Caveat: I do not own a noseless saddle, and I don’t know anyone who does. I did do some research to determine whether they’re the kind of thing road bikers would like. These are my conclusions based on that research. Take what I say here with a grain of salt.
A recent New York Times article extolls the virtues of noseless saddles. They mostly eliminate pressure on the perineum (the soft tissues down below) and make for a more comfortable ride. They also prevent erectile dysfunction in men that can result from repeatedly squishing your naughty bits against a saddle’s nose.
I was intrigued by the article, and followed its links to different saddle makers to learn more about what’s out there. There are a lot more of them — by more different makers — than I thought.
Some offer what amounts to a bench. The Nexride is one of these, but pivots 15 degrees left to right as your butt flexes with each pedal stroke.
Others make a special effort to cushion the sit bones. The Hobson Easy Seat is one such example. Two padded cushions cradle the sit bones, and there is no saddle nose to squish the perineum.
Or, the seat could be shaped like a crescent, to cushion the sit bones in a slightly different way. The ISM Sport model exemplifies these types.
One recurring theme soon became apparent:
Noseless saddles are mostly for upright riding.
The saddle websites say so. Here’s just a sample of what you can find:
The Hobson Easy Seat: “NOTE: The best position for the seat is sitting upright with handle bars positioned upward.”
Comfort Saddle: “The Comfort Saddle is best suited for cyclists who prefer to sit upright.”
ISM Sport: “Designed for more upright types of riding such as hybrids or light trail riding.”
But most readers of this blog are roadies. We don’t sit upright on our bikes, except to take a few minutes rest during a long ride. So as good as these saddles sound, they might not be the solution for us.
However, one of the companies in the noseless saddle business — ISM — might have the answer. They make the upright kinds of saddles just as their competitors do, but they also make oddly-shaped saddles with a split nose that is supposed to accomplish the same thing — take pressure off the perineum.
ISM produces a range of different saddles, geared for riders from time trialists to recreational road riders. The saddle pictured here is the ISM Adamo Road. It has two “arms” in front with a relatively wide gap between them — and the arms do not meet at the front. The design is supposed to prevent blood loss from compression of the soft tissue, as well as keep weight off the perineum and on the sit bones.
A check of various equipment review sites finds anecdotal support for the benefits of the ISM saddle. It boils down to this: The wide cutout between the two nose parts eases pressure on the soft tissues. The fact that there is still a “nose” of sorts to the saddle allows riders to have a similar sensation as a nosed saddle.
ISM saddles retail for a low of $119 to a high of $224, depending on the model. I’ve said before that I’m happy with my $25 WTB saddle. But when it’s time to replace it, I’ll be looking closely at an ISM.






I use a Brooks B17 Imperial saddle which has a center cutout for the same purpose and it is awesome!
I rode on my new ISM Adamo Road saddle this morning on my 6 mile commute to work. I ride a road bike, and like to get aero, even on my commute.
My first impressions on that short ride is that the saddle really does put most of your weight on your sit bones, I could really feel it, and it’s going to take some getting used to. I’ll have to build back up to 50 and 60 miles.
Secondly, the aborted nose is much wider than my normal saddle, and I have to consciously fight the urge to let my knees spread out.
Other than those two things, it felt like a normal saddle. I can’t really feel if it’s putting less pressure on the boy bits, since I never had any problems with numbness, but a physical check shows that indeed, that particular area is free from contact.
Thanks for the input, Jon. I was wondering about the nose on the ISM, since it does seem wider than normal ones. Anyone else out there have experience with either the ISM or with noseless saddles?
I know a guy in San Antonio who has used such a saddle for years, swears by it. His is one of those that just has the two pads for the sit bones. I swear, it looks like something I’d fall off of, but doctors seem to feel they are better for us.
I busted out the ISM sport that someone had given me a few years back and finally decided to try it out just this week. I put it on my hybrid/commuter bike which has the bars about even with the saddle. I did not like it at all. It felt like it forced my legs open and my sit bones kept rolling from side to side which gave the bike a twitchy feel. I’m going to further investigate positioning the saddle, but my first impression is not a good one. I’ve got a Brooks B17 on order since that seems to what everyone seems to recommend. I’m quite fond of the Terry Liberator too as it has a pretty generous cut-out, but retains a more conventional shape for a “sport” saddle. I do suffer from numbness while riding more than 10 miles on a roadie with a conventional saddle or even a small cut-out like the Terry Fly, which is why I’m going through the trouble. I usually do most of my riding MTB style, where most of the riding is done out of the saddle, but I’ve started commuting 30 miles round trip and my wife wants another kid soon, so sitting directly on the baby-maker is probably not conducive to that. Anyway, if I am able to figure out how to get the ISM sport to not fell like hell I’ll drop a note, otherwise assume I’m riding the B17.
Speaking as a doctor, and an internist, and a cyclst, it amazes me how many riders are either ignorant or predjudiced against noseless saddles. It is true, that many cyclists don’t spend the time adequately having themselves fit to their bike, however, it is UNDENIABLE that damage to the peroneal nerve and blood flow is affected by a traditional saddle. It is not all the fit and cyclists that say this are ignorant. I personally suffered with everything from numbness to actual impotence for almost 6 months until I saw a urologist that said “it’s the bike stupid – stop riding”. I didn’t want to believe it. I thought I could just power through it but when I started to get up 6 times at night to pee I realized that the problem was getting worse. Changing to the Alias Specialized was no benefit. Off the bike for 6 months everything slowly returned completely to normal. I have now tried a few of the nose-less saddles and I can say this – they do protect your parts. It is a really weird ride though. I had to ditch my zero shoe clips because my balance was so off. Now finally going back to clipped shoes. I strongly recommend that cyclists look seriously at their seat if any symptoms start.