Rode the bicycle to work this past Saturday, and again yesterday(12 miles each way). When I rode it Saturday, the spot between the legs didn't feel so good. Had the same problem yesterday, but not quite as prominent. I don't know what that 'part' is called though.

But the question is, is this a seat adjustment, riding style issue? Or just something that goes away as I ride more? I'll add, it felt great when I stood up and got off the seat when it was bothering me. Not enough to really be painful, but quite irritating.

If the soft tissue between your legs is being rubbed raw, change your underwear to something synthetic without a seam that irritates your taint. If it's being compressed (which can take the lead out your pencil) you need a wider seat.

The only thing that should be hurting are the bones you sit on, and this goes away after a week or two. Any soft tissue pain, especially from being compressed (numbness is a sign this is happening) should be sorted quickly.

Thanx for the reply. The 'sit bones' hurt the first few times I rode the bike, but that pain went away. This is new. It feels more like a compression thing than a rubbing thing, as I was wearing Underarmour underwear for the rides(though I did have jeans on as well).

The seat is the factory Specialized Sirrus "Body Geometry" seat.

If your 'sit bones' are squarely on the saddle, and not at the very edges (if this is the case your saddle is to small,) you may be sliding forward so you end up with your weight resting on your taint. Tilt the saddle nose up quite a bit, and see if that helps.

Having a sizable cut out to keep your taint from being compressed is a good idea.
Excessive padding can also cause this, since as you sink into the foam, it compresses the soft tissue farther from your sit bones. Lots of padding feels great when you first use them, but on longish rides they kill.

The part you describe is defined here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perineum

And I've known of one road cyclist who developed an ulcer in that region so all the excellent advice given above should help sort you out.

In Scotland there's a nice wee bit of slang for the perineum:

The Tisnae.

Get back to me if you want that one explained

Ditch the jeans and get some riding shorts or tights. there was another thread about this yesterday. I use cycling underwear with a lighter padding and then you can wear any pair of shorts or pants other then jeans. The problem with jeans is where the inseams and the fly and center rear stitching come together making a big knot right where you don't want it to be namely the above mention tender area. I was off the bike for two weeks till this thing healed, it was actually blistered.

Weird coincidence that this came up. For the first time ever, I've developed a blistered ulcer in that area, about a week ago, that is keeping me off the bike and seriously cutting into some of the best riding weather this year. I'm glad to know it's not unique to me. Painful and embarrassing when everybody at the office is asking me why I'm not riding and I have to make up some excuse.

Recumbent!

I'm guessing the etymology is the same as for the American "taint"?

Perineum.
Rubbing here could easily be caused by too much padding in the saddle.

It must be! 'Tis nae this; 'tis nae that. Taint this; taint that!
BTW, I like your new avatar, Surfindixon! Interesting that that image makes an appearance on Good Friday. Pull those two fingers together a bit, and I can see it on the wall of a Byzantine church!

You had me afwen until ortcut provided a fine comparative piece to bridge that cultural gap. Fine community orientated work there.

Yes a Taint....is a Tisnae

This issue appears to be a compression and/or friction issue (I'm not qualified to say this but it would be my best guess). Some posters above have mentioned the saddle type (heavily padded) as being a possible contributor as well as non-cycle type clothing like denims and the like. They all sound absolutely bang on to me but what I don't understand is why there is compression/friction there in the first place. I was always led to believe that one should 'perch' their glotus maximus bones (arse bones...i really don't know what they're called) on the saddle so it is those bones that are carrying the weight of the trunk when cycling. When I'm cycling my perineum/taint/tisnae is barely in contact with the saddle if at all. is this a fit issue? Can someone maybe throw some light on this fit issue to clarify if the gents encountering issues can rectify and prevent future reoccurrence? Or am I 'perched' incorrectly?

My cycling friend let this issue fester and there were further complications (all sorted now but it dragged on for a bit longer than it should have) so don't hesitate to have it looked at if there is any doubt. Ulcers outside of the mouth deserve greater scrutiny. As I said I am not medically trained but my partner works in care and this is an area that she discusses now and again so i know a wee bit about ulceration. However, your doctor will know a hell of a lot more.

Most unintentional ortcut. Neil (the character that is my Avatar) was far from a saint though. He was one of the characters in an anarchic comedy that had a great impact on me and every other teen in early 80's. Coincidence? You may be on to something......when I was reading your reply i remembered that in the first ever episode Neil did try to commit suicide by crucifixion but he just couldn't manage to hammer the last nail in.
UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_You...on_Watkins_Pye

Happy Easter to All when it arrives tomorrow.

I got to thinking about this on the ride to work today. I noticed if I rotated my hips back, the pressure went away. That led me to think about when this started: right after I played with the position of the seat. I moved the seat down slightly, and angled more back. So I'm going to try angling the seat less back, and see if that helps it.

Ischial tuberosities

Yes if the front of the seat is too high it could be digging into your crotch. But you don't want to tip the front too far down because you'll either slide forward onto the narrow part, and still hurt your perineum, or you'll spend all your energy pushing back with your arms and getting sore wrists and hands. The seat should be level or just a tiny bit higher at the front.

By the way with the quilted and sprung triangular seat you mentioned above, you probably sat more upright on that bike so that avoided perineal pressure. However, that position makes for poor aerodynamics and thus a slower, harder commute.

I thank you

Changing the angle of the seat more forward from where it was, fixed the problem. It is no longer a pain(literally) to ride.

Good news.

Surfindixon.
Speaking about your avatar. Seems to me if i remember correctly from my time in UK, the hand raised fingers in a V can mean up yours over there. Or possibly victory depending on situation. Am i correct?or is my memory slipping.
Over here its a hand raised with the middle finger up.
Sorry to OP for derailing thread.

It's the Peace sign. The 'V' sign being made with the palm facing forward (or away from the signer). The character is a hippy called Neil from the 80's UK anarchic comedy 'The Young Ones'. It was a sign he made often and was usually accompanied by him saying, 'Peace, man'.

You are correct that the V sign made with palm facing the individual making the sign does indeed have two meanings; Churchill used it as the victory sign, or meaning 'Up Yours'.

The wikipedia entry is far more informative and explains the gesture (and it's history) far better than I could:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign

I seem to remember that it had something to do with whether it was the back of the hand (don't hold those up at a market asking for two of anything!) or the palm of the hand facing the viewer?

Ahhh yes now i remember,i knew it was something like that.

because it works lol