Originally Posted by
Clem von Jones
I had numbness and eventually figured out it wasn't so much the saddle but my riding position. I started tilting my pelvis forward instead of sitting upright, also increasing saddle setback over 9cm and finding the longest possible stem set lower. I know it's counter-intuitive to suggest this more aggressive riding position could be more comfortable but it really is. Excellent thread on the subject:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...tion-Discovery
Hmm, a lot of that thread encourages rotating your pelvis forward, taking weight off of the sit bones to improve comfort. As I understand if you take weight off of the sit bones it either has to go to your hands or to the perineum between your sit bones. All that I've read indicates that putting weight onto the perineum can cause sexual health problems.
I'm also reluctant to lower my bars because I do a lot of inner city riding. I value peripheral vision over aerodynamics.
I never had any numbness or pain while riding, I just decided to switch to a saddle with a cutout for fear that I was doing damage to myself without noticing.
http://www.63xc.com/willm/bike_sexhealth.htm
After reading this article I'm leaning toward the brooks again.