jsigone

you should revisit that thought. I'm thinking the compression shorts are restricting way too much blood flow. It might of have worked on a hybrid, but a roadie is different angles and body rides at different angles.

IMO....Unless your doing 200+ miles on a ride or 12+ hrs, compression tights/shorts are overkill on a bike.

If you don't like the feel of your bibs, then go buy a different brand. They all fit slightly different

gforeman 

I had this until I switched all my bikes to an ISM Adamo saddle, and had a bike fit.

I only get a little numb after 30 miles now, but not much. I even have it on my spin bike. I'll never use anything else.

https://www.ismseat.com/saddle/adamo-road

ptempel

As some others have said, I think your saddle is the wrong one for you. Try another. I'm actually riding a woman's saddle (Terry Butterfly) for the width and the cutout. I used to have the same problem as you using the older Selle Italia Turbo, Rolls and other saddles in the past. You can measure your "sit bones" by sitting on tin foil on a stair step. Then measure the distance between the indentations. If you search a bit, you'll find more info on this. After finding a better saddle, I would recommend a bike fit since you're changing the bike from hybrid to road.

fietsbob

you rotate your hips forward when the bars are lower practice bending above your hips so they stay more upright ..

and maybe the road bike set up needs a higher bar setup, than as is.

might also just have the single nose off center so you hang off the side..


and stand up on the pedals and get off the bike more often..

brawlo

Bang on the point I was going to make. My first bike love is track and as such, I don't tend to ride longer distances. When I got a new bike last year, I had a bike it done by a physio/masseuse with a background in bike/tri. Now I ride an SMP Composit, so YMMV. During the fit, he straight out asked me does your knob go numb? Well I was a little bit taken aback by his abruptness, but it in fact did, just as the OP stated for extended periods, but only after rides around 50km and above. Now It wasn't a common occurence for me due to the fact I didn't do longer distances. So, the physio said it's actually quite common, and the first step is to rotate your hips on the saddle, using your lower abs to bring your groin forward. Now the benefits to this are twofold. One is the numbness problem has gone from my riding, even with longer rides, and two is rotating the pelvis then gets you to engage your hamstrings and glutes more. As soon as I did this on the trainer at the fitting, you could hear my pedalling become way smoother and more efficient.

Now as I stated, I ride with an SMP saddle, so I'm not sure if my circumstance is slightly different, but from what my fitter said, the pelvis rotation should be a help if not a cure.

As a matter of course, it would be prudent for you to get a proper bike fit done anyway. When you think about how much people spend on non necessary extras and upgrades, a proper bike fit is a great investment and relatively cheap. Take note of the measurements once the bike is set up properly and you can transfer the measurements to any bike you go to in the future.

kingsqueak

A picture of the bike as is would help.

I've been through the fit mill. Seat height, seat angle, fore aft and the same with bars all interact. Solving the puzzle can be confusing.

My seat was way too high. Once that was fixed the setback had to change and bar height too. Now I'm back on a very hard saddle and have it tweaked just right and no poking where it shouldn't. The angle only has to be off a degree in either direction and I'm poked or sliding off in a half hour or so. it takes time to get it right.

Jseis 

I use a Toupe +. Good cutout. Great seat. Much better than the Sella Italia which would numb me on rides over 75-80 miles. Used the Toupe in the STP this year...no...problems.

StephenH

Can't help you- I've had minor issues there, generally resolved by adjusting tilt of the saddle and my position on the saddle. Certainly shouldn't ever be lasting 2 days later.

sstorkel

Bingo!

If you're going numb during a ride and it doesn't clear up immediately, you need to do two things: 1) take the problem very seriously if you want to avoid long-term damage to your "equipment", and 2) find a different saddle. You can try all of the little home remedies and they may buy you a few extra minutes before you go numb. In the end, you're very likely to need a different saddle if you want to be long-term comfortable on the bike. FWIW, I'm a big fan of the Selle SMP, ISM Adamo and some WTB saddles. Be aware that the ISM Adamo and Selle SMP saddles in particular will concentrate all of your weight on your sitz bones. If you aren't used to this, it will take some time to get used to it.

goldfinch

I wonder how many doctors refer people to fitters. Or at least PTs who are fitters.

Jarrett2

I took my bike to the LBS yesterday to get checked and they said the nose of the saddle was way too high and that was the cause. They dropped it down slightly passed level. I did 15 miles on it this morning and it seemed better. I still had some residual numbness from my Saturday ride so its hard to tell if it made it better or not, but it certainly didn't get any worse.

