right way. The extra padding just adds to the pressure in some ways.

    My expectations of comfort are also realistic. I expect to be slightly uncomfortable, especially on the longer rides. I don't expect to be numb. i think this can be solved with a good saddle and proper positioning.

    I'm 152lbs
  • Specialized has a assometer which helps them determine your sits bones and from there they can recommend saddles, if you have a bike source nearby or someone who sells specialized saddles, they may have one you can get fitted on. I feel your pain I've had many many seats including an adamo which was good except that it was to wide in the front for my fat thighs. I ended up with a Fizik Arione VS, it's got a channel down the middle, luck to you it took me years to find the right saddle.
  • I had success with a Fizik Arione for 3 years then it stopped working for me. Have been using an Adamo TT for 6 months and still tweaking it.

    The best thing to do is find a local shop that has a saddle trial program. As has been said this is very personal and what works for one may not work for another.
  • I'd love to try the two Dash saddles (Tri.7 and the TT.9) but the $500 and $600 price tags are frightening.  It even costs $100 to demo one of their saddles.  They do look interesting though.  I'd gladly pay $500 for a saddle if it meant some sort of bike riding nirvana but I don't want to pay $100 to find out it feels like every other seat I've tried.

  • Last spring I got an Adamo Breakaway and loved it initially but started to dislike it after a few hundred miles. That lead me to try a Cobb V-Flow. There too I loved it for a while but started to squirm alot. Went back to the Adamo and never went back to the Cobb. Eventually I sent the Cobb back on their 180 day refund policy. Still on the Adamo and am happy with the choice.

    Hard to say what your butt is going to like. Hard to go wrong with either.
  • Thanks for the input guys! Just got the Cobb v flow plus to try out. I figure if it doesn't work out I can get my money back and go for the adamo. I'm also thinking that some of the issue is just getting "reconditioned" to a bicycle seat! Lol
  • Brian, make sure you update us (well, actually me is all I care about image on your experience. I'm looking at the plus as well.
  • HINT for the Adamo, if you go that way: you can use a zip tie to pull the sides of the 'nose' closer together to ease your transition to your undercarriage. Worked for me and a few others.
  • Brian, with the Cobb, if you're having any troubles, pick up the phone and call them. At least last year, John Cobb himself was still pretty much handling customer support, and he worked tirelessly over several phone calls to get a buddy of mine set up just right.

    Whether his products are the best for any individual is impossible to say. However, you can't argue with the fact that he's absolutely committed to having satisfied customers.

    PS. I've ridden a V-flow plus for 2 years, and am a big, big fan. According to Cobb, most people find the Plus better for tri bikes, and the Max better for road bikes. Not sure why.
  • Did another 55 miler with the V-Flow Max with my slight adjustments and it felt pretty good. Part of me wants to try the Plus too but I gotta draw the line at 5 saddles in the last two months.
  • Ok guys, I got the Cobb v flow plus this past weekend, along with the flu. Haven't gotten a chance to try it yet. Really torn between Cobb and adamo, but figured I would try the Cobb first since they offer the 180 day money back guarantee. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the input
  • just started a 2 week demo of the dash saddle. very comfortable right out of the box without fine tuning. but I am coming from a sella italia that has very little cut out. it was hard for me to really rotate my hips forward on my old saddle. The dash is a big improvement. but it is stupid expensive so I will look for a demo of the adamo before i spend the money.
  • The Dash looks like the Adamo with the nose closed. I love my Adamo. If the Dash really works for you then it's worth the bucks. But 500 conejos is a bunch!
  • I demo'd the Dash for a couple of months and it just didn't work for me. There is very little padding and it is just as wide as the Adamo. I so desperately wanted it to work and it was very cool to have a built in bottle holder and it is super light. But it caused such intense saddle sores on the front inside of my legs that I had to send it back, So my saddle journey went from Cobb V-Fow Max --> Adamo Time Trial --> Dash --> Cobb V-Flow Max. Too be honest with you, I like my Cobb even more now after trying the Adamo and the Dash for a while.
  • In my quest to find a saddle as comfy as my terry on my road bike, I just tried the Adamo for a short 25 miles.. bruised my pelvic floor.. ouch... couldn't ride for a bunch of days... after watching all this conversation... I am going to buy a new Terry Saddle... I am confident that it will be the type of saddle I can ride aero in for 112 miles., without endless suffering.. I'll keep you all posted.
  • After spending 2 weeks with the Dash Tri I am sending it back. Testing the ISM right now. It also lets me get pretty much the same forward rotation as the dash and is less than 1/2 the price. The ISM is also more comfortable in the pursuit bars for me.
    Either way, I will not be going back to my sella. And after this is done, I am going to need a longer stem b/c I am a couple of inches further forward now.
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