Sensitive: for women only

ausgirl

Now, this is a delicate topic, but have any women out there noticed a decreased sensitivity in the area 'down there' after cycling for a couple of years (or less)? Perhaps because maybe the tissue builds up to protect us from pain and isn't as soft and sensitive as it once was. I think it might be more likely to happen with women who do lots of kms (or miles), but please let me know if anything like this has happened.

less'go

Hadn't thought about it that way, but now that you mention it, I wonder if it's a possibility? Had that sort of decreased sensitivity for a while. But as I've been running more, biking less, the, er, situation has greatly improved. I had credited that to other factors, but now you've got me thinking...

Anyone else?

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ausgirl

It's just that we spend many hours a week with a huge amount of our body weight sitting directly on those parts, it makes me think that there has to be some wear and tear and maybe difficulties with certain aspects of life might result.

graceful

First, thanks Ausgirl for redirecting me to the women's health section. My problem occurred after a 52 mile ride in the Colorado mountains in one day. Now I'm getting tingly sensations in the bladder area that fan upward. I wasn't in great shape for the ride, and did it because it was a charity event that I'd committed to, and to see if I could do it. Hope I didn't cause permanent damage. It's more of a nerve because of the 'tingly' sensation, and no, not for any other more interesting reason. Any thoughts out there? Thanks.

ausgirl

An update on the situation... I decided to take matters into my own hands and see what i could do to improve the situation and this past week i've been trying (free of charge) a number of different saddles from my bike shop - this is to try and find out what works best for me eg, gel, cutout, narrow or wide nose - all those sorts of things. So my bike mechanic has ordered in a ladies selle italia with cutout which will be fitted to my bike tomorrow for me to try for a few days.

The thing is, it wasn't until i started to think about all these sensitivity issues that i remembered (I'd been off the bike a few weeks with injury and am just getting back on) about the pain and discomfort i'd experienced from my current saddle. I think its because we are told to "work through the pain" with any cycling related pain and you get so used to doing this that the pain or discomfort becomes a normal part of your cycling. Anyway, if this seat with the cutout does a good job and i can ride without pain or much pressure in that region, it might help me in the long run with my cycling and the sensitivity issue.

ausgirl

Well, I tried a Selle Italia Lady Trans Am - the one with the cutout. It is so much more comfortable. My old seat i would often have pain or what i viewed as significant discomfort fairly quickly (definitely within the 1st hr) and I've ridden longer than that on this seat without pain and feeling a lot more comfortable, so I bought it! It's a good seat and i'd defiinitely recommend it.

Will it help with the other issue? I'll have to wait and see on that, because i imagine it will take time, but the way i figure it is if i'm not going numb in that region and getting very little pain there while riding, that's got to be a good thing.

cyclinggirl32

I have the same saddle and I love it. I moved my old saddle to my mountain bike. When on got on it after months of riding the selle Italia I couldn't stand to be on the bike for more then a few miles! My boyfriend even tried to get me on a different saddle with my new bike (weighs less)...30 minutes on it and I had him take it off and get me a new saddle!

graceful

Well, I tried a Selle Italia Lady Trans Am - the one with the cutout. It is so much more comfortable. My old seat i would often have pain or what i viewed as significant discomfort fairly quickly (definitely within the 1st hr) and I've ridden longer than that on this seat without pain and feeling a lot more comfortable, so I bought it! It's a good seat and i'd defiinitely recommend it.


My husband loves his Selle Italia Trans Am (for men, I presume, but hey who knows) but I'm going to try and stand more each hour I'm on the bike. Have a 75 mile ride coming up on 9/11 -- I'll see how it goes then. Thanks for the insight.

waka

I've found the Selle Italia Octavia Gel really good. I don't know why but seat manufacturers seem to "dish" out seats presumably because we are curved in that region!!?? But anyway, the "dish" always put pressure on things when you lean forward. Flat seats (when looking at them side on) seem to create the least pressure, such as the Octavia.

