Road Cycling - Prostate Pressure & Fi'zi:k Arione

My doc said to pick up a saddle that will alleviate pressure on the prostate. I noticed the Arione has that stripe down the middle. Is this softer area that will accomplish my goal? If not can anyone suggest one that they really like that would do this?

Specalized line (avatar, alias, toupe)

Selle Italia 'Trans Am' style (SLR, Flite both have 'Trans Am' versions as well as others)

The PerformanceBike Forte SLX Pro is also a good saddle for this I found when I had one.

I have a Flite Trans Am Gel Flow on two bikes, never had any numbness problems. I recently put an Aliante on another bike and while haven't had any numbness problems, do notice an increased pressure in the area at times.

Thanks. I had been curious about the Toupe anyway...maybe now I have an excuse. :)

I've been trying to find someone local to loan me a toupe for a week to try out myself. Haven't found anyone yet. Everyone I know with one says they like it.

where exactly are you people putting these seats?

I use a Brooks B-17 and have no pain or discomfort in the prostate area.

I had to switch from an Arione to Specialized saddles for that very reason. For me, having the cutout makes all the difference. A Brooks was as close to perfect as I could ever find in a non cutout saddle though. At the moment, the Team Toupe is the best that I have found.

Whatever you ride, make sure that you do not have the angle of the saddle too nose up. Any saddle can give you issues if the angle is wrong. If lowering the nose seems to through you off, you may need to take another look at your bike fit too.

http://www.blackwellresearch.com/ism_seats.htm

My doc said to pick up a saddle that will alleviate pressure on the prostate.

Not that I'm a doctor, but as far as I know, examining a prostate is somewhat of an "invasive" procedure, which leads me to ask the question, what are you doing with the saddle that causes pressure on your prostate? Actually, on second thought, don't tell me, I have a hard enough time falling asleep already.

Wow, you have a prolapsed prostate, or something? :)

My Arione doesn't put any pressure on that area, unless I move WAY up on the nose. Like, so far up on the nose that my bike and I would need a marriage license.

I don't think a saddle with a cut-out is going to help your prostate problem. It may help with numbness, but that doesn't have anything to do with the prostate. If your periniem bears any weight, and it will regardless of the saddle you use, there will be pressure on your prostate.

Something like a Brooks B17, which I have on my road bike, helps because more of your weight is supported by your site bones, lessening the amount supported by your periniem.

As somebody who has had prostatitis three times in the last three years, and as somebody who has ridden a bike with a swollen prostate :eek:, I know what I am talking about. :(

Well, I was trying to get away without giving too many details, but...

I have pretty regular hematuria, sometimes light, sometimes heavy. I think I may have a kidney stone or something but I have no pain in kidneys. On some longer rides, I do get pain from groin/left testicle area. Doc did a testicular exam...found nothing there. Doc's getting me a Cat-scan appt., so we'll see about the stone. A different saddle was a precautionery measure by him.

My current saddle is sagging more in the middle..."breaking in" as it were. About 2,300 miles on it. It was a standard OEM part. I'm wondering if that could cause the pain or apply undue pressure to the prostate.

mk you don't say what kind of doc your doc is, but i am a urologist, and unless you are REAL thin you can't put pressure on your prostate with a bicycle seat, in the cycling position your prostate is nestled way up out of the way. you could however put pressure on your urethra, which could cause hematuria. I would certainly agree anyone with hematuria needs a ct scan and also, unfortunately for you, a cystoscopy or visual examination of the inside of the bladder, even if the ct scan is normal. Best of luck to you.

Thanks a bunch for the infor re: prostate. I have to admit I didn't even know what it was for until I googled it. Doc's a GP/Family doc for my HMO. He has to recommend...well you know. I'll be calling later today to try and get the ct appointment. If saddle can pressure the urethra, would one of the Toupe's relieve that pressure?

The Arione will not help. The stripe down the middle seems to have no actual function to me.

