Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - anyone else's seat killing them?

or rather, anyone's groin f'cking killing them? seriously, this is probably how STDs feel.

Been there, done that.

I know your pain.

try changing the tilt of the seat forward a bit, then your butt-bones will get to ya :o

Juding by this picture of your bike i think i know the problem.

http://i4.tinypic.com/106y7mb.jpg

its the THING!

I love my ****ing seat.
So, no.

You need to make some changes. Groin pain should not be a part of cycling.

Saddle choice is a largely personal one. I've gone through about 15 saddles in the last 4 years trying to find the perfect one. I used a Flite for a long time it felt like I was sitting on a broomstick most of the time -- it felt horrible on my perenium.

I ended up with a Selle Italia SLR -- the antithesis to what I thought made a good long distance saddle and it ended up being the best saddle I owned until I bought a Gel Flow version (slightly more padding, with the center cutout). It's been amazing. I prefer very minimally padded saddles that are flat as opposed to something like the Turbo which feels like a big cushion to me (rounded, lots of padding).

I recently acquired a Fizik Arione which feels much more padded but for riding at the track and short distances feels really good to me with it's long length which allows for a lot of movement forward and backwards on the saddle.

I've tried various Brooks (not mine though) and they seem really comfortable and what I look for in a saddle: minimal padding, conforms to your butt.

Saddle position is also everything. Make lots of little minute adjustments. I've spent up to two hours in a parking lot riding around dialing in fit on a new saddle.

My Brooks Team Pro is that way.
Install it so it looks correct: Taint Pain of the highest order.
Tilt it forward and I feel like I'm sliding off of it and supporting too much weight on my wrists. I've been riding a lot more than usual this week and I finally had to take it off because it was too much.

when the support in the middle of my iro saddle gave out, i started getting serious pain in my testes. i tried tilting the seat forward, but it put additional strain on my arms (and my legs to a lesser degree) i switched to a fizik arione ti, and the pain disappeared, as well as the numbness and hotspots i was accustomed to. a quality saddle that jives with your anatomy is definately worth the scratch.

i used to have a lot of pain and peed a little blood before i switched to a cutout, so i feel your pain.

i was quite relieved, however, to find out my symptoms came from my saddle and not some skank ;)

this is probably how STDs feel.

Only one way to find out..:)

i had pee all the time, i mean like every second. i went to the doctor he thought it was my prostate(that was fun) i tilted my seat some, its better but still sucks.

no.

brooks and a kashimax (padded) and my ass feels fine. the kashimax is actually getting more comfortable the more i ride it (put about a month on it)

I would get really uncomfortable on padded saddles, so I stripped all the padding off an old Flite and have enjoyed it ever since. The plastic shell flexes enough to keep my plumbing comfortable. After several hours in the saddle my sit bones can get sore, but that's a lot better than peeing blood :)

Oh, and I recently got a Brooks Swift, but I've been having the same problem as thurstonboise above. Hopefully when it's all dialed and broken in things will be gravy.

ive been kind having the same problem with my brooks its way comfartable i just feel like i cant put it far enough back im gonna get a set back thomson and try that beacuse i really like my brooks

Only one way to find out..:)

that better be a come-on.

getting the right saddle might help, but most likely adjusting the position on your existing saddle is all you need. Start at level. use a carpenters level. then adjust it in small increments from there until it's comfortable. if you're getting numb nuts, tilt the nose down a bit. if you're having to push back to keep from sliding forward, tilt the nose up a bit. It depends upon the saddle for me, and to a lesser extent to the bar position, but generally I find I like the saddle level, or just nosed down a touch from level.

Juding by this picture of your bike i think i know the problem.

http://i4.tinypic.com/106y7mb.jpg

Painful yes, but it would record (http://www.earthworksaudio.com/3.html) a rumbling colon with amazing fidelity.

getting the right saddle might help, but most likely adjusting the position on your existing saddle is all you need. Start at level. use a carpenters level. then adjust it in small increments from there until it's comfortable. if you're getting numb nuts, tilt the nose down a bit. if you're having to push back to keep from sliding forward, tilt the nose up a bit. It depends upon the saddle for me, and to a lesser extent to the bar position, but generally I find I like the saddle level, or just nosed down a touch from level.

That's what I tried, and I realized that my seatpin doesn't have enough fine tuning for my Brooks.

thurston - you know you can adjust the tension of the leather in the brooks by fiddling with that bolt at the tip of the saddle, right?

i've been riding a fizik arione for the past week, and have been liking it a lot. lycra shorts are also awesome. i'm generally positioned on my sit bones and haven't had any problems (knock on wood).

I'm on a cheap Cannondale saddle a dude at the LBS sold me off of his bike. It rocks. Only thing that sucks is that this is a conversion, and the original HUGE bolts on the seat-holdy-thing (i'm tired, give me a break) keep tearing my pants up, so now like 5 of my pants have holes in the ass.

