velomoover

Basically the last bike seat I was using on my bike (forward position riding style)
caused some irritation and restricted bloodflow. Seems like all my weight came down and crushed my willy between my pubic bone and the bike saddle horn. The saddle had a cutout, so that just made two really narrow pressure points. Like sitting on the wedge end of a doorstop.

This isnt supposed to happen as far as I know, but bicycle riders are 200 percent more likely to get injuries down there, along with permanent scar tissue. Not something a guy wants! and I haven't been able to ride my bike for months now. I looked into recumbent's, but I do not have the finances for a 700 dollar bicycle. Maybe a 100 dollar seat, but nothing more than that .

So has anyone used a nice comfortable seat that doesnt leave you with that "its cold,numb, and I cant feel anything" feeling after a long bike ride. Something for wide sit bones, or an upright ride? (switching to a more comfortable bike)

Lepper primus 215 seems like a nice seat. Nice and wide and flat for wide sit bones and an UPRIGHT riding style?

Juha

Cheers and welcome to Bike Forums!

Have you tried adjusting your saddle? Tilt the nose down a bit, or move the saddle in backward/forward direction? Small adjustments (we're talking about millimetres here) can make a big difference.

Also, where did you get that 200% from?

--J

Caliper

Have you measured your sit bone width? That will make a big difference, knowing how wide a saddle you need to begin with. My sit bones are 110mm/4.25" so a 130mm saddle works for me, but if your sit bones are further apart then the saddle I like may not work for you. An upright posture on the bike shouldn't have any problems with pressure.

Personally, I haven't had this problem since years back on a old style saddle (no cutout, actually kinda domed up in the middle) using aero bars and a slammed stem. With modern style saddles that not only have a cutout but are mostly flat across the top (instead of being domed) I feel contact on my sit bones and zero pressure on the man bits.

Unless your saddle is really pointing up at an extreme angle, I have to disagree with the idea of tipping the nose down. I have found much more comfort with saddle noses up in the 5-10 degree area, and I ride in a typical forward/road bike posture. I know it looks entirely wrong for comfort but the truth is when most saddles are level they are often shaped so you slide forward onto the saddle nose which leads to the problem you describe. Your sit bones should be back on the wide part and having the nose up will make that area level so you stay put.

Igualmente

This is an area where each person tends to need to figure out what works. I find a long and wide cutout, wide enough and flat enough saddle and slight forward down angle add up to a major difference. Haven't noticed an issue with sliding forward on the saddle, but much more angle down and I could.

no1mad 

Measure your sit bones and go from there. You might also post up a picture of your current set up of the bike.

fietsbob

Nose less, just 2 pads under your sit bones , are amongst the many saddle options..

you would be a rather casual rider, as the saddle nose is a significant lever point for steering the bike..




the %200 may be pulled out of someone's lower opinion port ..

A moment standing on the pedals will always let theoretical blood flow restrictions be returned to an uncompressed state, in any case..

velomoover

allo. I tilted it up, down, every which way. My mistake is using a saddle that is just too small for my sit bones. I grew up with it and unfortunately i put on more bone mass since i was 15 or so.

The 200 percent is a rough estimate (its just a number people come on) of how much more likely you are to develop peyronies disease, an autoimmune/scar tissue buildup in your willy. Something about reduced bloodflow and repeated trauma disrupting healing. Not something you want.

My saddle looks to be for sit bones of about 4.25 inches, unfortunately my measurements seem to require a saddle of about 5.5 to 6 inches width.


I have tried one of those nose-less saddles (the cheap schwinn, department store one) and they are the most terrible things for a forward riding position. All of your weight really does come down onto your hands and arms, plus the strain on your neck from constantly "pushing" with your arms. When you hit a bump, you are in so much pain, enough to where you never want to ride again.
And the pressure is still there because you are leaning forward, and for me, the base of my um... yeah..... still gets sat upon on the ledge of the seat(if its not just a buttcheek design, you know...flat pad without center cutout). Makes the problem about the same for me.

I don't think the "just stand up, bloodflow comes back" is necessarily true. I did look at a summary/report of bloodflow measurements on this. It took almost 30 minutes to a couple of hours for bloodflow to go back to normal. Now imagine you already have trauma in that area and ride about an hour or so each day of the week. No add in an auto-immune disorder or some sort of genetic disposition to cartridge healing problems.

I think it comes down to me purchasing an upright bicycle with an upright seat, like a dutch commuter bike.

rydabent

Gee--------------dont you buy the idea that "proper fit" solves all DF riding problems????

BlazingPedals

Most folks here will tell you that you have to find the correct size saddle and adjust it properly so you sit on the fatter rear vs. the narrow nose. And from most accounts, that usually works. I'm apparently one of the few who never finds comfort with any saddle, so I went the other route. If you're that worried about it, maybe you want to go that route too. But fair warning: it's a 'road less taken,' it's relatively expensive, and people inevitably think you're either disabled or just plain weird.

Corben

That is one funky skateboard!

Nermal

Ever seen a Foot Bike?

velomoover

Recumbents aren't weird to me. USS recumbents are even sporty IMO.

