Here's the predicament. I hate cycling shorts. I can't ride with them. I feel like they slow me down and I'm sitting in a diaper filled with excrement (although luckily I don't really remember what that's like). I'm currently riding a Brooks Swift and commute on the bike everyday. Recently, I've started developing issues with the perineum area and everyone (cyclists, physicians, etc) has said that I either need to ditch the saddle or start wearing cycing shorts. Neither option is good in my opinion.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion for a saddle that's firm, narrow, has a low friction surface (but what can beat polished hardened leather?) and would be gentler on the taint.

Anything with a cutout.
I ride a Specialized BG saddle and just picked up a Sella Italia C2 from Chuck's bikes (was $29 but is now $45).
I highly recommand both, the Sella Italia is definitely a nicer looking saddle though.

cut out your brooks!

I would adjust your current Brooks a bit. I have the same model, and found that you really need to angle it up more than other bikes. It looks so wrong, but that's the only way it's comfy.

+1 on angling up the Swift. Definitely made the saddle shoot to the stratosphere of comfort..

The saddle is VERY comfortable. But pissing is not anymore. The issue is pressure on the perineum.

Pissing is over rated anyway. Just joking. Agree with hyperrevue. Anything with a cut out. I love my specialized alias. II've got one on my road bike and on my tandem. In fact today i bought the specialized avatar (40 bucks cheaper than the alias), to hrow onto my fixie.

i just ordered one of these saddles
www.mcmwin.com
its bassically a brooks with a cutout, you can also send your brooks to them
for a cut out too. i am looking forward to getting it, i have heard
great things about these for pain relief.

If THESE people use that saddle, then I'm sold.

before you blindly buy any saddle with a cutout, visit a bike shop that has some fit know-how (usually roadie specialty shops).

there's a saddle for every butt, and everyone tends to feel comfy on a different seat. many people find that switching to a saddle with less padding helps. some of the most uncomfortable looking saddles tend to feel the best under your ass because there's less friction and less squishy padding to bunch up and get pushed into your various cracks.

my favorite saddle for long rides is the selle san marco aspide. it's a bare-bones saddle with minimal padding, but it fits me well, and provides support in the right places without contacting my body too much elsewhere. i've done 200+ miles in a day on this thing with zero discomfort.



you'll also want to get a fit expert to advise you on saddle height, angle, fore/aft position, stem length and height, bar selection and position, and riding posture in general. all of these things affect the way your ass hits the seat.

and as much as you hate cycling shorts, they generally really, really help. can get shorts to wear under your regular pants, or even underwear with a chamois pad.

if i'm riding more than 20 miles, there's a good chance i've got lycra on.

Hi..

Get real cycling shorts not the 5 bucks ones... there is a lot of difference between the ones Performance sells and a really good one... give it a shoot u know... and get a new seat as the one brinning and other people are saying. And try... try its the only way to go. BTW r u the kind of people that uses the shorts with the underwear on arent U???

UM

whats the differance between the 45$ performance ones,and the 65$ pearl izumi ones?

typically seams (you want them to be as seamless as possible, no rough stitching!), chamois quality (it's more than just "padding" - a good synthetic chamois is designed to be skin-like and to function as an extension of your body), and elastic quality (leg gripping elastics that wear out prematurely are a bummer).

i've never used the performance house brand, but i've had not-so-stellar experiences with lower-end pearl izumi shorts. i have a nicer pair that i like a lot. assos are top of the line, but insanely overpriced. giordana, craft, hincapie, nike, descente and others make good shorts.

for long and hot rides, as gross as it sounds, chamois cream-type products (aka "butt butter") are fantastic. at first, it's like sliding your junk down into a pool of cold vaseline, but it helps you move and keeps you cool.

and just in case you don't know, never wear anything under cycling shorts! chamois pads are designed to be used right up against the skin.

if ya don't like official bike shorts (i'm assumin' you mean the spandex road shorts, etc), get some mtb shorts as they look cool and of course have the maxipad in 'em or some of those maxipad things made by (i think adiamo is the maker) that turn anything but the tightest of pants into padded biker britiches. but whatever ya do--take care of your netherjunk! and do it NOW! good luck!

re cutout saddles... they might help, but again it comes down to getting the right saddle. simply relying on a cutout to help out won't do the trick-- sometimes all they do is increase pressure in the wrong areas, b/c you're sitting on less surface area.

Yeah, I'm curious on this too. How long does this "dump" feeling last? I'll kinda get that before spacklin up on the Chamois Butt'r (****ing key for any ride over a couple hours) but it never lasts more than a few minutes and then I'm distracted by birds or bosoms or whatnot.


But that's not really addressing the issue.... I think even changing shorts wouldn't help a such regular numbness. I'd keep that nose up, the back part should be almost flat. Do you have any wrist soreness? If that saddles angled down too much it'll slide you forward (slowly) which'll put pressure on the wrists and the taint.

I commuted about a month on this:



Which looks crazy but I was trying to get the whole spinny thing (easily amused over here), so compare that seat angle against the (normally horizontal) top tube. (Yes, the bike's about 2" too big for me.)

Good luck, they're great saddles....

My bars are significantly lower than yours... riding the saddle with that tilt would surely prevent the conception of any future members of my family. Also, oddly, I never FEEL pressure in that area at all. In fact, it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden. Unfortunately I'm "presenting all the classic signs" of the early stages of nerve damage in the swimsuit area.

(soft whisper) raise the handlebars

PLEASE GET YOUR SADDLE ADJUSTED PROPERLY.

I rode for 50 miles on an arione angled to far up and got to spend the day in the ER with a swollen ball. I am really scared that i will keep doing damage. Just make sure that your scrodum doesnt hurt...

the seat 'aint the problem...

The seat's part of the problem. The handlebars are the other part.


Try dropping the seat a full cm and angling it up, maybe? If the saddle's pretty far up on the rails then that +/- angle can pretty easily be a full cm.


I'll leave that but I was tempted to delete it. It may work, but there's no way to know without seeing you ride.

I also recommend getting a proper fitting for you and your child killing machine, you may find the solution to your problem is adjusting how you sit on the bike.

But I can also second using proper bike shorts. Unlike some others, however, I would suggest you start with the cheap performance bike a$$ huggers. You'll find that the thin chamois doesn't distract or bunch; but you'll also notice that its thinness allows you to really feel how you sit on the saddle. You'll be able to tell when you have your sit bones on the proper part of the saddle, and you'll notice as soon as they move from that spot too. Instead of dulling the feel of the ride, the increased sensitivity will help you find the right spot to ride.

mr original poster: there is a chance that you've got a bit of an infection of your inner-taint. don't ignore it if you do. normally, a noncyclist wouldn't even notice this. but since you put so much pressure on your taint, then this is why it's like this.

as for saddles: each man needs his own deal, but i like my (gasp) trico split rail. i can center each half under the desired sit bone, and there is NO pressure on my taint.
i myself don't care for the idea that my errectile ability is contingent on the presence of a few milimeter thick bit of fabric.
i also liked the Flow when i tried it.

You know... I thought it was a UTI. That's where all the medical advice came in about the perineum and surrounding areas. I'm picky when it comes to my geometry and bike setup. I like to be fast.

Update. I put my old Selle Italia Flite back on the bike for now... I suppose I'll see if that makes any difference. Same tilt/height. Thanks guys.

Tri shorts tend to have a smaller, less intrusive chamois, so much that you could run in them. The chamois are also made to hold less water if that's important to you.