However, it still rocks. Hard

My Brooks Team Pro is that way.
Install it so it looks correct: Taint Pain of the highest order.
Tilt it forward and I feel like I'm sliding off of it and supporting too much weight on my wrists. I've been riding a lot more than usual this week and I finally had to take it off because it was too much.

Well the Brooks cult says that just isn't possible. Though they may try to argue your saddle is too high or something.

I started with a well-padded Bontrager saddle that was OK. Then I moved to a Fizik Pave of sorts, which was better, but really only got fully comfortable when I got a Performance Forte SLX saddle. Thin, minimal padding, cutout, my ass is in heaven. Perfect weight distribution on my sit bones. I actually find myself mostly lusting after the full carbon saddles now - you know, like the Selle Italia C64 or the M2Racer saddle. Of course, I type this post while sitting in my 90-year-old armless, unpadded oak banker's chair that I find more comfortable than any padded chair I've ever sat in in my life, so maybe I'm just biased towards a lean seat.

i'm still fighting with mine, i had found the ****ing sweet spot with my fizik dolomiti until i switched seat posts, i'm almost back, but its not the same :[

no saddle pain here, My balls arent getting crushed when Im in the drops either. Im a happy chappy.
I think I read Sheldon to figure out where my saddle should go and spending half a day figuring it out.

thurston - you know you can adjust the tension of the leather in the brooks by fiddling with that bolt at the tip of the saddle, right?

I'm no Brooks expert (never ridden one and never will) but Sheldon advises against using that bolt. He says that most of the time the user ends up effing up the saddle, and it should only be fiddled with when there's something badly wrong with the saddle and you have nothing to lose already.

I just got my selle san marco regal a couple weeks ago and I love it, even on longer rides

I think a big related question is riding position. What actually is the correct position you should be in to maximize efficiency. I ride an SLR saddle too and its really hit or miss..sometimes its super comfortable (shocking for how minimal it is) and other times, after a small adjustment or movemement or whatever, it can get annoying. It would be awesome to see a diagram of how your body should be positioned on a bike. Like leg angles and the such.

I've had a few different saddles, and the one that fits me best is a WTB Rocket V. Seems no one else uses them, but they fit me great. And they aren't overly spendy, either.

As a girl, I am happy to say I have never been more comfy on my bike. Thank you brooks saddle!

i have fizik arione saddles on most of my bikes and they're fantastic.

The only saddle im comfortable in is my heavily padded Bontrager CRX+
http://www.bayviewcycle.com/Acc_Images_M_Z/Saddles/Trek_Sadd/Bont_CruPlus_Syn.jpg

http://www.pricepoint.com/images/styleImages/Z_270%20SETRT4.jpg

Surprisingly comfy saddle (http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/13247-270_SETRT4-3-Parts-67-Saddles/Sette-Race-Ti-Leather-Saddle.htm) for me - a straight rip-off of the slr, great for those who like minimalist padding. For $25 bux you won't be out much if you dislike it.

i used to have a lot of pain and peed a little blood before i switched to a cutout, so i feel your pain.

i was quite relieved, however, to find out my symptoms came from my saddle and not some skank ;)



PLEASE! Do yourself a favor and go see a doctor. Peeing blood is signs of something more serious than you might think. And don't think that you're a-ok now just because you switched saddles and you aren't peeing blood. You could have some problems with your prostate, perineal blood flow, it could be a number of things that just don't go away unless treated adequately.

I have been using a San Marco Concor Supercosa since Jan. when I bought it from Nashbar NOS. For me it is the perfect blend of padding and stiffness. It also gets more comfy with each ride as it breaks in. I was using a 2nd hand Brooks before that and hated it. To soft for me but I can totally see why others love it if they want a high quality soft saddle. I also tried that Sette Race TT above and that thing is a pure a$$ hatchet, but that is just me.

i bought a FSA SLK last summer for my bike.

http://www.pricepoint.com/images/styleImages/D_270%20FSASK5.jpg

at first it was very uncomfortable. i spent a while fiddling with saddle height, fore-aft positioning, and stem/bar combination. basically, saddle comfort is part saddle, and part your entire fit on the bike.

anyway, one day it just sort of up and clicked into a certain level of comfort. huzzah, eh?

also, some undies/pants are more comfortable for me than others, just due to the way they hold my jams while i'm pedaling, which refers back to how easily i position myself for comfort...

i fell in love the first time i ever tried a wtb speed v.

they are not sexy, the ARE cheap, but for now every bike i ride longer than 15 miles at a stretch will have one. i also like the rocket and the other narrower wtb saddles but on longer rides they get uncomortable and i never get that on the nice old fat speed v.

the girlfriend swears by the wtb speedshe btw... apparently a bad guys saddle is even more uncomfortable for a lady.

but something maeks me want to try one of them slr's that look HORRIBLE but fugazi dave is not the first person i heard say they are comfy...