Numbness in the penis...



s2cuts

New Member
Jul 12, 2007
11
0
0
I've been reading threads on this topic, and am trying a number of variations to try and resolve or at least lessen my problem. What I would like to know from people is if they personally don't allow for a little bit of numbness on say a 2 hour ride, or if they can do a +2 hour ride and they don't experience any numbness at all.

Please, no possible solutions to the problem of numbness in the penis. I'm only trying to gauge to what degree people experience it. I'm really trying to establish whether this is something that can be completely eliminated, or if it is something that can only be minimized.

Remember, talk about what happens to you when you ride, and thank you for your honest responses.
 
My longest rides are between four to five hours - no numbness whatsoever. I attribute that to my Avocet O2 saddle.
 
I ride two hours or so to work most days. Then, two hours home. No numbness in the nether region to speak of. My bum may be a bit sore, but not numb.
 
With my saddle/bike set up correctly and a decent pair of shorts, no numbness/soreness of any kind over rides of several hours.
 
i used to ride a fizik pave saddle and i would be fine untill i hit the 2 hour mark then i would get a little numbness and pain... switched to a specialized tupe saddle 143 width and it feels great. try another saddle.
 
The only time it happened to me was when I first wore cycling shorts - went completely numb - almost no feeling at all. I was on a 7hr ride that day and it cleared up after the first 1-2 hours...

Hasn't happaned again. Only changes were I removed the aero bars from the bike but not for that reason... ...maybe the position with the areo bars could have been a contributing factor, but I dunno...
 
Had a Fizik Arione - no problems up to 4 hours - after that - numbness. Switched to a Specialized Alias with cutouts. Numbness gone - but too hard. Switched to Terry Fly. No numbness or discomfort. Just did 200 mile ride - no numbness. I don't want any numbness no matter the duration. It's the saddle. I have Brooks B17 on my single speed and it works fine for the short duration rides I do on it - many distance cyclists swear by it
 
I used to get the numbies even on 2 hour rides. First step is to lower the saddle a bit.
 
s2cuts said:
I've been reading threads on this topic, and am trying a number of variations to try and resolve or at least lessen my problem. What I would like to know from people is if they personally don't allow for a little bit of numbness on say a 2 hour ride, or if they can do a +2 hour ride and they don't experience any numbness at all.

Please, no possible solutions to the problem of numbness in the penis. I'm only trying to gauge to what degree people experience it. I'm really trying to establish whether this is something that can be completely eliminated, or if it is something that can only be minimized.

Remember, talk about what happens to you when you ride, and thank you for your honest responses.
Used it happen to me, but I either got more comfortable on the saddle or my body naturally adjusted because it doesn't happen anymore. Let me correct that, it happened when I had crappy voler chamois, but not on my nicer bibs. So no, no numbness.
 
used to happen on especially when I first started back to cycling, changed to an old original selle italia turbo (read old school comfort) saddle and havent looked back.
sometimes spending more time in the saddle i.e. getting use to it will help with comfort but generally loss of circulation isn't good for you and i would try another saddle.
how long does it take before you feel the numbness, remember that even pro's have to stand up every now and then to prevent saddle soreness.
 
I've been getting some numbness due to my belly really. In my case is very easy to understand why... the two crash on each other because of the aerodynamic position needed for (road) cycling.

Years ago i had No big stomach and so no numbness

Regards
 
If I switch positions (i.e. drops to hood, standing etc) I can keep the numbness at bay. If I stay in one position for a certain amount of time I will experience the N. I've tried five different saddles, too many shorts to count, and multiple different positions.

Again to clarify, I can go on long rides without constant numbness, but position changes are required to accomplish this.

My question to the no-n crowd is this, do you really never experience any numbness at all regardless of position and time in the position? Or, do you experience some numbness under certain conditions during a ride.
 
For me, it depends on what kind of cycling shape I'm in. In the spring I'll start having gnumbness problems after about 45 minutes or so, but by the end of the season I can pretty much go all day without much of a problem. What happens is that when I start getting tired (which I do sooner and more easily at the beginning of the season), then my posture starts to slip, and I don't sit properly on the saddle.

Knowing this helps me in the spring because I'll check myself now and then when I start getting tired, and if I'm having trouble with gnumbness, I'll concentrate more on my posture. I really keep an eye on this theese days because I had a poor saddle and not enough cycling experience/fitness on my first cenury about 5 years ago, and I was gnumb for the whole next day. That scared me into paying attention.
 
Hi Everyone! I am repeating this post everywhere I can because I have solved this problem for myself! I experienced this problem for many years. It got the point where I became very concerned that I would have to quit riding. Sometimes it would happen very quickly, within minutes. But never fear, there is a solution for you! I ride with zero numbness even on long rides. As a bonus, my fatigue level has been greatly reduced. Now I am not saying that this will be your solution, just that you can find one. Here is my story. First of all, I don't have a specific riding style. I love to climb, with fast downhills. I also ride single track and technical stuff sometimes. I have been riding for 25 years. First step: Saddle and saddle position. I tried several new "ergonomic" saddles, none helped much and some made it worse. The best was the Specialized Romin Expert, which I still ride. The impact was modest, but better was better. I also experimented with saddle position and height. It turns out the saddle was a little too far back. Good for climbing power, but bad for the groin. Again, this was only modest help, still got numb, just a little less. Second Step: Pedal position. Tried several. In the end I found that just behind the ball was good. Between the ball and mid-foot. Helped me overall, but not numbness. Third step (aka Eureka#1!): Handle bar length/rise. BE SURE TO READ THE CAVEAT AT THE BOTTOM. For 20 years I had my set-up very narrow, straight 420mm bars with no rise. No one would ever set a bike up that way now, but the idea was to have strong climbing and it was great for that. I had no problems with downhill speed. I read that wider handlebars are generally better for a number of reasons, including this. Stem rise is also a factor. I moved to wider, 730mm riser bars and it helped right away! It was night and day! Almost no numbness! Fourth step (aka Eureka#2!): Stem length: AGAIN BE SURE TO READ THE CAVEAT AT THE BOTTOM. I had been riding with a 120mm flat stem for 20 years. I had no idea it could have any relation, but I was wrong. I moved to a 100mm 30 degree rise and it was great. Problem solved! It seems that being more upright was the real key to resolving the issue. CAVEAT: BE CAREFUL CHANGING BAR WIDTH AND STEM LENGTH. Everyone gets used to a bike fit/set-up. This warning is especially true if you have been riding a long time like me. Control of the bike changes dramatically with bar width and stem length, so take it one step at a time. I made a huge mistake moving too far to fast. I changed to 720mm riser bars and 100mm riser stem at the same time. Fatigue and numbness was improved immediately, but handling and climbing was VERY different. Lots of steer wander and harder to keep the front wheel on the ground when climbing steep in seated position (standing was improved). I decided that what I needed (based on reading articles, etc) was a shorter stem. I went with a 50mm. Huge mistake. On the first ride I was unable to keep the front wheel down and fell backwards and broke my wrist. Moral of the story: Make changes one at a time. Ride easy and figure out what works. Bars can be easily trimmed with a pipe cutter. Start wide and narrow until it feels right. Get used to it and work on the stem. I now ride a 680mm riser bar and 100mm 30 degree stem. I am much more upright on the bike, which relieves numbness and I also find I am less fatigued. I gave up a little climbing power, but there is no doubt it was worth it! Good luck! Travis