Saddle for men with prostate issues...

[atomheartmother]

A urologist has told me that my problems with prostatitis may be related to/exacerbated by cycling. I honestly don't cycle that much--maybe 3 or so miles a 4 or so times a week. He recommended that if I want to continue cycling I need to invest in a seat with a nose cutout that won't put pressure the perenium area.

I've been looking at all of these noseless saddles, but they all seem to state that they aren't for road bikes, which is what I ride. It apparently has something to do with road bike handle bars and saddle being at the same height (or the saddle higher). Furthermore, I recognize that having and using the nose on the saddle for turning and balance and whatnot is particularly important for road bikes, but I'm not sure what my other options are.

What are my options? I'm not at all opposed to going with a noseless saddle if one will work. I don't race the road bike; I just use it for exercise. So, I think I could adjust to the loss in performance and control due to the loss in the nose.

Any recommendations?


Has anyone use these? They seem reasonably priced and look like they could work.

http://www.ismseat.com/sport_saddle.htm

 

[scirocco]

Can't hurt to try. Will be interesting to hear what you think of it.

I used to have some similar issues to you and went through the different saddle types with cutouts etc - made some difference but not a huge amount. The single biggest improvement I found was getting the bars lower - getting the weight off my butt and onto my legs. If you ride a road bike like a cruiser - all the weight on the saddle and just twiddling your legs underneath - I reckon it's hard to avoid problems down there. I found focusing on using your legs as your main support, and the saddle simply as a place to perch your butt, made all the difference. Might be psychological but it worked for me.

 

[Fujiman]

A urologist has told me that my problems with prostatitis may be related to/exacerbated by cycling. I honestly don't cycle that much--maybe 3 or so miles a 4 or so times a week. He recommended that if I want to continue cycling I need to invest in a seat with a nose cutout that won't put pressure the perenium area.

I've been looking at all of these noseless saddles, but they all seem to state that they aren't for road bikes, which is what I ride. It apparently has something to do with road bike handle bars and saddle being at the same height (or the saddle higher). Furthermore, I recognize that having and using the nose on the saddle for turning and balance and whatnot is particularly important for road bikes, but I'm not sure what my other options are.

What are my options? I'm not at all opposed to going with a noseless saddle if one will work. I don't race the road bike; I just use it for exercise. So, I think I could adjust to the loss in performance and control due to the loss in the nose.

Any recommendations?


Has anyone use these? They seem reasonably priced and look like they could work.

http://www.ismseat.com/sport_saddle.htm

I am riding a Specialized Alias saddle which is a split saddle, I had a bout of prostatitis last spring, the saddle is working pretty well for me, one key is to make sure you fit the bike correctly and are actually sitting on your sit bones

Also I did a lot of reading during my bout with prostatitis because I could not ride, I found a lot of research that show most men with prostatitis have very low levels of zinc in the prostate, which it uses to produce semen, the doctors on these web sites were treating their patient with 100 to 200 mg of zinc per day. I started taking 200 per day along with Saw Palmetto and started to feel better in a couple weeks after 2 months of anti-biotic and no real relive from them, don't know if this will help you but talk to your doctor about it.
I still to this day take 100mg of zinc and 900 mg of Saw Palmetto a day.
Here is a link to the Specialized site
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?a=b&minisite=10029&sid=EquipSaddlesRoad&language=US

 

[Peter@vecchios]

A urologist has told me that my problems with prostatitis may be related to/exacerbated by cycling. I honestly don't cycle that much--maybe 3 or so miles a 4 or so times a week. He recommended that if I want to continue cycling I need to invest in a seat with a nose cutout that won't put pressure the perenium area.

I've been looking at all of these noseless saddles, but they all seem to state that they aren't for road bikes, which is what I ride. It apparently has something to do with road bike handle bars and saddle being at the same height (or the saddle higher). Furthermore, I recognize that having and using the nose on the saddle for turning and balance and whatnot is particularly important for road bikes, but I'm not sure what my other options are.

What are my options? I'm not at all opposed to going with a noseless saddle if one will work. I don't race the road bike; I just use it for exercise. So, I think I could adjust to the loss in performance and control due to the loss in the nose.

Any recommendations?


Has anyone use these? They seem reasonably priced and look like they could work.

http://www.ismseat.com/sport_saddle.htm

Try SMP and the shop that carries them has a test ride program.

http://www.albabici.com/selle/selle-smp-mp.htm

 

[benkoostra]

the Terry Fly has a large cutout...I like it.

 

[STXR814]

I can't stand the Specialized Alias on my Allez Elite. I was thinking about getting a Koobi fairly soon. The Alias just seems very very hard and very hard on the wrong spots, the cutout isn't enough. Any thoughts on a Koobi?

 

[Fujiman]

I can't stand the Specialized Alias on my Allez Elite. I was thinking about getting a Koobi fairly soon. The Alias just seems very very hard and very hard on the wrong spots, the cutout isn't enough. Any thoughts on a Koobi?

I think all the Specialized Saddles come in 3 different widths, maybe you don't have the correct width? Maybe you do, I tried the Specialized Toupe first and it was too hard for me

 

[Powerful Pete]

I find it surprising you are having these kinds of issues on what appears to be 12-15 miles of riding per week. Do you happen to be very heavy, or have you only recently taken up cycling? I wonder if you are suffering from a condition that has little to do with your cycling...

In any event, the standard pointers:

1. Make sure (go to a decent bike shop if need be) you are correctly positioned on your bike.
2. Remember to regularly shift position and pedal out-of-the-saddle regularly throughout the ride to ' take the pressure off'.
3. As for the saddles, you will just have to try them and see what works for you. Some swear by cutout saddles, others hate them. I do very well with my current Fizik Arione, and was also equally comfortable with a Selle Italia Max Flite (very comfy for my bum). Many recommend SMP saddles - beware that they are (I have been told) quite hard to get used to - once you have 'settled in' they are, apparently, wonderful, though. They also require you to slightly modify your on-bike position, to work with a shop on that if you are not experienced enough.
4. Try to find a urologist that has experience with cyclists. If your guy doesn't have any, you will get the automatic same reaction of ' cycling is bad for you '.