Well, except to match my blue Litespeed decals.

ANother goo doption is the Mens Terry Fly Ti Saddle. Light enough, with enough cushion, and plenty of cutout in the center for relief to the prostate. I use mine for commuting, it's an excellent saddle.

Do a search in BikeForums on the word "Prostate" and you will find more info then you ever wanted to read....

ANother goo doption is the Mens Terry Fly Ti Saddle. Light enough, with enough cushion, and plenty of cutout in the center for relief to the prostate. I use mine for commuting, it's an excellent saddle.

I found my Terry Fly gel was to soft and tended to push up into my nether regions. Lordy my sit bones loved that saddle though.

Had painless gross hematuria one week ago after biking/walking, confirmed by urinalysis. GU physical exam normal, CT normal, cystoscopy (no sedation; very uncomfortable) found red prostatic urethra. Urinalysis negative for blood at day three. Urologist wanted to call it prostatitis (with no symptoms and only finding being reddened urethra). After cystoscopy I urinated okay, but later at home I could not so ended up needing indwelling cath. I get it out today to see if I can urinate without pain. Sucks but at least no tumor. It's probably due to biking trauma on urethra.

Things I will change:
1. turn saddle nose down a little
2. wear padded shorts (currenly wearing just undies and blue jean shorts)

Selle SMP works for me. There are several models, but all have a huge central cutout and a downturned nose. Models range from bare carbon to pretty cushy, and narrow to wide with varying degrees of rolloff at the sitbones. No connection other than as a happy customer.

Selle SMP website (http://www.smpselle.com/smp4bike/en)

Selle SMP patent (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7699391.pdf)

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/Waterford%20B07014/CIMG6694med.jpg

I tried the arione and it gave me problems to the point it was more of a torture device than seat. I tried an aliante s with a bit better results, but still pain and I am now on an aliante VS with a channel down the center and still have discomfort in the prostate region. I have ridden it and adjusted it half a dozen times and the nose is pointing in a more down position for me and it is just about right, but I am thinking any fisik saddle is going to be bad for me. I may order the specialized mentioned just to try, but I am getting discouraged with saddles in general. I didn't have an issue with the stock saddle, but hated all the branding on the bike so I thought I'd try something different. I'll probably put the stocker back on and sell all the others, good luck.

Get a Specialized Roman....you'll put it on your bike and forget its even there. Exactly how a saddle should be

How do you measure for width?

My doc said to pick up a saddle that will alleviate pressure on the prostate. I noticed the Arione has that stripe down the middle. Is this softer area that will accomplish my goal? If not can anyone suggest one that they really like that would do this?

I have an Airone. The stripe down the middle of the Airone is pretty hard. The whole saddle is pretty hard. It is a fairly aggressive saddle. I find it feels great when I'm working hard and putting my legs into the pedals more. It isn't so comfortable for just riding around on. If you need soft the Airone is definitely not your saddle.

How do you measure for width?

The Specialized system uses memory foam (like Tempur-pedic) for measuring sitbone width, but two or three layers of corrugated cardboard also works.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/Bike%20Patents/7284336SpecializedSaddleFitMethod.jpg

Get a Specialized Roman....you'll put it on your bike and forget its even there. Exactly how a saddle should be

Everyone is different.

That's why the whole Specialized line has differences. Personally I have always had good luck with Specialized saddles, but the Romin does NOT work for me....but the Alias and Toupe do.

Turns out they are totally re-vamping the line though.

OP - go to a Specialized rep that is fit trained if you want to learn about the real differences in that line. If not - there are a lot of saddles out there to try.

Get a Specialized Roman....you'll put it on your bike and forget its even there. Exactly how a saddle should be

Or test ride some. The Romin for example caused me severe pain w/ my sit bones that I'm still trying to recover from 3 weeks later. The Toupe was better but chafed the hell out of my hamstrings. Selle Italia SLX and Terry FLX are the ones that work for me. The Selle SMP would probably work too.

