will dehne

Steve: It just dawned on me that I may be using the wrong terminology for Back to Back centuries.
I meant 100 miles/day for two days. Not 200 miles in one day. That can be done but I rather not.

bkaapcke

I suffered from this problem and had to give up riding for several years. Then I found the spiderflex dual pad seat (available online). It works fairly well on DF bikes. Changing to a LWB recumbent eliminated the problem completely and got rid of back, neck and wrist pain. bk

paul1149

Guys, I read the article and saw the sketch of the safety seat. The seat makes sense to me, but my one question is how the wide seat interacts with the back of the legs as they pump. The narrow seat solves any chafing problem simply by not having anything touching the leg backs. But the wide seat is all there, and I would think there would be a significant amount of rubbing. Any experiences?

p.

paul1149

BTW, I had a feeling I'd find a thread on this article in the over 50 forum!

p.

cheeseflavor

Ahhh... that's still a lot of riding, Will!

Steve

cheeseflavor

Yup... there is some rubbing there. I developed callouses on the back of my legs from the Spiderflex. Never, ever had a problem with chafing though, and I didn't where padded shorts when I used it as I do now with the Alias.

Wait. That didn't sound right. I don't have a problem with chafing with the Alias either. What I mean is I wear padded shorts now

Steve

will dehne

Steve: I will be doing 100 to 150 miles/day for 27 days in April 2006. (across the USA, credit card tour)
Want to join?

Cheesy

Steve, I certainly don't understand the loss of libido either. This was the first time that this happened to me. On my century ride, I stopped every 9.3 miles for 5-10 minutes, walked around and got some refreshments. I never had any pain or numbness during the ride. All I know is that since that day, things haven't been normal. For the first month, I didn't have any feeling during sex and I had to make myself be interested which is FAR from what I was before my century ride. My urologist said that he suspects that there is some nerve damage that is causing this problem.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else who has had this problem and can share details of how it turned out for them. I'm hoping that this problem goes away and I can get back to my normal love life.

cheeseflavor

I would Will, but my calendar is full that month.

Darn the luck

Steve

glassman

I would love to do that ride too but thats one of the months that I have to work. Maybe some of the others can ride with you. I wish I could.

will dehne

I am celebrating my 50th year of working full time, no work stoppage except vacation.
How about that? Do you think I deserve that trip?
Still have a full time job but told the boss he will have to give me that month off. [HTML]

glassman

I do think you deserve the trip, I hope you take pictures and share them with the group. Enjoy yourself, it seems like only yesterday I was 50 but its been over 4 years now, strang I am old enough to be in this group but still think sometimes I could be riding with the young people, well I do ride with the young people, they are only in their thirties and forties...

will dehne

Thank you. I need all the good wishes I can get at age 64. America By Bicycle Fast South Trip, https://www.abbike.com/fastsouth.shtml
Does a pretty good job of real time coverage. However, I will also make a trip report on this Forum.

This forum helped me to get from 10 MPH to over 20 MPH average. A lot of useful advise.

cheeseflavor

Best wishes, Will! And you definately deserve that vacation.

Just be sure to leave a number where you can be reached

Steve

GrannyGear

Will,
You are taking a lot of us with you....vicariously. I plan on following all postings, ride reports, pictures. I'm not in shape for such an adventure and can't imagine finding the time to get that fit.....others watch Lance and dream...we'll watch you and then go out and kick in an extra 40 miles of weekly mileage thinking about it. So--thanks!

will dehne

I like to have comments on the following, please.
I am curious to find out if my experience is a common one.
I use aero bars a lot, drop position occasional, top of bars if the wind allows.
I am doing 100 miles/day.
I find it easy to very frequently lift off the saddle a little if I use aero bars or drops.
The saddle height is such that I am slightly off the saddle if my legs are straight.
The same goes if I peddle hard. (sprint) Therefore no problem with numbness.
This lifting off the saddle goes on very frequently. Like every minute or less.
I use a Brooks Champion Flyer with good success because it seems cooler and has low friction for this sliding and lifting.
I just did a 200 mile trip with a Specialized cut out with not such good success. (after 150 miles!)
So I bought another Brooks, this one without springs. We will see if that was a mistake. (They were sold out for Champion Flyers) By the way, I have 3 bikes and do not like to switch saddles.

will dehne

Thanks, Steve. Do you care to comment on post #41 in this thread? I like your opinion, please.

My wife for 43 years worries a lot about this old guy doing this trip. She will keep an eye on me.

wagathon

According to the article, under the worst of circumstances, bad things happen within about 3 minutes. If you have a grooved saddle that helps rather than exacerbates possible problems, that alone should add to the 3-minutes. And, if you have a bike that is fitted well, you probably will be better able to distribute your weight better, which is something that you can't do on a mountain bike.

