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This post is both a question and information, i.e. a warning. I have been commuting regularly since 2005. Mostly on bikes in the $500 price range. I've never liked the OEM seats but I usually suffer with them until I can buy something better. Better being a seat in the ~$60 arena. For the last year or so I have been using the OEM seat off a new $5K touring tandem that a friend gave me. I figured the OEM seat off the equivalent of a 2K bike couldn't be awful. And it wasn't. It was pleasantly firm which was very new to me and very welcome since my main peeve with affordable seats is the overly squishy padding. It didn't have any anatomic relief but, as far as I knew, firm seats aren't supposed to need anatomic cut-outs because your sit bones don't sink into them.

I don't even remember when I started to have more issues than usual it was so gradual. I never had the pain and numbness that warn most men that their seats are hurting them. Now it is clear that I've got a problem and it is clear that the bicycle seat is causing it. I've gone back to an earlier seat. The pain in my glute muscle is preferable (now) to the incontinence and "other" difficulties caused by damage to the nerves and blood vessels in the center crotch.

So the question: does anyone know of a firm, really firm, padded seat with an anatomic cut-out?? IMO the Brooks Imperial does not count. The cut-out isn't that big and even Brooks does not claim it is anything more than weight reduction and ventilation. I have a couple of Body Geometry saddles that proved to be too soft but had nice extensive anatomic cut-outs. My LBS will let you return a saddle if you pay a $20 additional fee. I've never wanted to pay extra just so I could return something. I don't know of any mail order that would take an otherwise functional product back without you having to pay the return postage and the postage for the new replacement. I am cycling because it is cheap. I get my bikes very, very cheaply when I can. My present commuter cost $150 and it is a fine bike. It's hard to justify $125 (best price I've found) for a Brooks but I will do it if it really is true that they won't cause "issues".

The warning part is that if you are cycling regularly and I figure commuting is the very definition of regular, you are at very high risk for bike saddle related incontinence and impotence issues. Most men aren't cycle commuting and few are connecting their "issues" to their cycling habit. I didn't, and I consider myself above average in intelligence. If you ever have to stand up and ease your bottom even once on your ride you may be in trouble! I'm serious. We take pain and discomfort as the price for riding diamond frame bicycles but it can be a higher price than any of us realize. Word to the wise.

H

good post. You made me question if my commuter is causing me problems. I usually just live with the seat because my commute doesn't take that long, but I've been riding it longer distances in the woods because it's the only bike that has studs on it. Interesting.

If your prostate is swollen enough to cause issues, it may be time to use a bike that sits you more upright, maybe even a recumbent.

Much of the time, pain and numbness are due to saddle adjustment -- if the nose of your saddle is tilted downward, you may be sliding forward and putting pressure on the wrong areas. Even if the bike is set up perfectly, it's often a good idea to spend a little time out of the saddle now and then to keep blood flowing, and shift the load to different muscles.

Most Selle Italia saddles have a "flow" version of each model, with the cutout in the middle. Some of them have larger cutouts than others. I only know this because I'm testing a Flite Gel Flow right now, and have been looking at their website this week.

Not to de-rail the thread too much, but seat comfort was my key reason for switching from uprights to recumbents - specifically recumbent trikes (then later velomobiles). I started doing long 1,000+ kilometer tours for up to two weeks at a time and after 6 seat changes in about 2 years time, I finally said "no more" and went 'bent (ack- that sounds naughtier than intended).

During my last upright tour, I had to put a folded towel under my butt to give me the right amount of cushion. Granted, my butt is not the same as others, and - as mentioned earlier - a properly adjusted seat (angle, size, height) makes a world of difference for long tours. For me, at least, a mesh seat solves all my butt problems!

The only other seat I actually enjoy touring on is the sling-hammock style leather seat you find on the Pederson:
http://www.pedersen-bike.dk/images/ped2032a.jpg

Not sure why, I'm drawn to this? ^^^
Looks comfy!

Specialized Toupe Experts have quite an extensive cutout and you can opt for 3 sit bone widths as well as 3 padding types (firm/medium/cushy).

Thank you very much. I have been looking at the Toupe online since I read your post. Looks interesting. In my reading of reviews, another Specialized saddle, the Phenom came up. Either one seems to combine the elements of firm padding and an anatomic cut-out. I am so angry at myself to have allowed myself to get so damaged by a non-anatomic saddle that even if I were GIVEN a Brooks saddle, I probably wouldn't use it. My SO and I have Bontrager CRZ Sports on both our tandems, the grocery getter and the club miler. These are seriously cheap saddles and they have never hurt either one of us in thousands of miles since 2001. I'd get more of them but they aren't made any more. They would be deadly if they were non-anatomic, but because they are, it is nearly impossible to be harmed by them. I have cheap OEM saddles on my folders, more like 'saddle shaped objects', but they have never done me harm. Uncomfortable as heck and only tolerable for 7, maybe 10 miles but not harmful. Anatomic? You betcha. The one "quality" saddle, albeit without a cut-out, manages to do me serious damage in less than a year. I could kick myself. I've read loads of articles on saddle injuries but never realized it was happening to me.

H

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...29/Gray239.png

We bear our weight on our ischial tuberosities or "sit bones" and need to measure the distance between these to determine our ideal saddle width and this is not hard to do.

By sitting on a piece of corrugated cardboard in light clothes (or no clothes) these tuberosities will leave intents and the distance between these is your sit span.

I own a lot of bicycles and a good number of saddles that have a commonality bin that they match my butt and tend to be quite firm to provide proper support and match the bicycles they are used on.

My Brooks Imperial is my touring saddle and after a serious back injury it was the first thing I could sit on without extreme pain, I also have a Terry men's touring saddle on my second touring bike and it too has a cutout and is fabulous for all day riding.

About half of my saddles are classic leather like Brooks, Wrights, Ideale, and Lycette, while many others are modern saddles that are also leather (like the Terry).

Finding the right saddle for your riding style and needs is one of the most important keys to enjoying your ride and what works for one may not work for another.

I used to ride 10,000 miles a year and did the majority of that riding on an Ideale touring saddle and a Wright's Leather saddle... I never had any issues with pain or discomfort over any distance.

Here is a link to the type of saddle that solved all those very same problems for me. I wish they had been available years ago but thats how technology works I guess. http://www.rideouttech.com/Bicycle_S..._Ordering.html
These saddles are firm, no squishy padding, have a very different ergonomic shape, and are actually very small in size. They support you where needed and have a proper cutout. No more chafing, no pressure points and oh so comfy!

I use a hard seat with a channel and tilt it forward enough that several real bicyclists have felt a need to tell me its set up wrong.
When I sit and pedal the only place I can feel pressure is the two bones in my backside. In short, my rig is set up so there is no pressure there, ever.

^^^also very true. Contrary to popular belief, any saddle with a horn on it, which is about 95% of them, needs a slight forward tilt or you will regret it when you get older.

I commute 4,000 miles a year plus ride another 1,000 on the weekends. I am 61 and have been doing this for over ten years. I have been using Serfas Cosmo seats for most of this time and I love them. I have one on each of my two commuters and a similar seat on my mtb. I also prefer to tilt the horn of my seat down a bit, which may not work for everyone, but I also would suggest that you give it a try. I have not experienced either of the problems you are trying to avoid and these seats were in the $50 range when I bought the last one about ten years ago.

Good luck.