Studies linking biking with infertility or sexual dysfunction??
 

Somebody recently wrote an article blasting us for what we are doing with our children (cycling Alaska to Argentina) and one of the reasons they gave was that we are endangering our children's future fertility by putting them on the bike seats for so long as children. This person said "the twins are at increased risk of genital injury and future sexual dysfunction due to long-term effects of unusually frequent cycling on the bodies of young boys - same as with adult cyclists"

I have a distinct feeling he's making stuff up (a lot of crap in the article was fabricated), but would like to know if there are any studies indicating anything like this. Ever heard of it? I know plenty of make cyclists and none of them have ever complained of it to me!

There are studies that link temporary erectile dysfunction with cycling in some cyclists, although it does seem to be reversible and preventable, and the authors of the studies acknowledge that more work must be done to figure out how it happens and what is to be done about it.

http://men.webmd.com/features/biking...on-a-real-risk

It seems to me that kids on tour don't put nearly as much weight on the region in question as a full-grown racer, so these concerns seem to be bogus. On the contrary, you're teaching them the importance of exercise, which does more to prevent permanent infertility and erectile dysfunction than abstaining from bicycling.

It must be true, after all, no professional cyclists ever have children, right?

I'm sorry that people say the stupidest things about your parenting skills. Last time I checked, kids and parents who don't go on bike tours aren't perfect specimens either.

Yeah, that!

Agreed! Thanks for that link.

http://yarchive.net/bike/seats.html
Jobst Brandt reviews some studies too, the conclusion being that they're mostly nonsense and made up as arguments to market new fads.

Someone better bring that up to millions of Asians....... Think what it will do to their population.......

And, I offer this personal aside - my wife and I have always been avid cyclists - all we had to do was "think" of it, and she got pregnant !!!!!!!!

Getting medical advice on the internet is never a good idea. I suggest you take what you hear and talk with your pediatrician about the touring.

I doubt that it causes any sexual dysfunction (but again I am not a medical professional), but I do seem to recall that it is possible (though not likely in american kids) to actually overexercise and cause issues in pre-pubescent. Personally that is something I would discuss with their pediatrician.

I've been hearing that crap for years. It always seems to reappear every few years or so. In my personal opinion it's total BS.
I'm also sick and tired of busybodies telling people how to raise their children.

Horse pooey in my mind. Besides, which is worse? A kid riding a bike from Alaska to Argentina or a kid looking like this?

http://www.topnews.in/files/Obese-Children-Have.jpg

I don't think there is anything to this at all - too many people grow up on bikes for it to be much of an issue at all. I was just wondering if there might, possibly be some studies indicating it - seeing as how our critics are using that argument to say we are abusing our boys...

The most conclusive study linked loss of male fertility to stress from extreme endurance activities... it so happened that cycling allows one to engage in exercise for a long time. So people connected cycling with loss of fertility.

Of course there are actual mechanical issues like numb nuts and etc, but you'd probably notice those - it might not hurt to ask anyways if there are no complaints.

Hooey. People can be real busybodies, especially about how other people raise their children. Personally I think they're jealous of your freedom and moxie for going on this epic adventure, and they'll find anything they can to nit pick. I suppose you get the "you're doing your kids irreparable harm by home-schooling them" fruitcakes, too.

Yep, we do :)

Whoever told you this sounds dangerous.

There are lots of insane people running around, this sounds like one of them. I'm not talking about whether people, especially non-cyclists, who might speculate about the impact of spending long hours in the saddle -- I guess that's a natural question for a non-cyclist. I'm talking about the insanity and rudeness that would drive someone to say this to an (obviously responsible) parent.

I would have been tempted to ask this person whether they are suffering from "nose madness," which is the loss of IQ that results from spending a lifetime of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong.

HA! It's a long story...

Been cycling since 1960, don't have either issue. My sons cycle - no problems there.
My wife cycles - seems to rev up her "engine"
We may be dysfunctional - but not in any way associated with procreation.
ps- we all have bikes that are adjusted to our bodies and fit well.
IMHO - good fit is an important factor in long term comfort.

I guess this is the downside of fame and a society that allows the freedom of (idiotic) expression. Sorry that you have to endure this.

This worry is very, very real. Not just temporary disfunction, but permanent or near permanent. There are many epidemiological as well as lab studies that document the effect. It doesn't happen to everyone, note all the comments above. However, it does happen to some people. It's not magic. A mismatch between physiology and saddle can crush the arteries in the perineum during cycling, cutting off blood flow. After repeated cutoffs, they no longer reopen.

Ask me how I know. Well heck, I'll tell you. After 10 hour bike rides, I began to notice temporary numbness in my penis. As time went on, this began to persist and last for several days after each ride. I had a complete loss of sexual function for those few days. I was not happy, and neither was my wife.

So I did my research and discovered many articles, etc., about this. I changed my saddle and the problem went away with that saddle. In my case, no permanent damage was done. However, there are many cases where permanent damage was done. This is well documented. Estimates run about 5% of males. I don't know of any studies involving females, though I believe they can have similar problems. Certainly females seem to be just as intent on finding the "right" saddle as males.

In the case of Nancy's sons, its easy to determine if there is a potential problem: do they get numb from riding? If they do, it's a problem. If they don't, no problem. I assume familial relations are good enough to elicit truthful answers.

I used to ride every where when I was a child. Spent half the day on my bike. These days I just commute to work every day and home. I actually find there are times when I'm riding my bike along a rough path it actually results in an erection. A friend told me this is commonly termed "getting a traveller" and it can happen in a bus or any vehicle with a bit of vibration.

Wow, you sure attract the nut jobs, I remember you posted something else with some crackpot criticizing you guys. The argument in itself is obviously just to attract attention, while there may be cases of this happening your twins are more likely to have something else happen to them like falling off the bike and breaking a bone or damaging a nerve... I mean if they are going to argue why don't they argue something within the realms of sanity?

But hey if your kids are that worried you can always buy one of these http://mantasaddle.biz/ ;)

Articles on this topic are published every year, and usually show up in the Road Forum and the Training and Nutrition forum every year.


+1

Here's an interesting and new article on the subject

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010...n-prostate.php

No kidding.

And a few people with knowledge and experience. Of course it's bad form to say anything negative about cycling in public. Ed Pavelka was the first nationally known rider to come out about this problem, in 1997, which happened to be the year I started LD riding. http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfun...ad-for-bedroom
I remember the great furor in the bike world very well. Before Pavelka came out, all bike saddles were either flat or rounded on top. Today, most saddles have a groove or cutout in the center. There's a reason for this. Many of us owe our ability to continue cycling to Ed Pavelka and his brave candor.

Statistically it's true that cycling improves bedroom performance. However statistics don't show the minority who have been damaged. It just happens that even more people are damaged by really crappy lifestyles.