Unfortunately I do not have the finances for a recumbent. Even a used one seems to go for a pretty penny.
I do have a MIG welder though. And a few old bike frames.
I do have options. Just wondering if anyone has experienced the same thing, and It looks as if you have.

no1mad 

Just curious here, but what are you wearing while you ride?

Rowan

Unfortunately, to ride a recumbent also means a reduction in reading comprehension. Even I could see in your first post where you stated specifically you could only afford $100 for a new saddle; not several thousand dollars for a recumbent. Oh well, fundamentalists will always push their points of view on people who don't want them.

OP, the issue with saddles has nothing to do with blood flow. I read this too many times. If you were cutting off the blood supply to your willy, it would go black.

The issue that you are suffering is a compression of the nerves through the perineum which supply your penis. That will cause it to go numb.

You have to understand that the most desirable part about sitting on a saddle is positioning your sit bones in the right place. That means the saddle has to be of a width that suits your sitbone width. Avoid squishy, foamy saddles, as they will likely continue causing compression of the nerves in the perineum and the flesh in the adjacent area.

By the way, how much do you weigh?

rydabent

rowan

But the hundreds of posts like this one betrays the fact that there is a small group of DF riders that will never admit that their bikes when "properly fit" cause no pain what so ever.

Recumbents = all gain and no pain.

John Redcorn

I don't think a recumbent is anything I'd be in to now, but I do want to try one sometime and that is a cool-looking one. It looks like the chain is going through like 2 feet of tube ahead of the seat, is it? why? is that noisy or is it a plastic tube or something?

Rowan

Remind me how many people ride recumbents compared with how many ride diamond-frame bikes?

I am sure out of the comparatively minuscule number on recumbents, there are many who are afraid to complain about recumbent butt and knee pain through bad bike set-up because the fundamentalists like you would jump on them and tell them that this cannot be so.

Rowan

I also don't see anywhere in the OP's posts that he has been "properly fit" to the bike. The first time fit was mentioned was in your first post, rydabent... good way to introduce yet another useless rant about DFs versus recumbents.

martianone

I often ride a recumbent bike, don't get recumbent butt or knee pain. Also often ride various styles of upright bike, don't get numb parts or any posterior soreness. A common thread to bike comfort, is bike fit. Sometimes it takes a lot of tweaking very small increments of seat/saddle position, bar height angle, saddle pedal distance, plus other adjustments. Sometimes there is a majic feeling saddle (prefer a leather saddle on an upright) or some other component - an optimal fitting is needed.

velomoover

Usually denim jeans or shorts. No I don't have bicycle shorts, and no I don't plan to purchase them in the future.

Lol. I can see that we already have a line drawn in the sand here. bent riders on one side and DF bikes on the other. Jesus is going "guys I never meant for this"

I already have irritation there. Any sort of compression at all down there wreaks havoc nowadays. If that saddle has a horn, I guarantee its going to cause problems for me. Even sitting forward in an office chair can cause problems.

I am about 190 lbs, 86 kg

Those are called chain tubes. They keep the chain from swinging from side to side and bouncing around, or getting oil all over your leg. Thats a pretty big distance and/or strange route for the chain to go, so they usually have a chain tube fixed to the frame to direct the chain through. The friction is negligible, and they don't usually make much noise.
Most lower-to-the-ground recumbents need those because you have to run the chain really low or under the seat. But there are some without them, or Front wheel drive recumbent's that don't need them.

no1mad 

Are they gusseted at the crotch or the typical seam that runs from zipper, up the crack, to the waist?

velomoover

Just your average pair of jeans available at JCPenney or Kohls. typical seam. Why does that have a habit of bunching up and smashing you down there?

no1mad 

That seam is likely a major contributing factor to your issues. There is a reason why roadies wear that spandex.

I used to commute home from working all day in a sweat box of a building (warehousing/distribution) and the bike part of it was anywhere from 8 to 14 miles depending on route. I would wear 'tighty whiteys" under denim shorts and I was miserable. I then started wearing cheap compression shorts under the denim and that helped a bit- mainly due to moisture management (and helped prevent chafing/thigh rub). But I got tired of my shorts literally soaked with sweat by the time I got to the pick-up point after the ride (where I would toss my bike in the back of the wife's SUV for the ride home). Then I decided to try out a pair of cheap moisture wicking gym shorts (Starter w/Dri-Star from Wal-Mart) and that made a huge difference in ride comfort.

Something else to consider is the type of underwear you're wearing. Boxers are the worst, with boxer briefs being a lot better, IMO. Basically, a bit of compression down there is actually good, the dangling bits flopping about isn't.

Kai Winters

Wears jeans, wonders why pain, numbness and won't wear proper shorts for riding.
"Rides a bicycle", not a "rider"...meh don't care...enjoy the pain

BlazingPedals

The recumbent market is, depending on who's giving the estimates, around 3-5% of the overall bike market. Small, but not "vanishingly" small. I don't deliberately steer people to bents, I merely point them out as possibilities where applicable.

The chain tube on my bike is mostly there to prevent chain slap from destroying the paint on my fork. Helicopter tape could do the same thing; but I don't consider that a good long-term solution. I can, and have, run the chain in the 'dropped' position; but this way is more practical for everyday riding.