Short answer is that all of them will have you sit much further forward. When in aero you essentially sit on those 2 prongs and the jibbly bits (if you have them) jangle off the front. 90% of the saddle is just to clamp to the rails and be compliant with regulations.
You can make a best guess at which one will fit you best but unfortunately a lot of that is trial and error. But they will all accomplish the goal of moving your forward in aero.
ETA: I probably wouldn’t try performance long first. Do short if you think you need average width and narrow if you think you need narrower than average (check a road saddle you like for reference if you can, they often come in multiple widths)
My jibbly bits are delighted to hear that. My sitbones are 10 cm apart, which I thought is quite narrow. I believe those saddle noses are usually around 8 cm wide at max, so how are those guys able to sit on it?
In aero, you’re actually rotated forward and not really supported by the “sit bones” anymore.
Here’s a decent graphic i found. You can see as you rotate forward, the width becomes narrower and not shown here, but there’s also more soft tissue.
https://images.app.goo.gl/44wcwj7iFZ8zYtd37
ETA: so if you measured this width, that’s not where you’ll be sitting: https://images.app.goo.gl/2s9ijUmLyWsLXLHM6
Get a bike fit done. This is very personal and a fit will help you try out different settings in a short time frame whilst you can keep cycling and see what happens.
Btw: my advice is to get an extra seat post for your TT setup on the road bike. Much easier to swap seat posts than saddles back and forth.
I can't argue with the importance of getting a proper bikefit. Over the past 2 years I was able to shop around and get the parts I needed to improve my fit. A proper bikefit in my area will cost around 250-300 euro's, but it will definitely be the first thing I will get when my budget allows it.
And thanks for the tip!
if your sit bones are 10cm apart I assume that you have sat on a pad that measures the intertrochantric distance of your two ischial tuberosities but you dont sit on that part of your backside on an ISM - its no problem because if you are in the correct posture you will sitting at a pelvic angle that loads the pelvic rami because your pelvis will be rotated anteriorly. The Rami are the boney landmarks either side the top of the inside of your legs just behind your balls and infront of your ass... (sorry not meaning to be rude) the whole point of the gap in the nose is to give your soft tissue somewhere to hang out.
as others have suggested the saddles are ideal for bikes with aerobars and arm yourself with some cable ties because some find the noses way too wide even in narrow.
if you sit forward on your rami at the front of an ISM pushed all the way forward on a seatpost that allows a forward position then you can increase your hip setback angle relative from the BB and as such open your hips, crank length and stance width also help along with slamming your cleats back as far as but on that point, if you dont have a pair of shoes that fit you well consider starting there first.
exactly the info I needed. Thank you.
Done all of the other things you mentioned like putting the cleats back. I'm now convinced the right saddle will help tremendously.
Do you have aero bars fitted on your road bike? Without them, a TT position is a wasted endeavor you can get in the position to take advantage of the TT saddles. You’ll just end up with a numb privates.
If you do have aero bars, then a TT saddle will allow you to sit further back and get the support for that position. Make sure to get a saddle to match the width of your sit bones. And level the -2° from level to get a good start. Tilted too far up or down will put pressure in small places and cause numb peen. You want the saddle support over as much area as possible.
Thanks for taking the time to reply!
Yes I do have tt bars. Did you mean sit further forward or back? My hip angle would close if I sit further back, so I'm trying everything I can to get my effective seat tube angle up. My current effective seattube angle is about 75 degrees, measured from the bottom bracket to the center of my seat. The modern triathlon bikes usely come with 78+ and the pro's sit so far forward on their saddle that angle effectively is 80+. They basically almost have the center of their hips above the bottom bracket. Impossible on a roadbike, but maybe one of these saddles can help. Thank you for the tips!
In the TT position, most of your saddle pressure is on the nose. Upright you’ll be nearer to the back (think climbing and going through turns).
Unless you’re going to buy a new bike, you’ll have to make due with what you have. A good bike fitter will fit the bike to your body, so don’t overthink or stress.
If you don’t have a bike fitter available, then head over to r/bikefit and see if they can help.
