Training & Nutrition - Male Issue

I hope people take this question the light it is posted and I hope I am not breaking any terms of use.
I am 31 and new to cycling and recently bought a pretty high end road bike. The mountain bike I had before had a gel seat. The new seat is slightly padded and I have a pretty good pair of cycling pants.

After a 30KM ride I came home and right after my shower my wife and I did the you know what.....Problem is it is, it was the first time I could not ...complete the transaction.

Is this a common thing straight after riding?

D

Do you wear riding shorts (the kind with a pad built into the butt)? I do and dont have any problems, but i am 10years younger. I would say get some good shorts and see if the problem continues...if it does, consult a DR.

I have a very good pair with a well padded Chamoix (spelling)

Maybe the seat isn't right for you.... or maybe it's not in the right position. And like the other guy says, shorts make a huge difference.

Get a recumbent and all your problems will be solved :). Nice seat, back support, and they go as fast as road bikes once you get used to the riding position.

I

Is this a common thing straight after riding?




If you are having problems with penile numbness during rides, then that could be the cause. Numbess fixes: get off the saddle every once in a while, get a different saddle, get professionally fitted or do some research and set up your fit yourself. If you are still numb after rides then you really need to fix it right away, that can cause permanant damage.

If you are not having any numbness problems then it could be that you were just tired. It happens. Not being used to that much exercise would do it. If you keep riding you'll get used to it, although you may find that you're more interested in food and a nap after a long ride.

Don't worry about your question; it is just physiology. Was it longer than 2 hours after your bike ride? Riding puts pressure on everything and as mentioned, a good seat and shorts can help. Usually what is impacted is the erection but as that doesn't seem to be the case, it could have been from decrease nerve sensitivity (from riding vibration) or because your prostate was inflamed, which supplies most of the goods for the end result. I can't say if this will always happen after cycling but if it happens when you are not cycling, I would get checked for prostatitis.

I think the best seat has a cutout to decrease pressure on the perineum...if you google perineum and biking you will find more information.

no problems "completing the transaction" at 21... lucky thing you didnt post this in the road cycling boards

No, this absolutely should not be a common thing! Well, actually it can be and it's a big secret in the bike world. Something like 5% of cyclists develop ED. Take this very, very seriously. Definitely try different saddles. Saddles shaped like the Specialized BG series work well. Every one is different and what works for another person may not work for you. Also, try shorts which have thicker padding under the sit bones and thinner padding between. Avoid shorts with really thick padding. Try dropping the nose of your saddle about 2° below horizontal.

When riding, get out of the saddle and pedal standing for about 1 minute in 10. If you're riding with a group, stand when you make your way from the front to the back of a paceline. Stand on short hills.

A good policy is to make love every time you come back from a bike ride. If it's no go, you need to change something. Oh, and before each bike ride, too, just so you can tell whether or not it's the bike riding. ;) Got to keep up the scientific research.

And this isn't just a male problem. You ladies be careful, too.

The Specialized Avatar is a really great saddle!!! I love mine. Also what helped me more than the saddle was standing up every so often to allow the blood to flow again.

I also don't really need to stand up all the way. I just push down on the pedal til my butt lifts off the saddle ever so slightly and this usually does the trick. I find i use less energy than standing up completely.

It may take a while to return to normal but it will happen. Although your previous saddle was gel and you had no problem, the cushioning on your new saddle may well have caused the problem. You are better off on a hard saddle since your sit bones don't sink into it. When you sink into a cushioned saddle it chokes the blood flow in the perineum. Sort of like how someone can smother you with a pillow but not with a sheet of plywood. As well, your pelvis may be tilted more forward on the road bike, and the nose of the saddle may be giving you a wedgie. Try to sit well back, keep the saddle level, and arch your back to lift the front of your pelvis off the seat nose.

Definitely look for a new saddle. Those gel saddles don't do you any favors.

no problems "completing the transaction" at 21... lucky thing you didnt post this in the road cycling boards

And the answer would have been "harden the F up"? :)

See presentation by Schrader (from US Center for Disease Control & NIOSH), "Sex and Saddles: What is the problem? What is the fix?" on Serotta Cycling Institute web site at LINK (http://www.serottacyclinginstitute.com/documents/SSchraderSexandSaddles.pdf). As he covers in the talk, this is not exclusively a male problem.

