Fifty Plus (50+) - Saddles and your sex life,What do you think?

A concerned friend sent me this link regarding bikings affect on that important area.What do you all think?http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/science/28tier.html?_r=1&ref=science

Same article was referenced here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/747124-No-nose-saddles-redux).

FWIW, after riding the same saddle for over 30 years with no problem, I've only just started to have a pressure-related issue, but it's not ED, it's a sense of bladder pressure that is surely coming from the prostate pressing on it. I just ordered a new saddle that should get here next week - we'll see if it helps.

Never had a problem.

The correct fit/position trumps gimmick saddles.

Just chalk it up to the typical fear mongering organ brained media zombie negative propaganda bs.

But do all the fit/position people really deep down know that their saddles are not doing damage. Or are they just being lemmings to the DF crowd. Personally I can say for sure my recumbent seat is doing no damage.

I have never wanted to have sex with my saddle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7095134.stm

A cop sitting on top of his squishy seated mountain bike cruising along the sidewalk at 5 mph all day, every day, probably does have "27% of his body weight on his perineum" as the article states, and may well have some problem with the johnson.

On my road bike, with a proper firm road saddle, what weight is on the saddle is mostly on my sit bones, and because my legs are working hard there's precious little weight most of the time anyway. And speaking of time, I wish I had more than the 10 hours a week or so I get to spend on my bike in the summer. That's a far cry from riding a bike for work as these guys do.

I would think that OSHA may be trading one problem for another when, because of the lack of a nose on the saddle, Officer Friendly cannot precisely control his bike in an emergency and has some mishap.

My riding, and my riding, are all going well, thank you.

i have never wanted to have sex with my saddle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7095134.stm

x2:roflmao:

What the hell, do people never change position while riding?

Oh, my bad, a lot of people do just plop down and sit there like a lump of butter.

What the hell, do people never change position while riding?

Oh, my bad, a lot of people do just plop down and sit there like a lump of butter.

Do people never take breaks while riding? If your out for a longer ride, then you are allowed to get off the bike once in a while, and get everything going again, unless your in a race, who cares if you take a 2 minute break every 30 minutes in the saddle??? Find a nice quiet spot, pull off and take a break, get some blood flow back into those places that are not getting it in the saddle, get your nerves moving again, where it's numb bum or numb hands, it's the same solution. Take a break for a couple of minutes....

But do all the fit/position people really deep down know that their saddles are not doing damage. Or are they just being lemmings to the DF crowd.

It seems to me I'd know if I had ED.

This article is really making the rounds! Way more attention than that silly saddle design deserves, but maybe it will result in more people adjusting their saddles and making their bikes fit well so they won't have such problems.

But do all the fit/position people really deep down know that their saddles are not doing damage. Or are they just being lemmings to the DF crowd. Personally I can say for sure my recumbent seat is doing no damage.

re: bents vs standard bikes, it's not the bents that we have issue with, it's the insulting dogma that a few bent riders can't seem to stop preaching.

But do all the fit/position people really deep down know that their saddles are not doing damage. Or are they just being lemmings to the DF crowd. Personally I can say for sure my recumbent seat is doing no damage.

...to Mr. Johnson, probably not...but are you sure it's not doing any damage to Mr. Buttz? That might be a different type of sexual dysfuction, but it would still suck just the same.

Er, wait, I mean it would... nevermind.

FWIW, after riding the same saddle for over 30 years with no problem, I've only just started to have a pressure-related issue, but it's not ED, it's a sense of bladder pressure that is surely coming from the prostate pressing on it. I just ordered a new saddle that should get here next week - we'll see if it helps.

30 years? Is that possible? But assuming it is... do you imagine the recent discomfort in that area is due to the saddle alone or could it be age related BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia)? I don't think a couple of Saw Palmetto capsules with dinner will do you any harm.

