Finding the right saddle

When I got my P2 I moved the saddle from my road bike over. I had been riding an Adamo Century, which was a glorious road saddle. Perfectly shaped, very comfortable. I could ride for hours on that thing.

It didn't work out quite as well on the new bike (or perhaps more specifically the new position). If all I was doing was riding around in the bullhorns I'd be fine, but extended period in the aerobars were problematic. It was almost perfect, but two issues caused repeat problems.

1) The prongs at the front were at too sharp an angle. Rather than curve downward, they abruptly turned down at 90 degrees. This meant that when riding on the nose in the aero position, they really dug in and created quite acute points of pain.
2) The prongs themselves were just slightly too wide. I'd get chafing issues on my inner thighs.

Comparing the noses of the Adamo Century (top) and Dash Stage (bottom)

As mentioned earlier, I had take time off the bike after the season to let my undercarriage heal up. When I put my bike on the trainer and started my base training, the soreness returned. "I can't do this all winter," I thought. I had to find a better saddle.

I knew I wanted my saddle to be noseless and split. But I wanted a saddle that was narrower and had more of a slope to the front end. I considered another ISM/Adamo, but was worried it wouldn't be different enough. I thought about Cobb and came close a couple of times to pulling the trigger on one. The saddle I kept coming back to though, was Dash. They're expensive, but I've never heard anyone say anything bad about them. Any other saddle, some people like or dislike, and the consensus is always that saddle choice is highly subjective. But there really didn't seem to be much dissenting opinion on Dash saddles. And I liked the shape, and especially the fact that you can choose your width.

I then discovered that Dash actually sells a "basic" version of two of their saddles. They're heavier, they're not customizable in terms of padding or colour, but you can choose from three widths. Still expensive, but significantly less so that their standard models. Realistically, given the hours I'd be spending on the trainer this winter and beyond, investing in a proper saddle seems pretty important.

Dash Stage (left) and Adamo Century (right)

It took a little while to get the Dash adjusted to the correct angle. And it's still taking time adjusting to the dramatically firmer padding - the Century was super plush. And while the firmness does lead to some soreness after a long ride, it's more a general soreness rather than the acute soreness I'd get from the prongs of the Adamo digging in or the chafing on my thighs. The Dash really is a great shape.

Riding on the trainer in general seems to be less comfortable than out on the road, so I know if the Dash serves me well over the winter it'll be great next summer.