Anyway, remember it's not just the actual seat but your position on the seat. If your general set up is wrong on the bike, you may be putting more pressure on different parts, so "fore-aft" of the seat relative to your handlebar position + the actual height is really important. I had a fella experience the same thing, and he couldn't ride for more than an hour with extreme numbness. I told him to drop his saddle height just 2mm, and it worked like magic. Only 2mm can make a huge difference.

alexandra166

I just registered and agreed to the rules of not posting anything sexually oriented, so I will try to be clinical. I do not want to offend, just get some help please!
I first started racing about 5 years ago and used a Terry seat with a cutout for women. I do not remember having sore girl parts and I was having an intense daily relationship with my coach/boyfriend.
I stopped outdoor riding for awhile and started up this summer, riding on that same Terry cutout saddle. I ended up with a very sore right labia. The guys at Excel said that the Terry saddle was too wide and gave me a new Italian saddle(with no cutout).This new one proceeded to chaf me higher up, right near our most important place, to the point that my relations with current boyfriend have been affected( I can't feel anything, even though the urge is there!). This is VERY alarming. Any suggestions girls?
The pro at the bike shop experimented with moving the seat forward and that helped a little. He recommended buying the Assos creme and that does help. But I still find that I am not the same. I have scanned every thread to see what other women have to say about the soreness issue and you have all been helpful with your suggestions. I have gotten more good ideas here than anywhere else. So far, I am going to try another cutout seat, a shorter head stem and maybe moving the seat forward slightly. I found a brand of shorts that work, so I will just use those.
I do worry that continuing, constant friction may permanently affect me where it matters, so if anyone has any ideas or similar situation, PLEASE! share.

BlueIcarus

Hey, this is a guy talking.
I also experience some decrease in sensitivity. If I put the seat too high, my parts go numb.
I think it's because of the decreased blood flow due to the seat compression.

If this is the word that describe the feeling (numb) I think It's not time to alarm. It goes away
if you stop cycling for 2-3 days. For me, hard and small seats do wonders for my parts, I'm barely
sitted with this ones.

In John Forrester 'Effective Cycling', there's a recipe to transform any bike seat into a 'woman's seat',
just cutting some part... well read it there

Grits

Thank goodness I am not alone in this. I am currently returning to cycling 20 mi most days, 40+ most weekends, with fun centuries and distance touring between. Whew! i am numb and chafed and admittedly burning sensation upon urination. I dare my husband to touch me!..LOL! Only several days "recovery" brings relief. Is this the norm?

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ausgirl

To Alexandra166 - That is worrying. Can you not feel anything at all or just no pleasure from it? Either way, from what i have read and heard i think your problem and mine might be related to possible nerve damage in the area. Think about it - the nerves are very close to the surface right there and that's why we get pleasure when touched there, but a lot of rough rubbing and pressure from the bike might be causing nerve damage - once again because they are so close to the surface. I won't recommend going to doctors because they would more than likely tell you to give up cycling and take up another sport like swimming, but you're a cyclist, so you mightn't like that option. Try a new seat, like maybe the one i named above. Good luck.

Grits - what you described is pretty familiar. I think the burning when using the toilet is because of abraded or cut skin from all the rubbing - so urine (a bit acidic) hits exposed flesh and ow!! Several days recovery does help, but its back to normal as soon as you get back on the bike. Also, if you take several days for relief between rides, then you don't get to train/ride very often. PS - have you ruled out thrush for the burning sensation? That could be another cause

alexandra166

I am not as sensitive as I used to be. I am having fewer of the big O's than before, and start to feel sore if there is any sort of touch there. You are right about doctors; although I have a bike friend who is a triathelete and an ER doctor, and she said that she put a gel seat on top of her regular bike seat and hasn't had a problem. She said she bought it at Performance bicycle and will look to see what kind it is and I will let all of you know.