MRT2

This is very serious. In a past life, I worked for a pharmaceutical company that made a drug to treat impotence. Because of my work there, I read several papers on the damage riding a road bike especially can do to the male genitalia. (there is also a risk of impotence from riding a mountain bike, but less from cutoff of blood to the nerves leading to the penis and more on the dangers of crashing and hitting the penis or testicles on the crossbar) The numbness you are experiencing is likely a symptom of damage your riding is doing to the nerves down there. Until you resolve this issue, I wouldn't ride consecutive days, or you may find yourself off the bike for months or longer,and/or dealing with a serious ED problem. On days you do ride, focus on getting your weight off your perineum and onto your sit bones. It is possible the more aggressive position of your road bike is forcing you to tilt your pelvis too far forward, putting pressure on your perineum. As someone said, this is more a problem for us clydes than for lightweights as our larger guts limit how much we can bend our backs forward, so when we lean forward, it tends to be more from the pelvis. So, get off the bike a couple of times a week and do some flexibility work so you can lean forward in the saddle without putting weight on your perineum. Get the fit/saddle issue resolved with your LBS or possibly get a professional fitting. Maybe it involves tilting the saddle, maybe raising the handlebars, or getting a longer or shorter stem. Also, a leather saddle with a cutout might work for you, either selle anatomica or brooks imperial.

genejockey 

And you went out on the same bike again? You really DO like to roll the dice, don't you? Look - Numbness is a sign of nerve problems. It may be inflammation, or something that will resolve itself, but riding AGAIN before it's resolved completely is pretty risky.

I have a bit of experience with this sort of thing, though related to hands/wrists, not genitalia. I work in Biotech, and at the startup where I worked they were pushing really hard to meet a deadline. Everyone started experiencing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms - numbing in the thumb and first 2 1/2 fingers, pain, etc. Two women ignored this and kept on pipetting, and ended up permanently disabled, unable to do the work they'd trained for, and that they'd been doing for 15 years.

So, I'd advise that you don't ignore numbness, don't try to tough it out, or you risk aggravating it and making it permanent.

Jarrett2

I appreciate the concern, but other than testing new setups on the bike, I'm not sure how I'm going to find a solution to it. It is either this or return the bike. It is quite a bit better today, but only time will tell if its truly fixed or not.

MRT2

Not saying you should return the bike, but be wary of too much of a good thing. FWIW, if you ran every day and complained about knee pain, foot, or back pain. I would say say the same thing. Cut back on the running and fix the situation, or risk injury and extended time away from running.

A few years back, I sustained a rotator cuff injury and tried to tough it out. It was a big mistake and I paid the price. Even years later, my shoulder still isn't the same. Now, substitute penis for shoulder, and you get the picture about what could happen to you.

Like anything else, pain and numbness are signals we need to pay attention to. I don't think you need to return your bike, but you shouldn't have any numbness down there. If you do, you haven't addressed the problem completely.

genejockey 

No, my suggestion would have been to stay completely off the bike until you're satisfied that everything is completely back to normal. I know it's tough, when you have been bitten by the bug, but it's probably best. Once it's all back to normal, then start experimenting with the fit, saddles, etc.

My current fit and saddle took me through a century with no pain or numbness issues, and there's no reason you can't find a setup that works as well for you. Like I said, it took me 5 saddles to find one that worked that well. And I had to give up on some that I really liked. But that was a decade ago, and I've set up three bikes with the same saddle and the same fit, and they all work great.

Gnosis

The saddle that came on my 2012 Trek Wahoo 29er hardtail looked great, but it caused me to lose all sensation of penis ownership by mile 14 of my century ride (at which point it felt like I switched teams and gained a vagina ). I joke, but initially it was a scary feeling, as I had absolutely no feeling whatsoever, as though Mr. Winky had fallen off somewhere along the ride.

Simply installing a better saddle greatly extended the range that I could ride before I’d begin to sense some manner of numbness, at which point I’d stand while riding for just 15 to 20 seconds while riding to allow blood flow to that rascal, which eliminates the numbness. This standing while riding for just 15 to 20 seconds every once in a while or at the first sensation of any numbness has become standard riding protocol for me.

Following the above protocol, I rode my 29er to Jim Thorpe, PA and back (a 200-mile ride on August 24, 2013) and I didn’t experience any numbness. My butt didn’t feel like it rode to Jim Thorpe on a couch cushion, but I was easily able to ride the distance and I can hardly wait to do it again!

Incidentally, I was also wearing a large backpack heavily loaded with edible and non-edible provisions for the ride (25 to 30 pounds worth), so I had additional weight on my hands and saddle. My saddle is a Bontrager Sport gel cell ($39.99, I purchased two of them, one for my 29er, one for my Giant Rincon) and I only wear full length dungarees or, as I did on my Jim Thorpe ride, a pair of dungaree cutoffs (no Lycra or padded shorts for me, as I don’t like my junk on display ).

MVclyde

In this case, HU2F.

mystang52

+ 1 Solution is likely as simple as getting a road bike seat with a cut-out. Be wary of cushioned "gel" seat. You'll likely sink down a bit and put some pressure on the perineum. fyi I had prostate surgery May 31 and resume cycling 8 weeks later (I bought the Specialized Romin Expert and I love it; no problems or numbness down below).

Jarrett2

It's doing a little better after adjusting the saddle down past level. Still some minor numbness that seems to be really slowly getting better though. I think I need to go buy a cut out saddle.

Jseis 

Specialized Toupe+. I bought it a LBS as a new take off & 45$. Worth.Every.Penny.