The Brooks leather saddle seems to be the saddle of choice for most of the people I have seen.
It is quite certain I am going to change out my Selle Italia Flite racing saddle, because that thing beat the crap out of my taint, even though my bike shorts did a good job of keeping it from becoming too serious. I rode to DC once without bike shorts and could not walk normally for 2 weeks afterwards! I surely will never make that mistake again.
I was considering getting one of those saddles with the hole cut out of it to give the ole' beans n' franks some room to breathe, especially when catching up to everyone on the back side of the hills when I drop into my trademark aerobars.
Has anyone ridden with one of those goofy seats, and if so will it make me feel worse if I get one?
A good friend of mine was riding with one for awhile and seemed to like it. I am not sure why he stopped using it. Maybe I will borrow it if he still has the thing and try it out on a few rides.
I had a well broken in Brooks saddle on my vintage Schwin Supersport but I sold it (sadly) because I needed cash to pay the bills.
One of my rando buddies liked his Brooks (B-17 narrow, methinks) so much for the distance stuff that he threw one on his club-ride Madone, if that tells ya anything. (Leather and carbon fiber...they look _great_ together.)
I've seen a lot of the Selle Anatomica saddles on the rando circuit as well, presumably for reasons similar to yours.
The Adamo ISM Typhoon is a phenomenal seat. Keeps yer undercarriage in good health. I have one on my commuter AND one on my tandem. Nothing as comfortable as a recumbent tho 
http://www.ismseat.com/products_typhoon.htm
Nothing as comfortable as a recumbent tho
You had to say it, didn't ya? I was so proud of myself for resisting the temptation to evangelize
"Adamo" lol... I like the sound of that... I can tell everyone it was custom made for me in Mexico and they used my spanish name for the embroidery!
I have been leaning towards a brooks, because I can tolerate it for any normal ride. I don't wear bike shorts ever unless it is a long distance ride.
Some people have said that those cut-out seats might actually put more pressure on the "undercarriage" because you have smaller pressure points pressing into you instead of one large surface area... Which is why I am thinking about possibly going with Brooks.
I have a hard time keeping in the aerobar position though because of numbness etc, and the fact I am on a touring frame instead of a time trial setup, so maybe a cutout seat could help out in that department.
The last CTC ride had me a little worried for a few days after the event lets just say...
OH MY GOD...
From their web site... "The Adamo, which is latin for 'pleasure'..."
I think I have to shell out $200 for one of these seats just for that reason LMFAO...
First reddan I admire your restraint, I was expecting at least a small mention of the superiority of the recumbent seating position.
Second, saddles are a very personal choice. What works for your buddy might not work for you. There are quite a few factors that go into making a saddle comfortable for you. Also Brooks saddles can take a while to break in, now might not be the time to experiment.
I've always had good luck with WTB saddles. I just bought a Vigo and it is super comfortable. My personal preference in saddles is medium width and flat as possible with firm padding. I also like the Lazer V.
I had zero issues with my crotchital region last year, even after my ancient Lazer V gave up the ghost in the last 100 miles.
I wish I could try out an Adamo for a ride or two before shelling out the loot LOL... It doesn't look like a saddle I would want to ride every day on, but from looking at it, could help with the issues I had on a long ride like that. Might be a good combo for the way my bike is set up...
I finally found a set of aerobars that allow me to put some nice comfy salsa bar-ends on the end of my straight MTB bars and have the aerobars at the same time. Pretty much the same as a bullhorn / aerobars setup but with the comfort level of straight MTB bars and MTB shifter/brake levers like you would have on a hybrid.
Changing my handlebars around has made all the world of difference in hill climbing and having more places to put my hands when I ride.
Anyone ever try the Profile Design Tri Stryke with the relief hole?
I could see myself being annoyed with a wide seat like the Adamo, regardless of the cool name, because I have always seemed to prefer narrow saddles and normally do not ever have pain in the nether-region unless the ride is over 100 miles.
It is much cheaper than the Adamo, and still narrow, and the hole has ventalation holes with slanted air guides to kind of blow some steam off the ole taint it looks like LMFAO...
I am thinking of ordering one this weekend since it is cheaper and trying it out.
I rode on a WTB on my mountain bike from here to DC and it really did get on my nerves over the width of it from what I can remember (plus riding with a 30lb backpack and no bike shorts (until we bought some on the way) did not help either)...
I remember I really did not like that seat under normal conditions as well, and all my favorite saddles have been pretty thin.
My biggest problem with the CTA ride was numbness down there more than chafing, except for the last 70 miles or so, where anything you sit on is gonna hurt by that point.
The Flite saddle is literally hard as a rock from mid-saddle to the tip of the nose, no padding at all minus whatever padding you get from the leather covering the innards.
This Profile Design seat seems like it could help at least.
