ciclista_pazza

I've had 7 years of riding on a Brooks saddle on a number of different bikes (road bikes, hybrid bikes, vintage bikes, a Brompton, etc) with almost no saddle sores, However, in the past 1/2 a year of so, I've been experiencing recurring saddle sores in the inner groin area to the point where I'm considering a noseless saddle as I've heard they relieve the pressure in that area. I'm specifically looking at an Adamo ISM saddle.

I'm female by the way. Also, for some background info on my recurring saddle sores, I'm not sure why they started all of a sudden when I hadn't had them in the past as I had not made any changes. I've done all the basics such as good hygeine, changing out of shorts as soon as I get to the destination, showering and using diaper cream, witch hazel, etc on the sores. Using new shorts for every ride. Use Body Glide in sensitive areas to avoid friction. And of course taking time off the bike when I get one to allow it to heal, which has meant almost no time on the bike in the past 6 months. I also had my bike fitted and everything there should be good. The saddle sores are to the point where I will have to give up riding if I can't get it solved. And I don't have a vehicle so I rely on my bike to get everywhere so this is a huge issue for me. At this point, I think I'm done with trying to make adjustments as I just need to get back to biking and can't afford to Uber everywhere, so I'm at least planning to try a noseless saddle to see if this helps.

Has anyone switched to an Adamo ISM noseless saddle to relive saddle sores?

And another question - has anyone gotten saddle sores from the Adamo ISM?

One last note is, this is the Adamo saddle I'm considering https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...k_ql_qh_dp_hza - does anyone know off hand if this specific model has any issues I should be aware of? It looks good for commuting and I think the "touring" model has more padding than the sport.

delbiker1 

You mention you had a bike fitting. You also state that you have not made any changes before the sores started. Were there any changes made in your position on the bike or with the setup of the bike due to the fitting? I had a problem with saddle sores this year after getting very few in all my years of cycling. I tried different saddles, but they did not help. I decided to do some self analyzing on my bike set up and on my position on the bike. I realized I had developed a lot of bad habits when riding. It started with my getting lazy and not making adjustments on the set up of my bikes. They were all different. I was too far forward or backward on the saddle, my seat post was too high or too low, the handlebars were too high on all with a couple worse than the others. I was not being still on the bike, head and shoulders bobbing, arms moving away from the body, shoulders and neck hunched up and stiff, arms extended to far or not enough, knees pointing to the outside of the bike, etc. I began the process of changing the set up on my bikes and being aware of my position on the bike and staying balanced and still and loose. I also trashed a couple of my bike shorts as they were stretched out, the leg grippers no longer effective, shorts bunching in my crotch and padding not up to par. All these things took some time and testing, and a willingness to changed. I have been riding a lot, 20 to forty miles almost everyday and I have not had a saddle sore in the past 3 weeks. I also retried a couple of saddles that I thought may be a cause of the sores. I am now using two of those, Pro Griffon narrow and Selle Italia C5, on two of my bikes.

ciclista_pazza

Thanks very much. This is helpful. When I had the fitting, they thought everything looked good. I did have them adjust the tilt of the saddle slightly just because I couldn't think of anything else to try and also had them bring the saddle slightly forward on the rails since I do feel like I have to reach a bit for the handlebars, but I haven't even had a chance to try that new configuration out yet since I'm still trying to heal another saddle sore. But I never had an issue with the set up before so it's weird that it would suddenly be a problem.

I try to pay attention to my posture on the saddle and it seems good. I do notice that there doesn't seem to be any way to avoid that part of my body rubbing against the saddle. No matter what I might do to adjust the saddle, it will still brush that part of my body to some extent when I'm on the saddle and peddling. I can't see how anyone could avoid some friction in that area no matter what unless they had a noseless saddle. Then again, I worry that introducing a saddle like the Adamo will give me saddle sores in other areas such as my sit bones or my inner thighs. This is so frustrating after having gone years with no problems, especially since I would frequently switch between different types of bikes all the time and never had an issue. The only time I had an issue in the past was when I first started riding and I thought those days were behind me.

good4u

The Amazon description shows the gender as male. Doesn't mean it won't work. I'm just pointing it out. Not sure if ISM site says the same.

ciclista_pazza

Thanks. I saw that too but apparently they only have one kind for men and women and some of the reviews mention that they are female and it works for them. Am hoping that wouldn't be an issue.

philbob57

I tried one of their road saddles to avoid getting numb after 15 miles on my Brooks Imperial. The design places your pubic rami on what I call the horns of the saddle, and that's where most of the rider's weight sits. It's a LOT of pressure unless you're in the drops or on aero bars. I was 71 or 72 when I tried the ISM; I'm not on the drops, and I would not want to violate my bike with aero bars. After riding the ISM for 150 miles, I developed a sore in the groin that took me 3 years to get rid of.

