Saddle Sore In All The Wrong Places



jaygeephoto

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Mar 8, 2013
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As I'm no longer a youngster I expect to be somewhat tired and sore after a long ride or any other type of intense exercise. What has gotten to me most lately is intense numbness and stinging in parts I would rather not talk about in public. I am average height and weight and don't experience any abnormal pain or soreness from everyday activity. Does anyone have some good suggestions as to what kind of saddles are best to try. I'm not interested in anything squishy - those things just weird me out.
 
I've had that happen before. Sometimes you just get really sore no matter what you're using to sit on. To ease that pain as much as possible I've used gel saddles. They almost feel like pillows at first.
 
jaygeephoto said:
As I'm no longer a youngster I expect to be somewhat tired and sore after a long ride or any other type of intense exercise.  What has gotten to me most lately is intense numbness and stinging in parts I would rather not talk about in public. I am average height and weight and don't experience any abnormal pain or soreness from everyday activity. Does anyone have some good suggestions as to what kind of saddles are best to try. I'm not interested in anything squishy - those things just weird me out.
The first thing to do is check your bike fit and saddle position. If all that is optimal, then it's time to try new saddles. There's no method to finding the right saddle other than trying different saddles. Making sure that the saddles you try are of the right width goes a long way toward finding that saddle. Any LBS worth your money should have a program wherein you can buy a saddle (or possibly just try a saddle) and trade it in for another if you find it doesn't work for you.
 
Yes, I spoke to my LBS and they do have a quite liberal program for saddles. Friend of mine who was experiencing the same problem suggested I look into the Selle SMP. OK. Looked it up. Could I actually put something that looked like that on my bike?! It takes 'form follows function' to it's unaesthetic extremes; Like Birkenstocks and lunar landers, they serve a purpose I suppose.
 
anthonyclayton said:
I've had that happen before. [COLOR=FF00AA]everyone has[/COLOR] Sometimes you just get really sore no matter what you're using to sit on. To ease that pain as much as possible I've used gel saddles. They almost feel like pillows at first. [COLOR=FF00AA]double edge knife, i prefer hard feel saddles[/COLOR]
 
Check, adjust, change, re-fit the following:

1. Seat height.
2. Seat tilt.
3. Reach to bars.
4. Vary position on bike...stand up! Sit up. Hills, accelerations, stop signs, railroad tracks, etc. are invitations to get your butt up off the seat and get some circulation flowing.
5. Try different shorts. I like thin chamois, myself. Thicker or thinner may work for you. Different chamois materials also yield different results against the skin, but I don't think that's going to affect your numb sensation.

As suggested, you might try a few new seats. There's a variety of sizes and styles out there like never before. SMP and their clones are different looking. Some swear by them and some swear at them. You'll never know what they do or don't do for YOUR riding unless you try one.

You don't mention mileage or experience or if this problem suddenly appeared out of no where. If a low miles rider, sometimes simply building up your time in the saddle cures the problem.

Last resort? See your doctor. You might have a prostate the size of a grapefruit.
 
Originally Posted by jaygeephoto .

intense numbness and stinging in parts I would rather not talk about in public.
Eh, loosen up. :) Is it prostate discomfort/pain? It's between your cake-hole and your nut-sack.
If it is, i suggest you check out one of the SMPs or something similar. They definitely remove almost all of the pressure in the "not-for-public" area, because there's no material there

I reckon they look good. Keep in mind that there are different models that apparently vary quite a bit in hardness.
 
I love the Adamo Century saddle. NO numbness. Has a cutout where saddle would otherwise pressure sensitive areas. Made all the difference in the world for me.
 
Had the same problems and I'm 22, had my fit checked and tried different seat angles. But I was still numb after 20-30 minutes. Did some reading, demoed an adamo road from LBS, first trip out I was sold, no numbness. Went out for 40 miles sat and wasn't numb at all, check into it.
 
Oh and for what it's worth I was having unusual prostate sensation and trouble urinating long after my rides, not cool.
 
I am pretty skinny and ended up having my butt bones measured at the bike shop. They told me I need a large sized saddle! I ended up with a 155mm Specialized Avatar Gel. I did end up tipping the front down a tad. It's been great. Try making some adjustments. You can probably make your current saddle work ( i suppose youve been riding it for some time ).
 
I moved away from the really padded cycling shorts and that actually helped me. Seems shorts designers forgot that the seat should support you and the shorts should keep you dry. I'm riding in Tri shorts that only have a moisture wicking shammy in the crotch (no padding) and its the most comfortable I've been on my bike. I'm riding a Cobb Plus (Cobb designed the Adamo and has started his own line) and love it. 2-3 hrs of hard riding and I can still feel my twig and berries.
 
I have had good luck with the Specialized Romin. but all butts are a little different. Granted teams are paid to ride certain brands but reading an interview with Jens Voight who was talking about his new sponsor and how great this new saddle he was riding it peaked my interest. I had tried their Toupe before and absolutely despised it so took his praise with a grain of salt but once I actually perched my derriere on one (Romin) I was a convert.

The SMP Forma btw is so hard I actually bruised my perineum sitting down to hard/fast. I wanted to like the saddle but was too hammock-y. Not really able to slide back and forth on it and while ok when on the hoods, when I really tucked down at crunch time on the rivet rotating my pelvis forward and deep in the drops I felt an uncomfortable pressure on the tween. Tried one of the other more padded models (Dynamic?), also didn't work out that well but some swear by them.

As others have mentioned sometimes small adjustments of tilt can also really go a long way toward overall comfort.