Saddle sores
 

Hey, my main problem is I've always ridden on big padded beach cruiser seats. Now that I'm riding on mountain bike type seats more often it seems like I've spent alot of time sitting directly on my balls, and it's killing me. I was wondering if anyone knew of a remedy for this, I'm thinking of switching back to a beach cruiser seat.

Try the following:
1. Bag Balm... lather liberally before riding.
2. Take several long baths week. The sores love to be soaked.
3. Use some zinc ointment before going to bed.
4. Change you bike shorts every month whether you need it or not. :)

Don't sit on your balls. Sit on the two bony parts of your ass.

perspiration is right, and it might be your seat.

It might be that you have the seat tilted with the front too high, that will put more pressure on the front.

It might be a badly made seat.

You might have non-standard sit-bone geometry (closer together or further apart than usual).

It is hard to tell without more detail on your part...


z

Maybe we should define our terms. Saddle sores are generally boils on your butt. If your balls are aching, that is another issue entirely.

Take a look at your seat adjustment. You may need to point the front of the seat down a little so you can ride back on the wider part without placing too much pressure on the ol' scrod.

Another thing that I have found that works is Desitin. Yep the diaper-rash stuff. I keep a tube of it in my backpack just in case. It will help the chaffing heal much quicker, and it does give you some relief after the initial stinging when you first apply it.

Hope that helps.

almostgreenguy has it right, having testicular pain is something of an oddity. I've had extreme perineum pain, but never on my balls.

Try some bike shorts to lift your equipment out of the way. If you're too shy (you'll get over it!), there are some mountain bike shorts with baggy outers.

It sounds like you are sitting on your fleshy tissue rather then on your sit bones. This could be because you have a wide rear end and this forces you to 'straddle', rather then sit on top of your saddle. If this is the case, you might need a saddle that is a little bit wider.

Since we are all different it can take a while to find the right saddle, as saddles that work for others might not work for you. I hear that some bike shops have a 'sit bone' measuring machine that can tell you how far apart your sit bones are, and then recommend a saddle. Barring that, most of us just try several saddles until we find one that works.

I tried to give as much detail as possible, without getting vulgar. I'm sure noone wants to see the pictures. Lmao.

My vote is with the others. Sounds like you need to adjust your saddle

It's definately not too high in the front. I've actually already lowered it to the point of sliding down it. That creates a whole new set of equally disturbing problems, but I'll refrain from going there. I think what I need is one of these.

http://www.greenlinebicycles.com/upl...gundy-SEAT.jpg

Definitely not the answer.:twitchy:

so, I may be non traditional, but I move the team up into a well supported chamois so the bag and the team are above where the seat is. You don't sit on top of you balls when in a usual chair, why should you while riding? and pitching the seat down just makes your wrists hurt more!

if it is not a crushing pain, but rashes from excessive heat due to thigh friction: perhaps some butt'r or similar to reduce friction,

if it is your butt... it's never good to confuse a hard ride a with busing from an improperly sized saddle... I would say this one is less likely as you don't clip in.

Every now and then I dont get adjusted correctly at the beginning of a ride, and have to reach into my pants and adjust... I just do it when there is nobody around.

z

+1

If your saddle is too far back it might cause you to sit on the narrow part of it rather than plonking your butt cheeks on the widest part at the back. If the nose is too high it will compress the wedding vegetables in all sorts of unpleasant ways. If it's too far back and tilted too high you get double the fun.

Assuming you're not of a particularly unusual shape try moving the saddle forward and dropping the nose slightly. Adjusting the angle may take a bit of trial and error, don't drop the nose too far at first or you'll slide off the front.

:eek: :roflmao2: :lol:

I have not heard that before, thanks contango.

Seat height adjustment can also have a bit to do with mashed err, vegetables. I have found that while tilting the seat, I need to adjust height as well.

This will sound counterintuitive but the seat should be level or even tilted up a bit at the nose. It sounds like this would squash your vegetables even worse but what it actually does is force your weight back onto your butt instead on the veggies.

Another counterintuitive point. Cushy seats can often be more uncomfortable than hard ones.

Noseless saddle = no more numb genitals for me, but a lot of people don't like them (the noseless saddles that is).

+1 I put it on before I go riding

I guess that might work for some, it didn't work for me. I had all sorts of issues with numbness in that area until I tilted the nose downward slightly.

I'm not a guy but don't sit on your fruit basket.lol. Maybe try changing the seat angle

Actually you were vulgar without giving many details at all. It's not even clear whether this thread is about saddle sores or something else.

Saddle sores are more of a skin hygiene issue, than anything else ,
carbuncles are a bacterial inflammation in pores and hair follicles.

I think it also has to do with friction from the saddle.

Here's a good article describing it and ways to deal with it. http://www.rivbike.com/article/misc/saddle_sores