Road Cycling - The Family Jewels In trouble........

Trying to be as P.C as I can since my mouth can get me into trouble at times. I am noticing on my longer rides 20+ that my sack gets sore as sin not 100% what it is position,saddle,shorts and so on and so on.... anyone ever run into this before here is the saddle I use, I was wondering if the high stiching on it could be the culprete. It is deffently a pisser having to stand up off and on just to say "ahhhh"

If the gel inserts are raised I would be very
suspect of them being the problem.
I do know that alot of people complain about
stitching (and stitched logos) causing chaffing.
Can't tell from what you wrote if its chaffing or pressure.
Either way a saddle replacement might be in order.
One other thing, if you saddle is nose down it might be
causing you to pitch forward and cause undue pressure.

Marty

I had the same problem. now i got one with a wider front and no stitching on the top

[copied from an earlier post]

The secret to saddle comfort is to know the distance between your ischeal tuberosities -- the "sit bones" -- and buy a saddle that will support you there and nowhere else. You can sit on some wet sand and measure between the deepest part of the indentations to get this measuremebt.

If your saddle doesn't support you there, find one that does. Most of the saddle manufacturers publish the dimensions of their saddles.

In addition, saddle positioning -- fore/aft position and angle -- are critical. If the saddle is too far back, or angled down, you'll find yourself riding on the nose. In the opposite cases, you'll be on the back edge, chafing your thiighs.

Padding is usually a bad idea, especially if it's up the middle. The padding compresses against your various soft tissues, causing numbness or worse.

The ideal saddle doesn't contact your body at all, except lightly or during turns, except under your sit bones.

RichC

I had similar problems until I switched to the Specialized Body Geometry saddle. The step-children have never been happier. :)

Did you check saddle angle? Nose up is bad!

As a temporary fix try lubing up the crotch with a pasty lube such as Chamois
butter, noxzema, Udder cream etc. By reducing friction it may reduce the problem. Apply lavishly... Steve (Liquids tend to wipe off faster, hence advice for paste consistency.)

Do your shorts have enough padding? Too much padding?

I've had "comfort" problems and have tried several different saddles. I finally settled on the Terry Fly (http://www.terrybicycles.com/Saddles/2123900.lasso). I have one on my road bike and commuter bike. I think the cut-out is the secret. :beer:

http://www.terrybicycles.com/Saddles/ImagesSAD/2123900P.gif

Have you thought about a Brooks saddle? They take a few rides to break in - but once they are broken in, they are amazingly comfortable and will create a custom fit for your sit bones.

Originally posted by bezzo
Have you thought about a Brooks saddle? They take a few rides to break in - but once they are broken in, they are amazingly comfortable and will create a custom fit for your sit bones.

I'm currently breaking one in now, a B17 on my Airborne. Only about 100 miles since I put it on, and it took some adjusting to get the position perfect, but it's already really comfortable.

This is interesting because my other two saddles are Selle Italia Max Trans Am, a saddle that's wide like a B17 and also has an anatomic cutout. I settled on the Max TA after trying a bunch of saddles several years ago, including the Body Geometry and the classic version of the Flite.

I've been happy with the Max TA -- I have over 11,000 miles on two of them -- but I needed a third saddle (the stock Fuji saddle sucks) and I just thought I'd experiment with the Brooks. After all, I rode many tens of thousands of miles on Brooks saddles back in the 60's and 70's.

The B17 has more fore/aft countouring than many modern saddles -- it's more "saddle shaped" -- and I think this is one reason it can work so well. You can get it positioned so that it really supports you at the sit bones and puts very little pressure anywhere else. And it will only improve over time, unlike modern plastic-molded saddles that can just fatigue and collapse.

It would be strange if I ended up with both the very modern MaxFlite TA on two bikes and an "old-fashioned" Brooks on the third, equally comfortable on both. More likely, if the Brooks works out on my Airborne, I'll get another one for the tourer.

RichC

". . . As a temporary fix try lubing up the crotch with a pasty lube such as Chamois
butter, noxzema, Udder cream etc. . ."

By Gawd, you better watch out if you use Noxema if you are chafed and jus' happen to be sensitive to the stuff--talk about your burning yearning!

I guess you could always use Desitin--that stuff you butter up babies' diaper-rashed little buns with. Somewhat smelly, but lasts. It's much cheaper if you can find the big jar, rather than the little tubes.

Your 'nads just don't like the color!

Another vote for "saddle angle may be the issue." On one hand, nose up a little can help you keep your sitz bones back on the wider part of the saddle, but on the other, it can put pressure where you don't want it. You might try tweaking the nose down, if you haven't already. Are you keeping your weight back on the wider part of the saddle? A saddle pushed too far back or too high might cause you to tend to ride the nose. Bottom line... look at the fit, try tweaking some things, and see if it helps!

No saddle is comfortable if it's not adjusted right, and everybody's different. You got to figure out what works for you.