Ok so I got a lot of pain in the groin area, My Dr said no riding for a month and get a different seat. I ride a Mtn bike about 50 miles a week. Any suggestions on what type of seat to get? The Dr said don't just get a softer seat, get something made for this type of injury. Anyone ever use a seat with a cut out?

It may be that your seat just needs some adjusting. Is it angled to high? If so try leveling it out and see how that works. Perhaps its too far back & the horn is cutting into your crotch area? It may even be the under garment that your wearing such as tighty whiteys or boxer briefs riding up cutting into your crotch. My crotch was hurting pretty bad, I angled my seat down and started wearing padded cycling briefs, problem solved. Try taking your bike to your LBS and explain the problem, maybe they can fit your current bike better for you without you having to spend money. ;)

It may be that your seat just needs some adjusting. Is it angled to high? If so try leveling it out and see how that works. Perhaps its too far back & the horn is cutting into your crotch area? It may even be the under garment that your wearing such as tighty whiteys or boxer briefs riding up cutting into your crotch. My crotch was hurting pretty bad, I angled my seat down and started wearing padded cycling briefs, problem solved. Try taking your bike to your LBS and explain the problem, maybe they can fit your current bike better for you without you having to spend money. ;)

That might work. Don't get one of those gel seats, they are worse than what you have! Find something hard, that forces you to sit on your "sit bones" in your butt. You might be hurting a bit for the first day or two, but after that you'll be fine.

Of course, you could also get a recumbent... ;)

I'm using, happily with no pain/irritation a specialized body geometry that came w/ my mtn bike. It has cut out in the center. When I ride the stationary at the gym I get "personal numbness". On this saddle, no problem at all.
85 mi of commuting in past 7 days w/ no irritation at all. (It's just over 10 mi each way, x 4 days. I alternate ride/drive, so don't have daily exposure to seat). Tighty whities w/ mesh basketball shorts. All road, some of it rough road. I only get out of saddle at lights and stops, never even to climb, though I do bear weight w/legs on rough spots.
Things that helped when i started: Setting seat level so i don't slide forward, which hurts. Setting seat height correctly. Too low, too much load on seat. Too high, rocking side-side. Setting seat fore/aft position corretly. Had to slide it back as I got used to riding last year. Good luck.

Although I never did mountain biking, and I am basically a bicycle commuter (usually 90 to 170 miles a week,) I had groin numbness on my old Motobecane Grand Touring bike. It came with the original suede-covered saddle, basically narrow, hard, no cut-out, and a "no-no" by today's special saddle ideals.

But before changing saddles, I simply adjusted the saddle a tiny bit lower. Numbness gone, no more problems.

When a doctor recommends a different saddle, he has a reason, but I have to wonder what doctors really know about cycling when they don't first suggest changing saddle postion. Any saddle, no matter how "ergonomically designed," can cause problems if not adjusted right (at least in my experience.) Sometimes, the softer saddles that are supposed to be more comfortable are actually more of a problem, since you "sink" into them more, allowing more of the saddle to penetrate the groin area, instead of like a harder saddle, which allows you to "perch" on your pelvic bones.

I would never suggest going against your doctor, but don't forget to try adjusting saddle position as well.

I second the recumbent option. All that nonsense will be completely eliminated. But I understand recumbents don't appeal to everyone. Nevertheless, if you are interested, http://bentrideronline.com is a great place to learn about them. There are some very sleek looking models out these days.

My non cancerous nut lumps went away after I swapped out my Bontrager FS200 for a new one that had non crushed rails, and began using proper bike shorts. It sounds like your problem is more complex than that, but the story bears mentioning nonetheless.

Specialized Body Geometry !!!

Recumbent mountain bikes? I know 'bents can come with fat tires, but the longer geometry on an off road trail? I don't think so.

Personally I would opt for a sprung Brooks saddle.

I have two spec. body geometries, and always wear padded shorts. I rarely get any soreness, and have done several 50 or so mile off road rides. On road leads to more soreness for me, b/c I don't get out of the saddle. On trails, I'm standing enough to give me a break.
I had pain w/ my original bontrager saddle, which developed crushed rails and a bad shape. I'm going to try a performance forte saddle (thinner and stiffer, on ti rails) on my 3rd bike (no reason, but for a test).

Recumbent mountain bikes? I know 'bents can come with fat tires, but the longer geometry on an off road trail? I don't think so.

Personally I would opt for a sprung Brooks saddle.

Indeed: http://www.kmxus.com/

The objective is to get the pressure away from the front of your crotch, and more to the back where the sitbones are. Here are a few suggestions that may go against the norm:

If you find yourself sliding forward onto the horn, tilting the seat up a tiny bit could slide you back onto the wide part of the saddle. But if you feel it giving you a wedgie in the front of your crotch, it's tilted up too much. Normally the saddle should be level or tilted up a tiny bit. Tipping the nose down seems appealing, but in fact it just makes you slide forward on the saddle and you have to keep pushing yourself back.