So, the answer could be as follows:

- have a good instead of a crappy grooved saddle
- ride a road bike on smoother roads rather than a mtn. bike on ruts and rocks
- make sure that you can comfortably distribute as much weight to your grip and shoulders as possible
- get up and off the saddle every 5-minutes or so to keep the blood flowing properly

Not fitting the bike may be a big part of the problems, e.g., cannot comfortably use the drops and coming forward on the saddle from being too stretched out over the top bar. I wonder also if having a more compliant bike--e.g., steel or carbon frame or elastomers that absorb shock and larger tires--might help shocks from being transmitted to the sensitive area.

Reading the article finally made up my mind to go ahead and switch out my 25s for 28s. Why not? The 28s still are more petit than 1.25s of the "olden" days.

cheeseflavor

First comment is I cannot comment on the aero bars as I've never used them. I'm mainly on the hoods or in the drops. The lifting out of the saddle, I don't do too much, though I'm working on it. I know if I can spend more time out of the saddle, it's goingto make me a better cyclist. But for now, I'm riding lazy and doing most of my hammering sitting down.

The Brooks saddles, I don't use anymore as they made me numb. Loved it other than that one negative. For now, It's a Specialized Alias until I get a chance to try a Toupe.

Did I miss anything?

Take care, my friends,

Steve

will dehne

I did a hard riding 50 miles on Saturday and another one on Sunday to test this issue. All my "hammering" was done while slightly off the saddle and "on aero bars".
The aero bars allowed me to sustain sprinting longer and added at least 1 MPH.
There was gusty wind conditions from all directions.
My body balance is more forward and on the legs so that the saddle pressure is minimal. The elbows see more pressure.

This thread addresses saddle pressure. I thought I try to contribute but I am not sure if what I do is optimum. The veterans out there should know.

Cheesy

I never had ANY warning signs. This was the first time I had numbness. I even got off and walked around every 10 miles and never noticed anything unusual. It wasn't until after I got home that I noticed any numbness. Like I said earlier, neither the doctor or I can explain the loss of libido other than it's caused by a damaged nerve. I've only ridden twice for about 5 miles each time to try out the Specialized Avatar seat. I may also have to try the SpongyWonder seat. That will be less expensive than the recumbent that the doctor recommended I use until things are back to normal.

onbike 1939

Cheesy....sorry to hear about your problems. It's not a problem that's uncommon and the general consensus of opinion would seem to be that it is caused by temporary damage to the nerves concerned which will return to their proper function given time. As to your use of Brooks saddles, I've used these for 35 years and ridden many thousands of miles with no problems. What is critical in my opinion is the set-up of the bike as if the distance between saddle and bars is too long or if the saddle is tipped up too much this means that those vulnerable nerves are subjected to the pressure of the hard nose of the saddle. The rider's balance between the bars and the saddle should be such that at all times your sit-bones should be placed on the widest part of the saddle, which of course is dependent on toptube length and saddle position. A less aggressive riding position may be necessary with the height of the bars level or just slightly above the saddle. Again I believe that the saddle, given all else is correct shoud be more or less level or at most a few milimetres up from that.

onbike 1939

Just a comment having used aeros and Brooks: You do seem to lift off the saddle quite a lot but this may be a good thing in that it does protect from the problem of pressure discomfort. Again, when you move to aeroa and drops you are moving the balance forward which in turn decreases the pressure bearing down on the saddle and that does help in eliminating saddle soreness. It seems to me that you have found your own solution and that it fits your style of riding. Any major fault in your bike set-up will have shown itself by now given your 100 mile rides. Given that it hasn't I'd say you've cracked it.
I think you may find the unsprung Brooks a good move but, given that your position is one of a racer's I do hope you have bought a "Professional" or similar. I fear a B17 may not be ideal for your style of riding in that they are wider. I hope you have given yourself plenty time to break any new saddle in before your big ride but if you do have problems with it PM me and I may be able to suggest something that would help. Luck with the trip.

onbike 1939

I should have said that your experience with "cut-out saddles is par for the course. These have been around from the early 20's and have never caught on with good reason. Most riders find that they are pinched by the groove and reject them. For distance work I don't think you can beat a Brooks and this is the opinion of most tourists in the UK according to a poll carried out a few years ago.

will dehne

Thank you "onbike"
The new saddle is "Brooks Pro Leather Saddle" as recommended by one of their experts for this tour I described. I will have to break it in on a trainer. (live in Chicago area)
Regarding my negative experience with the Specialized Cut out:
The bike was set up for the Brooks Champion Flyer which is higher. I failed to compensate when I switched to the Specialized. My knees started to hurt and I looked into causes. Made the adjustment and it made a big difference. Half inch saddle height adjustment!
I still think that the Brooks is better and keeps me cooler.
I must say that proper bike fitting is crucial for serious biking. 5 - 10% performance changes if something is wrong.