 

[STXR814]

I think all the Specialized Saddles come in 3 different widths, maybe you don't have the correct width? Maybe you do, I tried the Specialized Toupe first and it was too hard for me

Well, its the one that came with my Allez Elite which is a 143. I have been measured and fit and that is the size I should be on it just feels like I'm on concrete and rides up on me very bad, I feel like I need a jock strap with it. Which saddle did you wind up with? Any opinions on a Koobi saddle?

 

[cbjesseeNH]

The best seat is one attached to a recumbent bike - that helped me a lot! Of course, it's attached to a recumbent bike.

 

[Powerful Pete]

Well, its the one that came with my Allez Elite which is a 143. I have been measured and fit and that is the size I should be on it just feels like I'm on concrete and rides up on me very bad, I feel like I need a jock strap with it. Which saddle did you wind up with? Any opinions on a Koobi saddle?

Why only focus on these brands? Take a look around, there really are dozens of choices for saddles. Go to a shop that has test models that you can use for a few rides.

 

[STXR814]

Why only focus on these brands? Take a look around, there really are dozens of choices for saddles. Go to a shop that has test models that you can use for a few rides.

Well, from the search function on here I've got ideas on saddles to look at and I looked up reviews on roadbikereview.com of some of them and from what I saw I didn't see anything negative about or let me refraise it this way it seemed that out of ALL the saddles to choose from rather than spending hundreds of dollars on multiple saddles which some have done even on the reviews on the Koobi saddles the reviews were very good compared to others.

 

[alienator]

What Pete said. Reviews aren't worth much when it comes to saddles unless you have a butt that is exactly like a reviewer's butt.

 

[Fujiman]

Well, from the search function on here I've got ideas on saddles to look at and I looked up reviews on roadbikereview.com of some of them and from what I saw I didn't see anything negative about or let me refraise it this way it seemed that out of ALL the saddles to choose from rather than spending hundreds of dollars on multiple saddles which some have done even on the reviews on the Koobi saddles the reviews were very good compared to others.

It can get expensive trying different saddles like everyone else said you will have to find one you like by trial and error, to answer your question I ended up with a specialized alias 143 and as I said I am pretty happy with it.
One thing about trying different saddles I looked on ebay and craigslist and even made a little money on a couple of the saddles I bought and sold

 

[alienator]

It shouldn't be expensive trying saddles. Good LBS will let you try a saddle and then return it, if it isn't damaged or summat, for another saddle. Also, Competitive Cyclist has a saddle demo program wherein they'll send you 11 saddles to try. Competitive Cyclist doesn't rank among inexpensive dealers, but their demo program at least offers a wide-ish selection of saddles to try. Likewise, Selle Italia has a program called Test Center that allows you to go to any LBS that is a Selle Italia Test Center and try out any of 12 saddles they use in that program.

I wouldn't get fixated on only saddles with cutouts. Far more important than cutouts are the shapes of saddles and how those shapes mesh with your bum and taint. Some companies will try to sell you a "one saddle fixes all", like Adamo or E3. Others will try to sell you on the idea that material makes the difference--Brooks or anyone pushing a magic gel.

Perfect comfort can be found anywhere from on battleship sized Brooks to a lithe and vaporous all-CF saddle. What you should pay attention to, when testing saddles, is what tends to work best: flat saddles or saddles with a curve or hammock shape; wide saddles or narrow saddles; saddles with fat noses or skinny noses.

DON'T let yourself be influenced by the popularity of saddles. I tested a Selle Italia SLR for a while--one of the most popular saddles going--and for the week+ that I tried it, its comfort never improved beyond feeling like sitting on the working end of the Jaws of Life. Now I'm riding on one of the least known saddles and its working just fine.

 

[STXR814]

Thanks for the tips. Greatly appreciated.

 

[sopas]

I started taking 200 per day along with Saw Palmetto and started to feel better in a couple weeks after 2 months of anti-biotic and no real relive from them, don't know if this will help you but talk to your doctor about it.
I still to this day take 100mg of zinc and 900 mg of Saw Palmetto a day.

100mg of zinc and 900 mg of Saw Palmetto a day!!!!!!!!

Be careful!! Recommended use of Zinc is adults is about 20 mg. Doses over 40mg or more of zinc can be dangerous for your health. Too much of zinc can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, and damage to the kidneys. 50-75 mg a day can backfire or lower HDL (good) cholesterol. Too much of zinc can cause loss of iron and copper in the body.

Also 900 mg dose of Saw Palmatto is way too high!.

 

[STXR814]

Today I just bolted on a Koobi AU chrono I got off Ebay. I set it up on my Allez Elite on my trainer, what is left of Gustav is hitting the area so very wet and pooring outside. Initially, a huge difference in the prostate area between this saddle and the Alias that came on the Allez Elite. Rode for about an hour on the trainer and for the first time EVER I wasn't moving around on the saddle looking for a better position for relief and could just sit on the saddle and put the power to the pedals. I know it might be a bit different on the road and might have to adjust slightly then but will have to wait till Gustav passes in a couple days. Overall, should have done this a long time ago. It feels like your "package" is just in a hammack instead of crunched on another saddle. Again, I had the Alias 143 which came on my 07 Allez Elite and purchased a Koobi AU Chrono off ebay for around $50 and it payed off big time so if someone is having the same problem I was in finding a saddle crunching your package go with the Koobi and forget about it!