Oregon Southpaw

Hello friends,

This post is ostensibly about Selle SMP saddles but some background information is required (you may wish to not read for its unpleasant nature).

First of all, I've never bought into the whole ergonomic saddle thing. I've always ridden Brooks on roadbikes and loved them. I put 2,000 miles on my new bike this summer with no pain, and have subsequently fallen in love with everything cycling-related.

THEN

Something happened this year which may or not be pudental nerve entrapment. (Look it up if you want but I do not recommend doing so if you're eating, etc) It is without a doubt the worst pain I've endured, save for a few cluster migraines. Basically I got a trainer (had never used one before) and literally on my first ride I feel something WAY wrong happen in my perenial area. This happened one day before Thanksgiving I noticed pain and it has not gone away since. I thought it might be a trainer thing, but subsequent rides have only inflamed the problem. (More details could be put here but I'll spare you).

So now I'm sort of up $hits' creek without a paddle. I've been off the bike for about a month with no real relief. I went to a free clinic - of course no health insurance here - and basically I was told A) stop riding bikes and B) that surgery and injections into "that" nerve area is about all the options I've got. I'm looking into accupuncture and chiropractic currently as a local place has "community" day where you can get poked for an hour for $20.

SOOOOOO

I'm broke, and now apparently have a busted taint.

But bicycling is my passion. And I'm willing to endure a winter without riding, but to think that I will just not be riding my bike again ever is a thought worse than, well, its bad. Still, I'm 28 and I don't want to reproductive ability/capacity of a 112-year old.

If I had money to burn I'd just buy one of these things but obviously I don't have $300 and that's about the value of my bike in its entirety.

Any Selle SMP rave reviews? Any wealthy benefactor want to gift me one for pennies on the dollar? Any Chinese made-knock offs in the $30 range?

F.M.L.

Robert Foster

I never had horrid perennial pain just a numbing that would last longer than I wanted. My guess was that a solution would be easiest if there were nothing touching the perineum area and so I started looking into different saddles. There are several including Brooks that offer saddles with cut outs that eliminate contact in that area. The SMP was a solution I looked into because many of my fellow club riders were buying them. I thought it was a bit out of my range pricewise but once I test rode one I had to have one. I got a little side job someone wanted me to do and they paid me just what I needed to get the SMP Glider. Most comfortable road bike saddle I have ever been on. You still need to get one that fits your sit bones but there is no way you could have perineum pressure with one.
There are other saddles with large cut outs that might work for you including a SMP made with a plastic cover at about half or a third of the price. There are just very few with as much of a space clearing the perineum area as SMP. However no saddle will solve everyone’s problems.