Buffalo Buff

I got my road bike at the start of the year.

Over the past two months I've gradually been adjusting it for a more aggressive riding position as I learn what I find comfortable. Flipping the handlebar stem, angling the bars down more, raising the seat, removing headset spacers etc.

I love everything about the new riding position except for one thing. When I ride in the drops with my forearms close to parallel to the ground, its uncomfortable for my dick.

It's not so bad I can't tolerate it. It doesn't bother my balls at all. Everything still functions just fine in the bathroom & bedroom. No other position bothers me, including riding in the drops with my arms more straightened out and my back more upright.

I'm just wondering what I should try adjusting to get rid of it?

I tried angling my seat forward more, but that seemed like it put more pressure on my arms than there should be. Not looking to cause another problem in the process of solving the first you know?

what do you suggest?

AnthonyG

I think that you have tried the only thing you can try, which was to angle the seat dow a little, but as you have found, this puts more weight on your arms and shoulders. I suggest now that you have simply found the limits of just how far you can lower the bars and its time to put them back up a fraction. You could try pushing the saddle back a fraction and see if it helps. Carefully mark you current position so you can get back to it if necessary. In the same vein maybe lower your seat a fraction and see.

Anthony

fietsbob

hips upright level saddle.. is what works for me ..

old guy Im going the other way , less agressive racer go-fast posture all the time.

Road Fan

I would try lowering the saddle 1/8" and raise the bars 1/4." Mainly, make gradual changes. If you did the saddle 1/16 at a time that would not be wrong, similarly for the bars.

Your position overall will change a little, but mainly your pressure on your undercarriage will change a lot, and you'll gain some freedom for letting your pelvis rotate to perhaps a little more upright.

I find penile pain has to do with my weight not being supported on my sit bones. Usually this is a sign of the saddle being slid too far back. My body moves to where it wants to be, and my saddle is too far back. Hence my weight is supported on the perineum rather than the nice big padded bones behind it. Solution to this: move the saddle forward just 1/8" or so at a time, keeping the saddle level, or at your favorite angle. If you've gone too far you'll feel abrasion on your upper thighs or backs of thighs, as your body tries to press itself back against the saddle.

Buffalo Buff

I think moving the saddle forward a bit would help.

what I've noticed myself doing when I'm going fast and want to get low and aero in the drops, is riding out of the saddle just barely, no more than an inch. Alleviates the discomfort I was feeling.

I'm also riding in padded cycling pants if that matters.

chaadster

What kind of discomfort is it? I can't really think why your penis would hurt; you're not sitting on it, are you? If so, position it upwards. If it's a friction kind of discomfort from rubbing against your shorts, get shorts that fit more snugly and hold the penis securely. Also pay attention that the padding area covers the penis, and that it's not rubbing on the stitching or pad edges.

If it's a numbness issue, that's caused not by direct pressure on the penis, but on the perineum, and can probably be rectified with a different saddle, for example, an SMP with it's large cutout that extends through the nose. Also, quality shorts with padded chamois can be remarkably better than inexpensive shorts.

rumrunn6

google split bike saddle, there all kinds of saddles out there including this one
ISM Adamo Time Trial Bicycle Saddle Sports & Leisure | ProBikeKit.com

Buffalo Buff

Rumrunn6, that looks like something that would work well for me. Thanks for the idea!

Yeah the front part of my seat makes constant contact with my dick when I'm in the drops. There feels like there's no way to avoid it with my old setup.

Last night I tilted the seat forward a bit, trying to make the front part of the seat more level. Scooted it forward about 1/8" too. I'll commute on it like that and post how it felt.

It's not friction or rubbing at all. It's just, here is my dick, here is my seat, no room in between, dick gets smashed. Doesn't feel good.

chaadster

Huh? Smashed between the seat and what?

GHill762

under its own weight obviously

79pmooney

I have issues with pressure on my perineum when I am in a low position. I have to tilt my seats forward. And yes, my arms feel it. But I find I get used ot it, that my arms are plenty strong enough to support me for many hours. I do find the handlebar setup is important and I refuse to ride bars and brake levers I don't like. I take adjustments to bar height and rotation seriously. It works for me. I rode my most extreme setup bike last summer, a fix gear, 132 miles last August with no issues. (I do confess to riding long stretches no-hands when the wind finally permitted, late in the day.)

For the issues the OP is seeing, it sounds to me like better/tighter shorts that keep everytihng where it is supposed to be is in order. If I ride shorts that do not fit tightly around my upper thighs, I risk hurting myself when my testicle goes there. Like putting my head on a chopping block. The seat is just the knife.

Ben

Buffalo Buff

Everything is where it should be as far as the fit of my pants go. It never moves around. It's just always there and in the way.

It feels better after adjusting my seat some, but I'm still going to look into that other style of seat I think.

chaadster

OMG, right?!

osco53

There is new saddle tech out there if your willing to stop following the herd...

I ride pain free now....

Welcome | Innovative SaddleMaker

Take the time to understand the science,This tech works for both sexes.
your perineum will no longer hurt and your 'Equipment' will work better

chaadster

But his perineum doesn't hurt and his "dick" works...

Anyway, rumrunn6 already pointed him towards ISM, and I towards SMP. Do you have any recommendations for saddles that haven't been mentioned, like Koobi or Cobb?

fietsbob

a NY Times article helped sell noseless saddles a couple years ago.

Buffalo Buff

What's the point of the nose in the first place? All it does is crush my dick, doesn't seem like it serves any functional purpose?

basqueonacaad

Quite the conundrum my dear man. Quite the conundrum.

rumrunn6

quick share - took a ride this summer, and somehow forgot to put on my bike shorts, just boxers under my unlined MTB shorts. what made me realize my senior moment was the fact that my everything was hanging over the nose to one side and it was OK. I felt slightly misaligned but I knew it wasn't a demanding ride, mostly flat 24 miles on the Vineyard and it would be an easy summer ride and I wasn't going back to the house. I also have a wicked comfortable Brooks saddle. the ride was perfectly fine and I began wondering how awkward, or not, it would be to twist my saddle a couple degrees for future rides. I never did, but so what if I was in one small way, not perfectly symmetrical

Robnhood1952

Have to be on the sit bones, and then, as in a tailored tight pair of trousers, figure out if it is more comfortable "dressed right" or "dressed left". I commute regularly, which means no bikewear, e.g., padded stuff. "Dressing left", with the package on the left of the saddle nose is the only way I have found comfort. It does seem to work fairly well.

jyl

Suppose your saddle is just the rear portion, with the front half cut off. It will support your sit bones, but only if you are positioned exactly so. Slide forward, and you are sitting on air. This might happen because of an unexpected bump, which would be dangerous. Normally you want to move forward and back on the saddle. Back for the most leg extension, maybe to climb in a bigger gear. Forward for faster cadence, maybe for hammering which is where the term " on the rivet " comes from. You need a full length saddle for that range of position. When you are pedaling hard, there is not much weight on the saddle, more of your weight is on your legs and sometimes you are almost floating above the saddle.

bikemig 

You can always cut it off . . .

and report back to the team.

Paul W.

The nose also helps with balance. I rode a nose less saddle for a week. Didn't care for it much. It was difficult to ride with no hands.