kevmetric

Male cyclists are twice as likely to suffer from impotence as those who stay away from bikes, according to a new study.

hxxp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2991088.stm

They found that more than 60% of men and women reported genital discomfort.

Their 'Bicycle Saddle Report 2003' suggests that male cyclists are twice as likely to suffer from virility problems.

For women riders, genital swelling was much more common than previously realised.

steveK

My Terry saddle has a big hole all the way through it where my impotence would be. It also lets air circulate and keeps my importants cool.

urbanrider

The report references narrow saddles. Perhaps is fair to say that saddles that do not cause numbness would be exempt from this theory?? I don't know, the article is not very specific i.e.; if you don't become numb this doesn't apply!
I can only say that my Brooks B17 does not cause numbness and I can cycle for many hours in comfort.

joeprim

Some one had a post "A culture of fear" I believe this is more of that. If the nasty multiwheeled monsters don't get you your saddle will.

Joe

nathank

well the short little blurb article doesn't give much details... just the the blurb: "Male cyclists are twice as likely to suffer from impotence as those who stay away from bikes, according to a new study." ... without any reference to the details of the study.

and then " They found that more than 60% of men and women reported genital discomfort. "

of course proper bit fit is important and if you have numbness you should get it checked --- i used to have have numbess but changes by bike set-up and also now sit further back on my saddle so i now sit on the "sit-bones" and not on my privates...

but as i ride a lot a miles - about 10,000km/ yr mostly off-road with about 70,000 meters vetical (i'm on track to beat that by a lot this year!) - i talked to 2 urologists a little over a year ago and they have said that in their opnions the ADVANTAGES of cycling for the circulatory system greatly outweigh any of the currently documented researched problems from cycling -- i.e. sitting on the couch and not riding is more likely to be detrimental to your sexual performance b/c your cardiovascular system deteriates -- and that from their expert knowlege of all the research that as long as you experience no numbness you should have nothing to worry about ----- well, except some evidence/studies suggest that trauma from crashes where you hit your privates on the top-tube can also infertility (i.e. getting racked) so that is one other thing to consider... but that can also happen in soccer or hockey or other sports (although for hockey you wear a cup, but whatever)

the article does recommend: "They recommend that cyclists sit upright whenever possible and stand on the pedals every 10 minutes. " but it doesn't state the most important: that you should make sure your bike is fit properly AND if you experience numbness then change something, see or doctor, OR reduce your cycling...

but as the article is written it seems that it might discourage many cyclists for absolutely no reason...

but then can we expect a super-quick blurb from the media (sensationalism sells, details are borin) to really report the whole story?

kevmetric

Exactly .... the benefits of losing weight, getting the proper
exercise on a regular basis and fresh air outweighs the dangers...

Portent

I hope this is all bulls**t (excuse the language). But just in case I think I'll start standing every ten minutes.

khuon

It's a good idea to change riding positions regularly anyways. Moving your hands around on the bar prevents numbness. Occasionally standing and stretching prevents numbness in the appropriate spots. Doing neck stretches prevent neckpains.

I dislike that the article recommends a fully upright position as that could lead to back pains. I suspect that the article did not take into account proper bike fit. I also suspect that many subjects in the study were those who just recently got (back) on a bike without having grown accustomed to riding or maintaining proper bike fit.

I even more dislike that articles such as those could convince people to just give up on the idea of cycling and sit around their couch. Sitting around doing nothing can just as easily cause you physical harm.... even in the short term. Remember those people who died immediately after stepping off an airplane because of blood clots from sitting too long in one position? The same symptoms have occurred in people sitting in front of computers and TVs without moving.

Guest

Sooooo... if I don't want kids, and I marry a hard-core cyclist, and we have unprotected sex, I won't have to worry about getting pregnant?

I'm gonna sue these people if there's a bundle of joy being squeezed out of me 9 months from now. Back up, people, I'm going in to test the theory!!!



Koff

threadend

This explains the guy I saw riding the other day. He was wearing black dress pants, white dress shirt and black vest with a yellow Giro helmet and Oakley XX's with burnt orange iridescent lenses.

He must subscribe to the theory that if your going to be impotent you have to look impotent.

Maelstrom 

Hahaha...now that would be a funny case to watch

cbhungry

AAaaaah...typical media interpretation of clinical medicine.

First of all I'd like to see the data itself. They studied one thousand bicyclist....were they experienced bicyclists or novices who were handed a bike and told to ride for x number of weeks?

If these were not seasoned bicyclists did they control for other variables that affect impotence such as smokeing and diabeties?
These group of people already have some underlying problems and the pressure on the pudendal nerve in an bicyclist not accustomed to biking may push him over into having impotence.

How did they define virility problems?...erectile dysfunction? low sperm count ?or just genital discomfort. If these were not seasoned cyclists, all of us have problems with discomfort when getting back in the saddle after a hiatus.

Please guys , continue to use birth control. By the way, no mention of sperm counts were made so Koffee, keep using protection.

P.S. The moment I got off birth control, I got knocked up with Samantha. My husband would be laughing at this right now but he's out biking. HaH!!!!


Another example of how much bad research makes it to print and the media has no idea how to critically analyze the data.

trmcgeehan

My cool Oakley sunglasses make me look impotent.

cbhungry

By the way, twice as likely just means that if 1 out of 1000 men have problems with impotence and 2 out of 1000 men who ride a bike have problems with impotence, then these men are twice as likely to have impotence problems. Interesting the article did not provide numbers since the absolute numbers are probably unimpressive.

primeowl

I cannot believe they put this rubbish out at the start of British Bike Week! What is it with these Belgians?

Who are these cyclists? Are they pro racers? Ordinary Joe Blow? If the latter how many of the ones that wear padded cycling shorts suffer?

All the evidence I hear is that cyclists tend to be MORE sexually active than most people, probably due to the health benefits.

This bull**** raises more questions than it answers. Lets not lose any sleep over it because I am sure as hell not losing sperm cells cycling...

Formtight

Yeah. I used to wear my old Army glasses. Talk about 100% effective birth control...

cycletourist

Raise the handlebar !!!!!!!!!
Bicycling is not at fault. Poor posture is the problem.

RAISE THE HANDLEBAR !!!!

Guest

Damn...

kevmetric

The article doesn't mistake impotence ("virility problems") with
infertility.

In fact, being impotent may or may not affect fertility ...the article
talks about genital discomfort, and lack of ability to carry out
the sexual function.

It doesn't refer at all to sperm counts, fertility or lack thereof.

Formtight

Oh man. You mean I can't use that as a pick-up line anymore? "Don't worry baby, I sit on a bike seat for 15 hours a week...."

Guest

Dang it again!

So it's not about fertility, it's about FUNCTION?

So I guess I want to back my thang up against a non-cyclist then, huh?

FOG

I can see the new pick up line for bicyclists- I am worried about impotence because I bike a lot. Could you help me with a cure?

Formtight

There's only one way to find out!! Test 'em both. Again and again...

SamDaBikinMan

Sorry to burst your bubble Koff but our little Samantha is living proof this theory is wrong.

FOG

I wonder if any saddle company paid for the report. If so, using this report violates the first rule of statistical analysis, never ask the barber whether you need a haircut.