But saddles are very individual, so YMMV. I tried a Selle SMP TRK next, and I'm on my 2nd one. I'm happy with it. BTW, especially because the SMP is padded, I make ure my shorts have thin pads.

Chris!

I got a new bike this spring. The saddle that came with the bike caused me alot of grief. I was able to easily ride 50-75 miles on my previous bike with no issues. Long story short I tried a friends ISM saddle and loved it. He is a bit of a more aggressive road rider than I, so I emailed the company and they were super helpful. I ended up getting the PR 2.0. I will never ride another saddle. I'm a Male and not sure if that matters. Also if you get one watch the videos they have online about setting up the saddle. Best of luck.

robnol

adamo saddles are the best ive never had a sore but riding one....they are really best for riding while down on the aero bars....i wont ride any other saddle

ciclista_pazza

Some of the responses have mentioned that the Adamo ISM works better when in the drops - so does that mean it wouldn't work as well for an upright bike? I thought the noseless saddles work best on bikes where you sit more upright.

DrIsotope

The ISM touring in the Amazon link is specifically designed for an upright riding position. Most of the ISM product line is designed for an aggressive position-- drops or aerobars.

I have an ISM PN 1.1 on my road bike, but the position is quite aggressive. The ISM saddles distribute your weight in a very different way that typical saddles-- so even if you have a sore from another saddle, you can often get on an ISM-equipped bike and ride without discomfort. I go back and forth bewteen two bikes, one with noseless and the other with a Selle Anatomica H2. The different seating positions helps out.

canklecat

Check out the Bontrager Ajna saddles too. Made for women but I've found it very comfortable on rides of 20-60 miles. Dug out out of the LBS take-off saddle bin, looked unused, paid something like half or a third the new price. It's a keeper.

Not noseless, just a bit shorter nose than my Selle Italia saddles. A bit wider, around 145 vs the 130 I usually ride. Generous cutout to relieve perineum pressure.

Also, try a set of Przewalski shorts from Amazon, the earlier version with the 3D orange pad. Costs only $15-$20 and the most comfortable pad I've tried. Thicker, denser, smoother, wicks perspiration better, and cleans and air dries better than my other shorts and bibs. Might help while those sore spots are healing.

berner

Is there a possibility the problem might derive from the bike shorts themselves and have nothing to do with bike fit or saddle? I bring this up because, in the past I've had two bike shorts that did not work for some reason. One pair caused chafing severe enough I was carrying extra chamois cream in a tiny plastic bag. The other shorts caused a rash at the sewn on band just above the knee. I'm allergic to latex so I surmise latex in this area caused the rash. Since fabrics may come from anywhere on the planet so it could also be that the it was not latex at all but some unknown substance used by the manufacturer. I have in mind here the situation of a number of years ago when it was discovered that Chinese supplied baby formula contained melamine. I eventually had to throw both those shorts out.

The other possibility is the saddle. For myself, I need a saddle with a very narrow horn area, the part that juts out in front of where the sit bones rest. So narrow, in fact that I have to customize saddles by narrowing that area myself with a heat gun. Until I discovered what I need in a saddle, I was contemplating giving up cycling.

Flip Flop Rider

moonsaddle

ciclista_pazza

I've seen the performance ISM saddles - they all look like there's still such a big protrusion sticking out that it seems like you would still be hitting your inner groin on the horns - is that not the case? I'm planning to start with the ISM touring style saddle (the Amazon one I linked to) on my hybrid and then possibly putting a more aggressive version on my road bike down the road.


It's so good to hear that it may be possible to still ride on an ISM saddle even if I have an existing sore. It's getting to the point where I spend almost no time on a bike since I'm always in the process of healing a saddle sore. My current saddle sore was caused by riding my bike to the bike shop to get the saddle adjusted. So crazy! And that was nearly 2 weeks ago and it shows no signs of going away. I don't know how it got to this point after no saddle sores for years. I'm hoping the ISM is an answer.

ciclista_pazza

Thanks! I doubt it's the shorts because those haven't changed and are still fairly new. I've also used the same Brooks saddles for years - a B17 on my road bike and a wider sprung version on my hybrid. I've measured my sit bones and there doesn't seem to be any issue with the width of either saddle. I've never had any problem until the past 6 months. I'm pretty heartbroken about the possibility of not using Brooks saddles anymore since I've always been such a fan and I especially love my sprung saddle, but it's to the point where I just want to ride again and will try anything.

canklecat

Regarding the sporty type ISM saddle and similar designs, I've heard a few anecdotes.