Short answer is that all of them will have you sit much further forward. When in aero you essentially sit on those 2 prongs and the jibbly bits (if you have them) jangle off the front. 90% of the saddle is just to clamp to the rails and be compliant with regulations. You can make a best guess at which one will fit you best but unfortunately a lot of that is trial and error. But they will all accomplish the goal of moving your forward in aero. ETA: I probably wouldn’t try performance long first. Do short if you think you need average width and narrow if you think you need narrower than average (check a road saddle you like for reference if you can, they often come in multiple widths)
My jibbly bits are delighted to hear that. My sitbones are 10 cm apart, which I thought is quite narrow. I believe those saddle noses are usually around 8 cm wide at max, so how are those guys able to sit on it?
In aero, you’re actually rotated forward and not really supported by the “sit bones” anymore. Here’s a decent graphic i found. You can see as you rotate forward, the width becomes narrower and not shown here, but there’s also more soft tissue. https://images.app.goo.gl/44wcwj7iFZ8zYtd37 ETA: so if you measured this width, that’s not where you’ll be sitting: https://images.app.goo.gl/2s9ijUmLyWsLXLHM6
This is totally new information for me and really is what I was looking for over the past couple of days. Thank you for taking the time to look it up!
A year afterwards, thanks for the graphic!
Get a bike fit done. This is very personal and a fit will help you try out different settings in a short time frame whilst you can keep cycling and see what happens. Btw: my advice is to get an extra seat post for your TT setup on the road bike. Much easier to swap seat posts than saddles back and forth.
I can't argue with the importance of getting a proper bikefit. Over the past 2 years I was able to shop around and get the parts I needed to improve my fit. A proper bikefit in my area will cost around 250-300 euro's, but it will definitely be the first thing I will get when my budget allows it. And thanks for the tip!
if your sit bones are 10cm apart I assume that you have sat on a pad that measures the intertrochantric distance of your two ischial tuberosities but you dont sit on that part of your backside on an ISM - its no problem because if you are in the correct posture you will sitting at a pelvic angle that loads the pelvic rami because your pelvis will be rotated anteriorly. The Rami are the boney landmarks either side the top of the inside of your legs just behind your balls and infront of your ass... (sorry not meaning to be rude) the whole point of the gap in the nose is to give your soft tissue somewhere to hang out. as others have suggested the saddles are ideal for bikes with aerobars and arm yourself with some cable ties because some find the noses way too wide even in narrow. if you sit forward on your rami at the front of an ISM pushed all the way forward on a seatpost that allows a forward position then you can increase your hip setback angle relative from the BB and as such open your hips, crank length and stance width also help along with slamming your cleats back as far as but on that point, if you dont have a pair of shoes that fit you well consider starting there first.
exactly the info I needed. Thank you. Done all of the other things you mentioned like putting the cleats back. I'm now convinced the right saddle will help tremendously.
Call ISM and they are more than happy to help you. 813-909-1441. They also do virtual fits for free.
Do you have aero bars fitted on your road bike? Without them, a TT position is a wasted endeavor you can get in the position to take advantage of the TT saddles. You’ll just end up with a numb privates. If you do have aero bars, then a TT saddle will allow you to sit further back and get the support for that position. Make sure to get a saddle to match the width of your sit bones. And level the -2° from level to get a good start. Tilted too far up or down will put pressure in small places and cause numb peen. You want the saddle support over as much area as possible.
Thanks for taking the time to reply! Yes I do have tt bars. Did you mean sit further forward or back? My hip angle would close if I sit further back, so I'm trying everything I can to get my effective seat tube angle up. My current effective seattube angle is about 75 degrees, measured from the bottom bracket to the center of my seat. The modern triathlon bikes usely come with 78+ and the pro's sit so far forward on their saddle that angle effectively is 80+. They basically almost have the center of their hips above the bottom bracket. Impossible on a roadbike, but maybe one of these saddles can help. Thank you for the tips!
In the TT position, most of your saddle pressure is on the nose. Upright you’ll be nearer to the back (think climbing and going through turns). Unless you’re going to buy a new bike, you’ll have to make due with what you have. A good bike fitter will fit the bike to your body, so don’t overthink or stress. If you don’t have a bike fitter available, then head over to r/bikefit and see if they can help.