Training & Nutrition - Man Problem..

the um,..... "bat".. gets numb after a few
hours in the saddle. Now, i've got a bike that
fits as best as i can imagine, but what i think
is happening, is that, as i get tired, i move down
to the lower, narrower part of the saddle, and put
more weight on sitting than on the pedals. and of
course the soft tissue is getting pinched, making for
the potential of nerve damage--and i don't want that.
So, there are all these saddles with cutouts etc,
but i'm really hesitant to just start buying seats
for cash reasons. Anyone have any suggestions
or experience with this? Many thanks.

Are you pulling everything up and out of the way when putting your shorts on?

Exactly what was happening to me - serious tingly numbness. Two things helped me. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, raising the front of the saddle slightly above level helps to keep me back on my sit bones, not sliding forward on the soft tissues. The other thing was going to a Brooks leather saddle (B17 Narrow) on my touring bike, which provides amazing comfort once broken in. I can ride 8 hrs in a day with it and no issues at all... well, it is a bit slippery, but no other problems.

What saddle do you have now-I had a saddle with too much padding a year ago and had all sorts of problems, tried lifting the "junk" but to no avail, changed to a harder saddle and no more issues with my "bat".

Exactly what was happening to me - serious tingly numbness. Two things helped me. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, raising the front of the saddle slightly above level helps to keep me back on my sit bones, not sliding forward on the soft tissues.

Thank you. i will tilt the front slightly above level and see how it goes.

For the others, the nomenclature we are dealing with is the "bat" and
"the twins" collectively known as "the junk", and yes, they are out of
the way.

Also referred to as "dead genital syndrome", the problem affects all men at one time or another. I started riding again about three years ago. I recently rediscovered Brooks saddles like I had on a Raleigh bike in the 70's and 80's (I am 53). I ride a Chicago built Schwinn hybrid which I have made into a tourer, and also have two MTB for trails. Two to three hours on the tourer each Saturday is not unusual for me. I do about 50-75 miles per week usually. My Brooks 67 on the tourer took all of about ten miles of adjusting up-down-back-forward to get comfortable. Still a little slippery, but absolutely no DGS since I went back to Brooks saddle. My advise...forget the gels and foams and go back to leather. It it hurts you are doing something wrong.
Good luck !

i tilted the saddle--prolly just a degree or two up from level, and
it did seem to help in reminding me to adjust position back onto
the bones, but even in that position, i could sense pressure on
the soft parts, so i dunno, a cutout would supposidly relieve all
pressure but, of course that just means it would have to be
increased somewhere else

Same problem, different fix. I was also sliding forward but tilting up killed me in the drops. So I ended up sliding the saddle forward. That kept my sit parts where they belong and kept the pressure off. I am convinced the bike fit was improved too. I was a bit too stretched out. My saddle is a Serfas Rx which has the 'anatomical' design (basically a gap cut out where you would normally have pressure where you don't want it.)

See my thread on the Brooks above. I replaced my Serfas with a Brooks leather. It is an amazing differrence.

1. Keep playing with the saddle position. It sometimes takes me a week or two to adjust a new saddle.

2. Work on saddle height too.

3. Do you have new shorts? Sometimes they are the problem.

4. Have you gained or lost weight lately? Changes here can throw off the fit of both your bike and your clothing.

5. If all else fails, try a new saddle. If it still happens, try a new bike.

While you are trying to get things adjusted so as not to get numb nu..., you probably need to get off the saddle more often. Standing to pedal allows better circulation in your nether region. Try it, you'll like it.

That's weird, if you were tucking it under or something, Buffalo Bill style, I could understand, but since you are not I don't know what it could be. Good luck.

What saddle do you have now-I had a saddle with too much padding a year ago and had all sorts of problems, tried lifting the "junk" but to no avail, changed to a harder saddle and no more issues with my "bat". Hello is anybody out there-if you have too soft a seat no matter what you do it will cause problems with pressure on sensitive areas.