Part of the problem trying to make sense of some anecdotes is the lack of specificity. Folks are often shy to describe specifics about their undercarriage. And if they describe a rash or skin irritation, some commenters will pile on with presumptions about personal hygiene even when the original poster specifies every preventive measure taken.

So when someone says "Such and such saddle/shorts/magic fixed my saddle sores!", we don't know what problem was fixed if they didn't specify whether it's an ache or bruise type pain on the sit bones, numbness in the perineum (generally the urethra in men), labia swelling (two of the main reasons cutout saddles were developed), rash without skin break, or a full on skin break sore, it's difficult to give or get useful advice.

In my case, I've lost 25 lbs since I resumed cycling in 2015, including some padding where I sit. So saddles and clothing that were comfortable at 175 lbs ain't comfy at 150.

Often rashes aren't a hygiene problem but a recurrence of viral or fungus problems that are usually dormant until our immune system is compromised. Most folks have some exposure to the same viruses and fungi that cause skin problems, but they may have few or no problems if they're relatively healthier, have no auto-immune disorders, are relatively stress-free, etc. Between Hashimoto's and psoriatic arthritis I've seen various skin irritations pop up and vanish over the decades, usually around my hands and occasionally scalp. I had athlete's foot once in junior high school and never since, but once we've been infected that stuff never really goes away and lurks to pop up elsewhere later. So at the first hint of an itch or irritation in the undercarriage I use miconazole, a potent topical steroid ointment and zinc oxide with diphenhydramine to keep it from worsening. And it always accompanies times of stress in my life, including pesky physical health issues.

A friend tried an ISM saddle a couple of years ago after struggling with persistent saddle pain. He wasn't specific. At least half of the comments were useless stuff about personal hygiene, presuming he hadn't already tried everything. It was sore sit bones, and the ISM saddle didn't help since extreme cutout saddles force all the support onto the sit bones. With full saddles the pressure is spread out to include the perineum, which can be helpful for some folks. He's back to Fizik saddles. It may have a slight, shallow center recess but not a full cutout.

In his early Worst Retirement Ever videos, Phil Gaimon specified perineal and penile numbness as the reason for switching to an ISM or similar saddles. Looking at his fairly extreme aero tuck for KOM attempts, it's easy to see why that could be an issue.

I had similar problems when I first tried an aero bar, or using the invisible aero bar -- draping the forearms across the bar. Stuff got numb and achy where I'd never had problems before. I had to tilt the saddle nose down a bit to compensate. But eventually I started trying cutout saddles. The first, a Selle Italia Q-bik, wasn't quite right for any riding position on any of my bikes, road or hybrid. Too much padding on the sit bones for upright riding, not enough cutout to relieve perineum pressure when in an aero tuck. It was somewhat better with Aero Tech Pro shorts, which have minimal padding -- just a washcloth thickness of soft microfiber with little loft and no density. It was the closest I've found to old school leather chamois.

I switched back to my solid Selle Italia on one road bike, and recently the Bontrager Ajna on the other bike with lower drops and more aggressive riding position. And those Przewalski shorts I mentioned, for the excellent 3D pad. So far, so good, since last summer on many rides up to 60 miles.

I'm not sure I'd get along with a noseless saddle -- including the rather extreme Moon Saddle -- because I'm consciously using the nose of the bike both to "steer" and I slide onto the nose for short bursts of aggressive riding -- seated sprints, or mashing up climbs rather than spinning. Then I'll slide back. I'd miss having that nose and I'm not sure I could change my riding style now. I was a little concerned about the slightly shorter Ajna saddle, but so far the nose has been long enough for my style that I don't notice any issues.

But on a recent large group ride I chattered with a woman who had a well worn Moon Saddle and she loved it. So it works for some folks.

DrIsotope

It takes some getting used to for sure. As I mentioned I'm using a PN 1.1, one of the narrowest models, as I have pretty narrow sitbones (I used 130 in "normal" saddles) and my thighs come pretty darn close to one another. I was initially concerned about how noseless was going to work, but I took to it with no real discomfort. When seated on it properly (at least with the aggressive models) I'm all the way at the very front, only touching maybe the front 2.5" of the saddle. I don't know how to accurately describe it, but it rests on a completely different part of the anatomy than with a traditional saddle shape. My longest rides on it are all sub-6 hours, and there is some soreness toward the end of anything 4+ hours, but never any residual discomfort, sores, abrasion, bruising, etc. I only have a few thousand miles on noseless, compared to the say 25k+ miles on Selle Anatomica saddles, so I think a big part of it is just a matter of me still acclimating to it.