Try a saddle with a cutout through the middle. Keep the pressure on your sitbones and not
in the middle.

just looking at it from a different perspective:

were you sick?
suffering from exhaustion after the ride?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say you "couldn't complete the transaction", but I guess these are some of the possibilities:

1. You couldn't get an erection at all
2. You were able to get an erection but you couldn't keep it
3. You were able to get an erection and keep it but you couldn't ejaculate

Which one applies to your situation?

Thank you gents for the advice...
I was not having an issue with and erection it was with ejaculation.
I am guessing from all the responses that this is something fairly common.
Thanks Guys.
D

Google Adamo road saddle.

I am 31 and new to cycling and recently bought a pretty high end road bike. The mountain bike I had before had a gel seat. The new seat is slightly padded and I have a pretty good pair of cycling pants.

After a 30KM ride I came home and right after my shower my wife and I did the you know what.....Problem is it is, it was the first time I could not ...complete the transaction.

Is this a common thing straight after riding?

D

Your problem is not physical, it is that since you have switched to road biking you are falling in love with biking all over again. Your wife will now take a backseat to a series of trysts with various bikes and shiny gear that will interfere with your marriage.

I'm not a pro, a racer, or anything like that, but I've been riding road bikes since the 1960's. You can save a lot of money by not buying one new saddle after another, and certainly by not buying a recumbent. Whenever someone says they are new, they have a higher-end road bike, and they have the problem you have, my first thought is that the saddle is too darned high, probably set by the owner or some guy who thinks what was appropriate for Greg LeMond is appropriate for everybody.

Start riding your bike with the saddle set the classic way it was always done before. Play with both horizontal and vertical positioning of the saddle (and also level it or slightly point it up if you feel yourself sliding forward on it). What the classic way? Set the bike either on a rear-wheel trainer or against a wall, sit on the bike and pedals backwards (or forward if on a trainer), so that you end up sitting on the saddle the same way as when you're riding. Pedals with heels on the pedals. Set height so that you can pedal without rocking your hips. Ride it like that, and with your bars set as high as they go. Set the horizontal position using the KOPS method such that the from of the knee is at least about where the end of the crankarm is (recheck saddle height after this). You can go a bit higher with the saddle, like half to a cm higher. Try this and see if it doesn't resolve your problem. Most saddles are way too high (and it won't be too low with the heel on pedal method either). You can pedal fine with the saddle set too high, and even without rocking your hips, because you will simply compensate by pedalling more toes down. But this tends to overextend the leg, and you end up strumming your crotch from side to side under heavy pressure on the saddle.

You may or may not agree with this, but I guarantee you there is no harm in trying it, and it won't cost a cent.

Google Adamo road saddle.

Looks interesting. Have you tried it?

I'm not a pro, a racer, or anything like that, but I've been riding road bikes since the 1960's. You can save a lot of money by not buying one new saddle after another, and certainly by not buying a recumbent. Whenever someone says they are new, they have a higher-end road bike, and they have the problem you have, my first thought is that the saddle is too darned high, probably set by the owner or some guy who thinks what was appropriate for Greg LeMond is appropriate for everybody.

Start riding your bike with the saddle set the classic way it was always done before. Play with both horizontal and vertical positioning of the saddle (and also level it or slightly point it up if you feel yourself sliding forward on it). What the classic way? Set the bike either on a rear-wheel trainer or against a wall, sit on the bike and pedals backwards (or forward if on a trainer), so that you end up sitting on the saddle the same way as when you're riding. Pedals with heels on the pedals. Set height so that you can pedal without rocking your hips. Ride it like that, and with your bars set as high as they go. Set the horizontal position using the KOPS method such that the from of the knee is at least about where the end of the crankarm is (recheck saddle height after this). You can go a bit higher with the saddle, like half to a cm higher. Try this and see if it doesn't resolve your problem. Most saddles are way too high (and it won't be too low with the heel on pedal method either). You can pedal fine with the saddle set too high, and even without rocking your hips, because you will simply compensate by pedalling more toes down. But this tends to overextend the leg, and you end up strumming your crotch from side to side under heavy pressure on the saddle.

