Originally Posted by
gregf83
Just because bloodflow is restricted for some period of time doesn't mean damage has occurred.
While the studies I've referred to particularly tested on-the-bike (and off the bike for 15 minutes) circulation levels, the article also states that "cyclists riding more than 400km/week could face issues ranging to total disfunction according to an earlier research in 1999". Google translation could've mangled it but it's at the 4th paragraph:
http://www.mtbtr.com/gezi_yayin/yayin.asp?kayitno=760
There were also references to permanent harm on another study
posted here recently:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/he...on/04bike.html
The studies, by researchers at Boston University and in Italy, found that the more a person rides, the greater the risk of impotence or loss of libido. And researchers in Austria have found that many mountain bikers experience saddle-related trauma that leads to small calcified masses inside the scrotum.
Dr. Goldstein said he often saw patients who were stunned to learn that riding a bicycle led to their impotence. One middle-aged man rode in a special cycling event to honor a friend and has been impotent since. A 28-year-old who came in for testing, Dr Goldstein said, showed the penile blood flow of a 60-year-old. A college student who had competed in rough cycling sports was unable to achieve an erection until microvascular surgery restored penile blood flow.
Already referred to two distinct studies.
Originally Posted by
guadzilla
I read that link you posted. The fail is high in that one - starting with the assumption that if X1 hurts, then Xn is is going to hurt as well for any non-zero value of X (X = saddle, in this case).
Not arguing but they were saddles selected for their particular characteristics (gel/foam, tourer/racer, flat/cut-out, etc.) and it's safe to assume that due personal fitting is done prior to tests. So, those saddles were represantative of their genres. Also, what was measured is not numbness, but it is a quatifiable value like blood flow. Every type of saddle and riding position did cause a varying decrease in it, so it is fairly safe to conclude that all saddles of the tested genres and all riding positions will undermine penile bloodflow. How this test can't be representative is beyond me.