H

Sorry, but I'm afraid I'd have to do something nasty on top of the "concerned friend's" desk, as they have WAAAY TOO MUCH INTEREST IN MY PRIVATE LIFE.

But do all the fit/position people really deep down know that their saddles are not doing damage. Or are they just being lemmings to the DF crowd. Personally I can say for sure my recumbent seat is doing no damage.

Speaking as a Lemming, I shall never join the Choir Supine.

By the bye, if your 'seat' is 'recumbent' it is rather unlikely to be doing any 'damage' (nudge, nudge; wink, wink!). I wonder: is that disability a consequence of time spent on your recumbent's seat?

I have never wanted to have sex with my saddle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7095134.stm

You just made my day with that comment! :)

At one point, I got a new saddle based on recommendations from a friend. Comfort was fine, for a saddle at least; but within a couple of weeks, things no work-ee. I reverted back to the old saddle and functionality returned, too. About a year later, I went to recumbents and haven't worried about such things since.

Articles like that seem to come out every couple of years. I view them as infomercials. Bad journalism and only highlight one product to address the purported problem.

Used to get numb "down there" after an unspecified amount of time in the saddle. Never did quantify how long it took. Didn't cause any real problems, just uncomfortable. Since I switched to a Sella SMP, the numbness has not returned. Seat isn't totally comfortable yet; probably due to not having it adjusted properly yet. Not the prettiest thing, and back-n-forth movement on the saddle is not really possible with its curved shape and eagle beak nose, but no numbness, so I'm sticking with it.

30 years? Is that possible? But assuming it is... do you imagine the recent discomfort in that area is due to the saddle alone or could it be age related BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia)? I don't think a couple of Saw Palmetto capsules with dinner will do you any harm.

H

Oh, it's definitely related to the size of my prostate, no question. Whether it qualifies clinically as BPH I don't know - my doctor won't say it's "enlarged," just "prominent." And out of all the various symptoms of BPH, I recognize only one or two in myself, and in very mild doses.

Saddles and my sex life? Two entirely different topics altogether.

This sounds like a variation on the Bicycling magazine article a few years ago when everone got excited about the saddles with the pressure relief channels, how the regular saddles would cause problems, etc. To hear some folks carry on, you'd expect every professional cyclist to be completely impotent. I guess Lance, running on one cylinder, dispels that myth. I fear that some nanny-state agency is going to decide that bicycles saddles are dangerous, and require eveone to ride an "approved" saddle -- what next, seat belts and air bags?

What do I think? I think I have both, after 50 years (and many tens of thousands of miles) of riding.

SP
Bend, OR

Do +50 yr. olds still have sex ?.

A concerned friend sent me this link regarding bikings affect on that important area.What do you all think?http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/science/28tier.html?_r=1&ref=science

A concerned female friend?

I experienced pain on longer MTB rides while training for the C&O ride in 2006. Since then I found an acceptable MTB saddle. I use various Brooks saddles on my road bikes and never have an issue with pain or ED. If you read my recent posts you'll know I've had recent surgery on my prostate but I don't think it's directly attributable to cycling.

You'll have to ask someone older than me . . .
Am 78 and covered over 300-thousand miles on bicycles so far.
Sex life is still great!
Ask me again in 20 years?

That Rigiscan thing sounds a little kinky.

I wonder where you can buy them.

This junk science pops up every few years. I first heard about it in the early 1990s. If it were universally true, no one would ride a bike. Just some scam artist trying to sell you something.

Seems like the overwhelming consensus,by people with decades of experience and knowledge is,a resounding NO.Saddle and riding does not cause sexual dysfunction.Unless you're having sex on the saddle while riding.

Seems like the overwhelming consensus,by people with decades of experience and knowledge is,a resounding NO.Saddle and riding does not cause sexual dysfunction.Unless you're having sex on the saddle while riding.

Which brings us directly to the now removed long-ago thread by a lady who discussed in great detail the smile she got while riding. Enough said. (This was after I assured her that there was nothing that could not be openly discussed on BF).

