trek330

A concerned friend sent me this link regarding bikings affect on that important area.What do you all think?https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/sc...=1&ref=science

CraigB

Same article was referenced here.

FWIW, after riding the same saddle for over 30 years with no problem, I've only just started to have a pressure-related issue, but it's not ED, it's a sense of bladder pressure that is surely coming from the prostate pressing on it. I just ordered a new saddle that should get here next week - we'll see if it helps.

10 Wheels

Never had a problem.

big john

The correct fit/position trumps gimmick saddles.

stonefree

Just chalk it up to the typical fear mongering organ brained media zombie negative propaganda bs.

rydabent

But do all the fit/position people really deep down know that their saddles are not doing damage. Or are they just being lemmings to the DF crowd. Personally I can say for sure my recumbent seat is doing no damage.

tsl

I have never wanted to have sex with my saddle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/s...st/7095134.stm

JamieElenbaas

A cop sitting on top of his squishy seated mountain bike cruising along the sidewalk at 5 mph all day, every day, probably does have "27% of his body weight on his perineum" as the article states, and may well have some problem with the johnson.

On my road bike, with a proper firm road saddle, what weight is on the saddle is mostly on my sit bones, and because my legs are working hard there's precious little weight most of the time anyway. And speaking of time, I wish I had more than the 10 hours a week or so I get to spend on my bike in the summer. That's a far cry from riding a bike for work as these guys do.

I would think that OSHA may be trading one problem for another when, because of the lack of a nose on the saddle, Officer Friendly cannot precisely control his bike in an emergency and has some mishap.

cccorlew

My riding, and my riding, are all going well, thank you.

teachme

x2

Agave

What the hell, do people never change position while riding?

Oh, my bad, a lot of people do just plop down and sit there like a lump of butter.

Wogster

Do people never take breaks while riding? If your out for a longer ride, then you are allowed to get off the bike once in a while, and get everything going again, unless your in a race, who cares if you take a 2 minute break every 30 minutes in the saddle??? Find a nice quiet spot, pull off and take a break, get some blood flow back into those places that are not getting it in the saddle, get your nerves moving again, where it's numb bum or numb hands, it's the same solution. Take a break for a couple of minutes....

CraigB

It seems to me I'd know if I had ED.

BluesDawg

This article is really making the rounds! Way more attention than that silly saddle design deserves, but maybe it will result in more people adjusting their saddles and making their bikes fit well so they won't have such problems.

big john

re: bents vs standard bikes, it's not the bents that we have issue with, it's the insulting dogma that a few bent riders can't seem to stop preaching.

Bob Ross

...to Mr. Johnson, probably not...but are you sure it's not doing any damage to Mr. Buttz? That might be a different type of sexual dys****ion, but it would still suck just the same.

Er, wait, I mean it would... nevermind.

Leisesturm

30 years? Is that possible? But assuming it is... do you imagine the recent discomfort in that area is due to the saddle alone or could it be age related BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia)? I don't think a couple of Saw Palmetto capsules with dinner will do you any harm.

H

DX-MAN

Sorry, but I'm afraid I'd have to do something nasty on top of the "concerned friend's" desk, as they have WAAAY TOO MUCH INTEREST IN MY PRIVATE LIFE.

badger1

Speaking as a Lemming, I shall never join the Choir Supine.

By the bye, if your 'seat' is 'recumbent' it is rather unlikely to be doing any 'damage' (nudge, nudge; wink, wink!). I wonder: is that disability a consequence of time spent on your recumbent's seat?

Farmer Dave

You just made my day with that comment!

BlazingPedals

At one point, I got a new saddle based on recommendations from a friend. Comfort was fine, for a saddle at least; but within a couple of weeks, things no work-ee. I reverted back to the old saddle and functionality returned, too. About a year later, I went to recumbents and haven't worried about such things since.

Articles like that seem to come out every couple of years. I view them as infomercials. Bad journalism and only highlight one product to address the purported problem.

volosong

Used to get numb "down there" after an unspecified amount of time in the saddle. Never did quantify how long it took. Didn't cause any real problems, just uncomfortable. Since I switched to a Sella SMP, the numbness has not returned. Seat isn't totally comfortable yet; probably due to not having it adjusted properly yet. Not the prettiest thing, and back-n-forth movement on the saddle is not really possible with its curved shape and eagle beak nose, but no numbness, so I'm sticking with it.

CraigB

Oh, it's definitely related to the size of my prostate, no question. Whether it qualifies clinically as BPH I don't know - my doctor won't say it's "enlarged," just "prominent." And out of all the various symptoms of BPH, I recognize only one or two in myself, and in very mild doses.

NOS88

Saddles and my sex life? Two entirely different topics altogether.

bikepro

This sounds like a variation on the Bicycling magazine article a few years ago when everone got excited about the saddles with the pressure relief channels, how the regular saddles would cause problems, etc. To hear some folks carry on, you'd expect every professional cyclist to be completely impotent. I guess Lance, running on one cylinder, dispels that myth. I fear that some nanny-state agency is going to decide that bicycles saddles are dangerous, and require eveone to ride an "approved" saddle -- what next, seat belts and air bags?