I still get a saddle sore from my SA saddles every once in a rare while, usually in the summer when it's quite hot, and I'm wearing a pair of bibs that should probably have been retired long ago, where the chamois has been pummeled to the thickness of deli ham.

berner

My last idea is a fungal infection. This is something current I'm just getting over that was, initially, tough to cure on my own. This surprised me because I'm always diligent about hand washing bike shorts the instant I get home form a ride. At first I thought it was another sort of rash but after a week of my own treatment with antibiotic ointment, the MD diagnosed fungal infection. The ointment prescribed contains Terbinafine Hydrocloride Cream 1% antifungal cream. A brand that is the same stuff is Lamisil. Good luck - I know it is frustrating.

subgrade

Anothert thought: perhaps the root of the problem is in changing physiology, i.e. sweating more/changes in the composition of it that make it more irritating to the skin?

ciclista_pazza

Well, they all start as bumps, like acne, but if I were to keep riding on them after that, then they turn into boils, which can involve a fungal infection I guess. However, when I had my last one, the doctor prescribed an antifungal that didn't help. Ultimately, for me it seems to just come down to chafing causing the problem initially since it's always in areas that brush against the saddle. I haven't had any of these saddles sores become too bad except one this past spring that lasted forever and did become infected but that was mostly because I kept riding on it when I should have stopped. Usually they just stay as bumps since I stop riding when they occur, and then they go away in a couple of weeks.

canklecat

Yeah, changes in perspiration due to changes in diet might be a factor. I use a lot more electrolytes than I used to and it helps. But it drastically alters my sweat. My skin feels soapy during and after a ride, and I get more whitish frosting on everything so I even need to wipe down my helmet straps after every ride. I have a hunch that might soften the skin and make it more vulnerable to breakdown, but that's just a guess.

Regarding bacteria, fungus, etc, it probably won't hurt to douse the shorts/bibs pads with hydrogen peroxide after wearing, along with washing. I usually hand wash my bike duds in tepid water, which makes them last longer but won't kill bacteria, etc. So I'll occasionally douse with peroxide. Hasn't hurt my bike clothing. Helps get out some kinds of stains, especially blood if I've scraped a knee or elbow against brush. Even my white jersey still looks good after a year despite some occasional blood stains from scrapes. With blood it's best to avoid hot or warm water, which can set the blood stain.

BTW, as a preventive or treatment for undercarriage rash, boils, ingrown hair irritation, etc., some hemorrhoid creams are effective. Look for the stuff that contains glycerin, phenylephrine (reduces swelling), and pramoxine (anesthetic). Some also contain witch hazel. Good combination for comfort and washes out easily afterward. Costs a whole dollar at the Dollartree.

Fungal stuff can be tricky. Sometimes miconazole works, sometimes something stronger like Lidex. Only problem with stronger steroids is they can thin the skin and defat the subcutaneous tissue, so we need to be careful and use the minimum and for no longer than necessary. Otherwise the skin is more vulnerable even after the surface has healed.

But, again, check out the orange 3D pad on the inexpensive Przewalski shorts. Really comfortable, best wicking of perspiration and smoothest surface of any pad I've tried. For only $15 or so it's worth a try.

philbob57

DrIsotope makes me remember something that may be significant. The ISM's 'horns' allow you to use your thighs to help control your bike. Traditional noseless saddles just support the butt. Thighs are in mid-air. Most cyclists reportedly use their thighs whether they realize it or not.

ciclista_pazza

Thanks! I've heard this too and have heard that the ISM with the horns does help with more control than other noseless saddles. That's one additional reason I'm thinking about getting it. I actually considered the Schwinn Comfort Seat (noseless saddle) and am glad I decided against that. I can only imagine how dangerous that one could be, especially considering how many of the reviews on Amazon said the saddle just dangerously broke apart after a year.

ciclista_pazza

This is possible since it was technically getting a little warmer when all this started as it was spring then, and of course now with summer it's much hotter than that. However, I've lived in the southwest for about 12 years and have been biking here for about 8 years so I don't see why that should suddenly be an issue. However, I have heard other people say they suddenly developed a problem with saddle sores out of the blue so I guess I'm not alone in this. Very confusing.

John_V 

I can't tell you why you are getting the saddle sores but I can tell you that I've been riding an ISM Prologue saddle (now called the PL1.1) since 2012. I have one on each of my bikes and won't ride anything else. I've never had any saddle sores or chaffing issues due to the saddle but have had a few issues with some of the shorts I've had in the past. If you're set on ISM, my suggestion is to use ISM's Trial Program to find one that you like before you purchase one. While I, and some others that I know, love the ISM line of saddles, I do have some friends that have tried them and hate them. It's all an individual preference.