Being reasonable you have to admit that a bike saddle is not the finest thing for a person to sit on. Also being reasonable seats on recumbents are far better for a person.

Which brings us directly to the now removed long-ago thread by a lady who discussed in great detail the smile she got while riding. Enough said. (This was after I assured her that there was nothing that could not be openly discussed on BF).

That's a thread I'd pay to read.

Being reasonable you have to admit that a bike saddle is not the finest thing for a person to sit on. Also being reasonable seats on recumbents are far better for a person.

I think it depends on what your used to sitting on, if it's a soft recliner then yeah, there are more comfortable things to sit on, although I have NEVER had a car that was comfortable to sit in either, now compare that saddle to a hard wood school chair, or a church pew from the late 19th century, and that saddle seems to be pretty good.

Being reasonable you have to admit that a bike saddle is not the finest thing for a person to sit on. Also being reasonable seats on recumbents are far better for a person.

Your assertion rests on the mistaken assumption that bicycle saddles are meant to be sat upon in the same way that one 'sits' on a dining room chair or 'in' a couch or (wait for it!) ... a recliner/'Lazyboy' or similar.

They are not so intended; that is why they are called 'saddles', not 'seats' (the analogy to equestrian saddles is not misleading).

Cycling is a dynamic activity. Bicycle saddles are meant to be a 'point of contact' between one's sit bones and the bicycle, with one's body weight evenly distributed (the balance will differ slightly according as to individual preferences and riding position) between hands, feet, and rear end.

Using a properly designed, properly adjusted, and properly fitted saddle, a cyclist should not experience much (if any) pressure in 'other areas' at all, and certainly not such as would cause the kinds of symptoms under discussion in this thread.

Edit: oops, sorry Wogster! I see you got to 'recliner' first; credit where credit is due!

Which brings us directly to the now removed long-ago thread by a lady who discussed in great detail the smile she got while riding. Enough said. (This was after I assured her that there was nothing that could not be openly discussed on BF).

Man, they should have made that one a sticky! :innocent:

I am 60, and still oversexed. I don't think the biking has hurt me at all, but who really knows. I will keep biking because I get to do more of that than sex.

There have been a lot of studies debunking studies where people who ride bikes experience erectile dysfunction. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

This controversy is as old as bicycling. From an article in the British Medical Journal of 1896 Turner E. B. 1896 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2510326/?tool=pmcentrez)


SADDLE.
In adjusting the machine, the saddle should be placed at such a height that when the pedal is at its lowest point the heel can be easily placed upon it when sitting erect. The length of cranks should be 61 to 7 inches. The " gear " of the machine must vary according to the character of the roads to be ridden over and the gradient of the hills. For level, good road about 63 inches, for bad roads and steep hills about 56 inches should do. The great point in choosing a saddle is to get one which will be comfortable, and suit the individual. This is a matter of careful adjustment. Some complain that when they ride the pressure of the peak on the perineum causes distress. There are many inventions intended to obviate this. The " Hygienic" -saddle is split all the way down, so that there is nothing to press on the central line. The " Anatomical " (Henson's) consists of a pneumatic seat, with depressions to take the ischial tuberosities, and no peak at all; " Burgess's " saddle is on the same lines, and all of these are excellent when they are properly adjusted to suit each person. The essentials of a good saddle are that it should be large enough for the rider to sit fairly and squarely on it, and not hang himself on the peak (if it has one) as if were riding on a rail. It must be tilted to such an angle that no weight whatever falls on the front part, and it must be sufficiently cut away at the sides to allow free movement of the legs while pedalling. A rider should give an hour or more to the adjustment of a new saddle, and having once found what angle and position suits himself, he should never move it. The saddle is often blamed, especially by women, for ordinary " soreness." This simply means that the sufferer has not ridden enough to harden his or her tissues, and perseverance will soon cure it.

I'd rather ride my bike than have sex.