kipibenkipod

Hi,
Would like to share an article No-nose Bicycle Saddles Improve Penile Sensation, Erectile Function in Bike Cops

What do you think?
Are Brooks users here feel this genital numbness while cycling?

Kfir

Mike552

It depends. Some brooks owners report some discomfort in the perennial area, but that is to say that if they feel some discomfort on a Brooks, then it would probably hold true that on the majority of other seats this discomfort would turn into pain.

I think it has a lot to do with the anatomy that one is born with, obviously. I own 2 Brooks saddles: a B17CS and a regular B17. Other than cosmetic differences, the overall geometry of both saddles is the same. Other than the break in period, I found my Brooks saddles to be extremely comfortable and I do not feel any kind of perennial pressure in my rides, which average about 20 miles or so.

I hope this info helps you...

TheBrick

They have been around for years. They are used by time-trialest but have never moved over to road racing. Why? I believe it is because you can not move your weight about and hence use different muscle groups that you need to use on a long ride.

reiffert

Might want to consider that the sample is very specialized, thus not necessarily representative of either cyclists in general or particularly touring cyclists. Look at cadence, handlebar type, bike positioning, technical skill, age, fitness, experience, how bicycle is used all as factors that make this study not necessarily or particularly applicable to your own situation.

And there is a difference between using a bicycle saddle as a saddle and using one as a seat.....

Speedo

I ride a Brooks now. No genital numbness. I've ridden a variety of saddles prior to getting the Brooks. Comfort was all over the map, but never any genital numbness on any saddle I've ridden.

My guess is that this has more to do with correctly setting the saddle position rather than the particular saddle.

Speedo

lmzimmer

Interesting that there was no change in the measures of rigidity while the subjects were sleeping. This leads me to believe any change may be due to the Hawthorne effect where people who are told they are being studied tend to report favorably about any change. Obviously this study could not be done in a blinded fashion.

TheBrick

My experience of police on bikes is that they have close to zero bike handling skills.

Bacciagalupe

Ah yes, if you don't like the results, critique the study.

Several studies are indicating that very high volumes of riding (e.g. pro competitive cyclists) may have ED and sperm count issues. I doubt this applies to most tourists, except for those who are touring for years on end. Even so, I suspect the constant "on-bike off-bike" behavior of most tourists reduces the potential problems.

I would not be surprised if some noseless saddles reduce pressure on the perineum. Seems like a good option to pursue if you're having issues.

reiffert

I think Speedo has it most accurately: "..has more to do with correctly setting the saddle position.." plus using a saddle appropriate for the position (more upright, for example, rather than a 'racing' one that come with many bikes.

Some other things to consider: changing seat-changing leg extension, padded shorts or not, road vibration/shock, shock absorbing seatpost or not,....... I don't know about the other studies, but I seem to remember a study similar to this one about 8-10 years ago, about the time the split seats (Specialized?) started being in vogue

"Then there are saddles,” I went on—I wished to get this lesson home to him. “Can you think of any saddle ever advertised that you have not tried?”

He said: “It has been an idea of mine that the right saddle is to be found.”

I said: “You give up that idea; this is an imperfect world of joy and sorrow mingled. There may be a better land where bicycle saddles are made out of rainbow, stuffed with cloud; in this world the simplest thing is to get used to something hard. There was that saddle you bought in Birmingham; it was divided in the middle, and looked like a pair of kidneys.”

He said: “You mean that one constructed on anatomical principles.”

“Very likely,” I replied. “The box you bought it in had a picture on the cover, representing a sitting skeleton—or rather that part of a skeleton which does sit.”

He said: “It was quite correct; it showed you the true position of the—”

I said: “We will not go into details; the picture always seemed to me indelicate.”

He said: “Medically speaking, it was right.”

“Possibly,” I said, “for a man who rode in nothing but his bones. I only know that I tried it myself, and that to a man who wore flesh it was agony. Every time you went over a stone or a rut it nipped you; it was like riding on an irritable lobster. You rode that for a month.”

“I thought it only right to give it a fair trial,” he answered." Three Men on the Bummel. 1914 Jerome K. Jerome