Hey all -

While this is a bit of old news, it's not a bad idea to take proper precautions...and to be reminded to do so. The right saddle (and taking time OUT of the saddle in rides) seems really to be the answer. Check out the article below for more details:

http://www.mensjournal.com/healthFit...on_biking.html

Incidentally, I've been riding on the Specialized BG saddle and highly recommend it. The difference is quite noticeable.

Let me point out a positive by-product of these scare articles. I used to work part time in a big LBS in the Seattle area. Many of the customers scared in by the crippled-weenie fear bought the first good saddle they ever used in their lives--thus enhancing their enjoyment of cycling beyond what some of them expected. The difference between a quality saddle and, say, a hardened ten year old gel abomination or a cheap 1970's leather seat that was never broken in properly will definitely give some people a new attitude about riding.

I have a problem with an article that focuses so much on such a tiny part of a problem. It's misleading because it says absolutely nothing about how cycling can prevent ED, which is probably far more important than any bicycle seat effect.

Scare tactics cause us to fear the unlikely, while distracting us from more important things.

I am all about being open with people. Give them the information and let them decide.
This can best be seen by the War on Drugs and how truth has been distorted by people who want to wage war.

This article rebukes alot of myths.
Why hide it after all 97 percent of people will never get it.
You have a bigger chance of vascetomy failure than this.

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be critical of something positive you were trying to contribute.

I guess when I read the article my eyes just sort of glazed over and I assumed everyone, including you, would jump on my rhetorical bandwagon. No offense, I got a little carried away at your expense.

But I still stand by what I said (I just didn't mean to focus any of it in your direction.)

Actually, this writeup is considerably more balanced than the newspaper article.

As others have said, if your boys are hurting on numb, change your saddle and/or position. What would be nice to see is a study that includes not just how many hours the subjects spend on the bike, but whether the subjects report any numbness or pain. I'm guessing that a high percentage of the 4% that had ED experienced numbness or pain.