Numb erm.....Man bits

teulk

I did a 62mile road ride last saturday and when i had finished my "man bits" were numb, well in fact after about 20miles i noticed the numbness. This is the first time ive had this, everything is just about back to normal now but what has caused this. Most of the ride was quite hilly so could the change in my riding position ( leaning forward a lot ) be the cause as generally most of the rides i do are quite flat for the most part. So what can i do to avoid this in the future, i did the ride on my Boardman Team HT (probably not best suited to the ride but ive had no previous problems) with all stock items fitted.

would a saddle like this help

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keyw ... kr2ftj4w_e

or is there anything else i can do like perhaps a shorter stem ?

SilverSenator

teulk wrote:

. . . or is there anything else i can do like perhaps a shorter stem ?

I think something less drastic than shortening your 'stem' should be tried first!

teulk

SilverSenator wrote:

teulk wrote:

. . . or is there anything else i can do like perhaps a shorter stem ?

I think something less drastic than shortening your 'stem' should be tried first!

Such as, any suggestions

Jonesy.

I would say it has to do with the saddle, and / or saddle position. I had a similar experience, changed the saddle, and the issue didn't come back.

As we all have differently shaped posteriors, it means that certain saddles suit some people but not others. So it's hard to tell before you buy whether it will suit you or not. There are quite a lot of saddle reviews on www.mtbr.com if you want to research...

I have a saddle by Selle Italia and it's very comfy (but it doesn't look it!).

Last resort, get some padded cycle shorts / undershorts for added protection!

RockyHopperShow

+1 for the padded shorts. When I resumed cycling it was the one thing that prevented sores/numbness. You could try a new saddle but as Jonesy says what's good for one person won't necessarily be good for you. You might try altering the saddle position but do it in very small increments fore & aft and don't stray too far from level.

ratty2k

Padded shorts as mentioned, but before buying a new saddle, just try tipping the nose of your existing one down a little. Makes you sit more on the sit bones rather than the blood vessels to yer, er, bits... Worth a try and free...

jairaj

ratty2k wrote:

Padded shorts as mentioned, but before buying a new saddle, just try tipping the nose of your existing one down a little. Makes you sit more on the sit bones rather than the blood vessels to yer, er, bits... Worth a try and free...

+1 Had a similar problem, with my man bits getting uncomfortable on long rides. Pointing the saddle down just a little bit sorted it out.

Surf-Matt

A well fitted saddle can be as evil as it wants (almost zero padding) but will feel comfy even without padded shorts.

I have a Phenom SL that looks like a torture device but it's super comfy - I also wear Altura Pro Gel shorts under my baggies (Endura Singletracks) - get good padded shorts. I had poor ones before and they were utterly useless.

Do also point the saddle slightly down as advised above - it makes a big difference.

SilverSenator

And if all else fails - gaffer tape!

supersonic

It is that main artery, the pudendal (?) - ok, c0ck vein in your perenium, that can get irritated and blocked by some saddles and positioning which then numbs the old chap.

Not a bad thing if you are 13

teulk

I think i need to invest in a good pair of padded shorts then, the ones i have only have a very small amount of padding. I will take the advice of tipping the nose of the saddle down abit and see how it goes.

Surf-Matt

Tel - not the amount of padding, it's where it is that matters.

My cr4p old ones were thickly padded but the padding bunched up. My new Pro Gels have rather firm padding (gel bits) of different "squishiness" but are about 125251255 comfier.

The old ones were like trying to make a shoe comfy by stuffing it with cotton wool. My new ones are like a well fitted anatomically designed insole.

LDNTrailRider

Try a smaller saddle. It may look painful but it will help. People think more saddle = more comfort. That might be true if you only ever pop down the shops but if you're riding for long periods you need something that doesn't cut off the blood flow to those 'key areas'!

I use this with nose tilted down very slightly (ie. 1/2 cm):

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/6 ... gn=pid6609

Seems to be doing the biz at the mo. Getting off the saddle where possible and giving the old chap a rest also helps.

+paul

I had this problem, until I dropped the nose of the saddle slightly. I also moved it slightly forward to shorten the reach. Based on my experience, make changes in small steps - it felt very different when I got back on the bike, and further adjustment back towards the original position was required for the most comfort.

I certainly wouldn't consider a saddle change until I had exhausted the options for adjustment.