Sliding the seat backwards on its rails puts more weight on your legs, so it may relieve some of the pressure in the crotch, although it may make you have to reach too far to the bars.

Raising the handlebars a bit allows you to roll your pelvis back, lifting the front of your crotch off the horn of the saddle. It also moves the handlebars back slightly due to the backwards angle of the steering tube.

So although it may seem counterintuitive it may help you to tilt the front of the seat up a hair above level, slide it backwards on its rails, and raise the handlebars.

More support for specialized saddles here. I had certain "issues" after riding the stock saddle on my Raleigh Rush Hour. I switched to a BG2 sport and the problems cleared up. I'm also using a specialized toupe on my roadie. That's been a good saddle too.

Stay away from padding of any sort. All it does is compress down where your sit bones are, and push up everywhere else - including the 'taint'.

In other words, get a brooks.

Indeed: http://www.kmxus.com/

interesting bike... but won't work on single track.

http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/controls/saddles/selle-italia/PRD_110982_2509crx.aspx#reviews

Might look at this saddle or others like it. Keep in mind that it wont be for everyone, and may not fit you or your riding style, but when they work, they work! Selle-italia makes a lot of other saddles with no cutaways but soft spots instead which are also quit comfy and look good too ;p

My bike has a soft spot saddle (wilderness trail bike one) which I find very comfy, but hate cause it is dead heavy compared to what I would like. It is a VERY good commuter saddle though as it has a large built-in reflective patch on the back.

My experiences off road tell me to stay away from sprung seats or other heavy compromises simply because it throws the handling off on mtn bike. (A lot of the ppl I know who mtn bike use selle italia flights with Ti rails... VERY light, and since the center of gravity of the bike drops, handling improves).

Hopefully you live near a good bike store which you have a good relationship with that will fit several seats in a row on your bike, adjust them perfectly for you, and let you test them for 10 min or so at a time (stores like this do exist! woohoo!!) when it is time to mount your loyal steed!

As a long time Brooks saddle user, I have not had the opportunity to develop a condition that requires a special saddle.

More support for specialized saddles here. I had certain "issues" after riding the stock saddle on my Raleigh Rush Hour. I switched to a BG2 sport and the problems cleared up. I'm also using a specialized toupe on my roadie. That's been a good saddle too.

I have a Raleigh Rush Hour as well and the saddle (a poorish imitation of the Selle Italia SLR) was the first to go. I have three road bikes including the Rush Hour and use Selle Italia gel flow saddles exclusively (one of each: SLR, Max Flite, and Flite). As to the OP, get the hardest seat you can stand (gels of various brands of high quality saddles work well; it absorbs the bumps without being soft) that includes a cutout or channel of sorts. This seems counter intuitive, but the harder the saddle, the less your "sit bones" compress the material, leading to less of the saddle making contact with the soft parts of the down under. Until the tissue under the sit bones gets tougher, this type of saddle will be a bit uncomfortable (like a light bruising, not tingling, numbness, or sharp pain).

One tip: get the saddle from a brick and morter bike shop which offers a month (or at least a couple weeks) to try the saddle, after which you can return it for your money back if it doesn't work out. It is common for bike shops to do this. Mine did.

Stay away from padding of any sort. All it does is compress down where your sit bones are, and push up everywhere else - including the 'taint'.

In other words, get a brooks.

Common mistake people make thinking padding is gonna make it more comfortble.
Hard is good ! I dont even know why they put those big phalic horns on the
front of seats, either :eek:. I have mine pointing waaaay down out of the way.
Just the two little pads on the back of the seat are what I find keep stuff
comfortable for commuting, anyway....

Are you sure this thread is for A&S?.. Perhaps it should be transferred to Mountain Biking or General Cycling Discussion? Beware though: if it gets transfered to Recumbent, you know the sort of advice you're going to get... ;) :D

If the bike is a mountain bike: Specialized Indie (get fitted at a specialized dealer, there are a few different sizes of this saddle, to fit specific width backsides)

If it's a road bike: Specialized Alias (again hit the Specialized dealer, but also get a road bike fitting, to assure your saddle wasn't too high, like mine was)...amusingly enough, this saddle is more comfortable with jeans/underwear than it is with my bike shorts....but that could just be that my bike shorts suck :p

Ideally, you should feel the weight of your body on the bones of your butt, not on your perinneum (your "taint") or your genitals.

Also note, that the saddle should be for the most part, level with the ground, and not tilted nose down or up more than a few degrees. Extrme tilt is a sign of either a fitting problem, or just using the wrong saddle for your anatomy.

It takes a while to find the right saddle, but once you do, it's soooo worth it.

Common mistake people make thinking padding is gonna make it more comfortble.
Hard is good !

I used to have a foam seat made in the 80's that was absurdly comfortable. I used it for almost a decade. After it wore out I tried to replace it, but every other foam seat I have seen is just terrible.