You may or may not agree with this, but I guarantee you there is no harm in trying it, and it won't cost a cent.

+1. When solving mysterious problems, always try the simple solutions first.

Az

+1 for the Specialized Avatar. When I got my current road bike, I would get numb occasionally despite standing up as well as adjusting seat height and angle. After getting the Avatar and adjusting it, I haven't had any problems.

try a brooks saddle. make sure you don't go numb during the ride. wallbike.com has a 6 month return policy.

and be careful with the cut out saddles. if you don't have something holding them in place one of em can get caught in the cut out and oh noes, there goes a nut.

Maybe the seat isn't right for you.... or maybe it's not in the right position.

Yeah, you need to find out what the problem is for sure. You do not want this to become a chronic issue.

Look at your saddle, and make sure that the pressure from your body weight is on your "sit bones", and not any of the soft tissue in between. If you can find a way to adjust your saddle to accomodate riding on your sit bones, you're golden. If not - buy another saddle.

... Brad

Hmm. I had a similar problem recently after my first race. I'd been training on rollers for a few weeks and then competed in a Goldsprints event on a track bike. My problem was not ejaculation but a achieving and then maintaining an erection. I ride on a selle San marco Aspide saddle with a gap in the middle but I always feel that I have a tendency to slide forward on it. I moved the saddle forward a bit but maybe not enough. I also recently got new Sugoi shorts and they are a little tighter than my other shorts so maybe that was a factor as well. There might also be some psychological factors in my case relating to things between my girlfriend and I so who knows. Any thoughts?

You can have the highest end road bike in the world, but if you're not straddling the saddle just right, you're going to have problems like that. If you can't do this yourself and then experiment, then get someone who knows how to do it, and then experiment. No matter what you do, if you put pressure on that area rather than on your sit bones, you're going to cut off some circulation there. Saddle too high -- more efficient in pure efficiency terms, but almost guaranteed to cause problems.

So my saddle might be a little bit too high and not far forward enough? It's already almost as far forward as the rails will allow. Maybe I need to go with a shorter stem to bring the handlebars closer? Right now it's a 9cm Nitto Pearl.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say you "couldn't complete the transaction", but I guess these are some of the possibilities:

1. You couldn't get an erection at all
2. You were able to get an erection but you couldn't keep it
3. You were able to get an erection and keep it but you couldn't ejaculate

Which one applies to your situation?

Which saddle gives me Option #3? That would be awesome...for my wife...

No-one has suggested a doctor visit yet?

Realistically, your problem might be a "one-off" deal, or could be related to the bike, but why take a chance? As far as saddle fit is concerned, if any part of the saddle is putting pressure on the perineum, then you have a "bad fit". This needs to be corrected. Nevertheless, you should see a doctor to get a medical evaluation. This problem can be an indicator for other medical conditions that may require treatment.

See a doctor!!

A large portion of your body weight should be on your feet and hands, that which is on the saddle should be almost completely borne by your sit bones. If you are sitting on your precious bits, you're going to break them. Get a proper fit. Keep your saddle level. Make sure you don't slide forward. And be conscious of where you're putting your weight. It could be the wrong saddle, but it could also be that the bike isn't set up right. I've done 10 hour rides and the only soreness or numbness down there has been caused by the cold.

Your problem is not physical, it is that since you have switched to road biking you are falling in love with biking all over again. Your wife will now take a backseat to a series of trysts with various bikes and shiny gear that will interfere with your marriage.

The saddle with the cutout will help this too.

Turns out my problem was psychological stemming from anxiety over things going on between my girlfriend and I, really just me. Having figured things out, everything down below has been working just fine! I did also take some time to adjust the saddles on all my bikes to make sure my sit bones were carrying the weight and have been making a pretty consistent effort to maintain a proper position while riding.