Big Bri

Hi, I am not sure whether to post this in the Indoor & Stationary Cycling forum or here but as it's mostly a question about fitting the bike, I thought here would be best.

I have a York Fitness Active 110 stationary bike and have been using it a lot recently in combination with an Oculus Quest 2 VR headset and the VZFit Explorer app which allows you to ride custom bike routes in Google Earth Street View. I have been struggling with pain and discomfort though (particularly in my bottom) which causes numbness which spreads to my genital area (I am a 40 year-old male btw). I also get some needles and pins sensation in my hands so I think overall my bike fit could be better but I don't know if this is a limitation of the bike as a whole or just due to me not adjusting it correctly or having the right saddle.

As I said, I am a 40 year-old man and weigh approximately 160 pounds or 73kg and am around 5ft 7 inches tall. I haven't ridden a bike for some 25 years or so since I was a kid but until around a year ago, I was an avid walker and regularly did 20 miles or so walks. Anyway, I do have lower back pain in general (the cause of which has never been established or treated successfully) but I would say I am reasonably flexible (I can reach my toes when bending forward with my legs straight and can do some basic exercises), I just wanted to establish my fitness.

My exercise bike is a basic, budget model which has limited adjustment, I can only adjust the seat height and fore and aft position, the handlebars height and fore/aft can't be adjusted. I can only adjust the angle of the side arms that point up from the sides of the main handlebar so if I want the handlebars to be higher, I would have to adjust the angle so the top of the sidebars is positioned higher up for me to hold on to (if that makes sense).

I have adjusted the seat height to roughly where my hip is and the fore/aft position is roughly the length of my clenched fist to my elbow in terms of distance from the saddle's nose tip to the handlebar's central post. The pedals are flat and aren't clip-in's so I don't wear bike shoes with cleats. They do have an adjustable strap which I have adjusted to allow my foot to fit in and be roughly in a similar position to if I were wearing cleats (so the ball of my foot is on the pedal) but it's not perfect and does allow for some movement. I also don't wear bike shorts and prefer to just wear my regular thin, walking trousers.

I am not trying to do any intense indoor training or work up a sweat, just more like a casual bike ride out in the country than anything else. I generally ride between 30-60 minutes depending on how I feel, sometimes after around 15-20 minutes I start feeling a little pain and then some numbness so I get off the bike for a minute or two and allow the blood to flow again and then get back on the bike. The saddle I am using is a Brooks Cambium c19 Carved but I have also got the original saddle that came with the bike (which is a big, wide, cushioned affair) but I found it a little too wide and the sides were very hard and would cut into my thighs. Plus I have a Bikeroo Comfortable Bike Saddle which is softer but I am not sure if that's better and I have a Karcore Bike Seat which is kind of in-between the original saddle and the Bikeroo saddle as it is cushioned but is a little smaller.

I have been through a few saddles to try and get rid of the pain and discomfort but I have never been sure if I have got the fit down right in the first place. I am unable to go and get a bike fit at a bike shop or elsewhere for various reasons, least of which is because of the current pandemic situation and everything is closed. Plus as I am not actually using a road bike or any other real-world bike, I am not sure if I could apply the findings from a bike fit to my stationary bike back home (especially seeing as my York Fitness bike is not as adjustable). I would be willing to get a new bike but want to avoid having to spend a lot of money if I can as I don't think I am using it enough or for a bike's intended use to warrant the extra cost.

I do have a video of me on the bike showing how I sit and pedal etc but I can't post a link to it until I have made 10 posts. My hips don't appear to be rocking too much but the handlebars do feel a little low perhaps, I am not sure. When using the side bars to put me in a more upright position (my preferred position) then it feels ok but I do start to get pins and needles in my hands after a while (this is also true from using the lower main handle bar).

Sorry for this long post but I am hoping someone can perhaps offer me some pointers or suggestions about either getting a better fit, a different saddle or perhaps a different bike that might help me feel more comfortable. Thanks for any help people can give.