Mr. Stultjens had undergone prostate surgery because of prostate cancer. Although the surgery was successful and the cancer remained stable, he struggled with a lingering problem: urine leakage. “When cycling with an ordinary bicycle saddle, when dismounting I immediately got untenable and imperceptible urine loss because the pressure of the perineum on the bladder was gone at once,” he says. This uncomfortable situation made cycling, an activity Mr. Stultjens does a lot with his wife, a challenge.

In search of a solution

Thus, he decided it was time to find a solution. He had heard about special saddles that relieve the perineum, but had never looked into it further. “Six months ago, when I started to suffer much more from spontaneous leakage of urine after dismounting, I started looking into these types of saddles via the Internet by simply typing in ‘saddle prostate’ and you end up with ISM, among others,” he explains. Through Marktplaats, Mr. Stultjens found a used ISM touring saddle, which already offered some improvement. Still, the lateral stability was not optimal.

The choice of Velopro

The search for an even better solution finally brought him to Velopro. “I found the website very professional and that gave a lot of confidence. For me that was more than enough to drive from Breda to Dirksland for it,” he says. The choice of Velopro was reinforced by the personal attention and expertise he found there. “The reception and approach at Velopro were so good and promising that I didn’t consider other products and brands.”

Professional guidance

At Velopro, Mr. Stultjens was welcomed by Bas. “Bas’ explanation, partly based on a model of the bone structure of the human body and the pressure of the sit bones on the saddle, made choosing the right saddle easy,” he recalls. The saddle was expertly fitted and adjusted after a test ride. “Through his explanations, I was able to fit the most optimal position myself on some longer rides at home,” he adds.

The joy of cycling is fully back

The new saddle exceeded his expectations. “The saddle meets my expectations more than 100 percent. I no longer have any urine loss at all and I can simply get off after a ride and go to the toilet without rushing,” says a relieved Mr. Stultjens. The pleasure of cycling was completely back.

Experience with Velopro

He looks back very positively on his experience with Velopro. “Velopro is professional, customer-friendly, and the contact was excellent,” he says. Still, there was one small point of improvement: the toilet facility at the Dirksland location. “It was a bit substandard, clean though, but at the very back of the store and shared with the garage next door,” he notes.

Conclusion

Mr. Stultjens found at Velopro the perfect solution for his problem with urine leakage while cycling. Thanks to the expert guidance and the high-quality saddle, he can now enjoy his bike rides carefree again. “If I had not discovered the ISM saddle, I, as well as my wife, would no longer have been able to take really nice bike rides. So one saddle can make two people happy,” he concludes.

Two years ago, Mr. Boerjan received unpleasant news during a routine examination: he had prostate cancer. “I didn’t want to take any chances and chose to have the entire prostate removed,” he says. The surgery, a prostatectomy, was successful, but left him with a permanent problem: urine leakage. For a year, he tried various solutions to control the urine leakage, unfortunately to no avail.

The solution was a Sphincter prosthesis

When it became apparent that other solutions were not working, Mr. Boerjan decided on a last resort, a sphincter prosthesis: an artificial sphincter. “I knew that cycling could become a problem because of this, and as an avid cyclist, that came hard. Especially now that I am retired and have just the time to cycle,” he explains. After the implantation, he had to wait three months before he could cycle again. However, on the first test ride, the pressure from the saddle proved too great, which in turn caused the urine leakage.

In search of a solution

The hospital could not help him further, so Mr. Boerjan went looking for himself. “I live in France, but I couldn’t find anything there. Then I looked across the border for a solution.” In Belgium, Mr. Boerjan had found a dealer who referred him to a company not so far away. However, they could not offer a suitable solution. He then stumbled upon ISM’s website by chance and decided to peruse the documentation. After doing the saddle selection tool, he contacted Velopro and explained his problem.

Found the perfect saddle

After contacting Bas from Velopro, exchanging photos of his cycling position, two saddles were suggested. In fact, Mr. Boerjan has a city bike and a road bike. “I purchased both saddles and tried them out. It took some getting used to, but now I can cycle for an hour and a half,” says Mr. Boerjan. On both his road bike and city bike, the new saddle proved to make a world of difference.

“At first it took a lot of getting used to, especially on the city bike because I had to get off often. But now it’s going well,” he shares with satisfaction. The pressure he previously experienced on a regular saddle was now gone. “The difference was night and day.”

A city bike and a road bike differ significantly in design and function, which is especially noticeable in the seating position. On a city bike, the cyclist sits upright, offering a comfortable and relaxed position, ideal for short distances and daily rides around town. On a road bike, the emphasis is on speed and aerodynamics, which puts the cyclist in a more forward position. These different seating positions also influence the choice of saddle.

Good experiences with ISM and Velopro

Mr. Boerjan especially appreciated Velopro’s fast and proactive service. “Everything went through mail and phone, and that worked fine. ISM responded quickly and clearly.” Installation of the saddle went smoothly thanks to the clear instructional video and the necessary experience with bike parts. The saddle could be returned within 30 days, but that proved unnecessary. “It was right the first time.”

Recommended for fellow sufferers

He informed his urologist that he was using an ISM saddle. “The urologist was positively surprised. He had actually said that cycling would no longer be possible, but that it varies from person to person to what extent a sphincter prosthesis causes problems.”

Mr. Boerjan would not change anything about the whole course. “The saddle meets expectations and more. Definitely recommend it to people with the same problem.”

Mrs. van den Broek went through a tough time because of vulvar cancer. A serious but also very painful condition, which made cycling impossible at first. “I thought cycling was done for me. It was my big hobby, in the summers I would cycle about 80 to 90 kilometers a day.”

A solution appeared – literally and figuratively – close at hand

After an operation it turned out that Mrs. van den Broek could no longer sit on a normal saddle without being very painful. A normal saddle gives too much resistance, causing so much pain that cycling became impossible. “Through a friend I got an app. She sent me a number of saddles with which I could possibly cycle again. One of them was an ISM saddle”.

“First I ended up with a provider from Zwolle. I did contact them, but they asked me to come by and that is quite a drive for me. So I started Googling and ended up at ISMseat.eu. This supplier also turned out to be ‘around the corner’.”

“I was in jubilant mood”

After she contacted Velopro, she was able to get her bike fixed very quickly. So a few days later she was in Dirksland with her bicycle. “I could take my bike with me so they could help me mount the bike saddle. I had a choice of five different saddles, I chose the widest saddle: the ISM Cruise saddle”. The service turned out to be excellent. For example, it explained to her what actually constitutes a good cycling posture and the differences between the pressure points of a regular saddle and an ISM saddle.

“From the moment I got on the bike I noticed an immediate difference. I was in jubilation, so happy was I! I never expected to be able to cycle again.” Beforehand she was skeptical, but once on the bike she immediately felt the difference. She says, “It was really a relief when I got on the bike. At first I thought “Yeah I guess so…”, but then you sit down and you think “Oh what a relief!”.

What would make the ISM saddle even better?

However, there is one more thing that would make the ISM saddle even better, and that is a saddle cover. “I like having a cover over it, but there isn’t one at the moment,” she says. “I bought one at a bike store right now, but it’s really just not it. This one is actually just a little too tight.”

“I hadn’t been able to ride a bike for six months, so this was really nice.”

“I can cycle pain-free again, and I’m really very happy about that. Cycling was and is a big hobby of mine. I now have one saddle for my bike that is at the campsite, but so I need another one for my bike at home. It is still a bit of a test to see if this saddle fits best, but basically there were other options available. In any case, I am already very happy with it.”