The Specialized system uses memory foam (like Tempur-pedic) for measuring sitbone width, but two or three layers of corrugated cardboard also works.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/Bike%20Patents/7284336SpecializedSaddleFitMethod.jpg

Thanks, Scooper

Wow, you have a prolapsed prostate, or something? :)
.

I agree. Maybe try sitting further back on the arione. thats where I find it most comfortable.

my arione is hard as ****....nothing soft about it. saddle position changed everything...i don't mind it at all

You on any medicine to help you urinate? VERY unusual to be completely unable to urinate after a cystoscopy. Prostatitis is one of the most over diagnosed conditions there is( meaning lots of people who are told they have it do not) How old are you? And how old is your urologist? Hope everything turns out okay by the way.

oujeep1, it's good to see you, as a urologist, taking part in these forums. I didn't seem to tolerate the procedure well..lol. Some coaching and hand holding may have helped but I had none. Right after the procedure I urinated just fine with no pain at about 4 PM. He gave me uribel and jalyn (and antibiotic). I took the first dose of uribel but it seems to not show up in urine (methylene blue ingredient coloring urine blue/green) until many hours later, so I don't know if it had time to help. The next time I tried to urinate was about 9 PM and had sharp pain trying to initiate a urine stream. I could not handle the sharp pain. If I could have initiated a urine stream and just had some burning, no problem. That is what I feel now after the indwelling cath and can handle that easily. But pain before I can start a urine stream, no can do.

I am 47 and urologist is in 60's. One interesting thing is that right after a procedure the patient may have zero pain, but it can develop several hours later. Right after cystoscopy and removal of the indwelling cath, I had zero burning/pain, but it seems to come on after several hours. Maybe that does not happen to all, but it certainly did me. Maybe that is partly due to the gel introduced into the urethra (for cystoscopy) but it would not account for why no pain right after a three day indwelling cath. I'm having what I would think is usual, some burning mostly in distal urethra which I expect to last a few days, gradually tapering off.

Watch out for uribel it has a bladder antispasmodic that although mild may cause some to have more trouble going. Sitting in a tub of warm water and trying to urinate sounds gross but sometimes works might save a trip to the er and a catheter. Good luck

Think about your cycling shorts as well.
I happen to like the Arione, and grew to dislike the split saddles. Meanwhile, I started using more shorts with a split pad - Pearl Izumi makes some. Anyway, it's a combination of saddle + shorts + position that will end up putting pressure on anything and establishing your fit and your riding success, ability to stave off sores, and overall enjoyment.

It's been said... but i went from an Arione to an Antares to a Toupe... now the Toupe is on every bike i own (Pro on the Race bike, Experts on the others). Where my choach would be shredded before is now totally happy after long rides.

Yeah, most who say take pressure off the "prostate" actually mean the "perineum." For men and for women this saddle fit issue isn't just about comfort (ie pain and/or numbness). The occlusion of blood flow can actually cause scar tissue and other lasting damage like sexual dysfunction. I used to ride Fizik exclusively but now I swear by the Specialized Toupe. For some the one-sized saddles happen to work but some folks have sit bones that require actual sizing for a good fit. Go ahead and get a "butt fit" for free and pick an appropriately sized saddle w/ a good cutout. You'll be amazed at how much better, more comfortable a well fit saddle is. By riding the sit bones as intended you alleviate a lot (most?) of the perineal pressure and the the cutout provides extra space for added blood flow. Give it a whirl and enjoy!

All Fizik saddles are meant to be positioned uniquely - so you are sitting on your sit bones. The fore/aft positions can also be tinkered with. That said, there are so many other adjustments that should be made before you get to the saddle (stem, handlebars, cleats, seatpost, size of frame) to maximize your position.

Another SMP fan here. Seriously, Google saddle demo programs. They are worth every penny.