Dealing with a numb "thingy"

prj45

Basically saddle recommendations to stop part of me going numb that really shouldn't be going numb please.

Currently on a fizik "came with the bike" saddle which I've been getting on with quite well on the commute, but after a 75 miler the other day (25 miles, comfortable 25-50 miles getting uncomfortable, 50+ couldn't really feel anything, so comfortable again) I think it's time for a change.

Had a specialised body geometry before which was a bit too bullky for the road bike (although it is by no means actually bulky) so it's got to be something quite sleek.

I do around 30 miles a day.

ris

if you want to stop your (ock going numb then you will have to get he one that fits you best and not have a hang-up about how it looks.

try the saddle swap thread in the for sale forum, it's no good me recommending my saddle to you as it's a very individual thing. best i can suggest is that if the spesh bg works for you then i'd maybe try their range.

rjsterry

Even the Toupé? I'd admit that my BG Avatar isn't the slimmest, but I don't find it bulky. The Toupé is definitely not bulky though. The other thing is getting the right width for your sit bones, the Spesh saddles usually come in two or three widths.

prj45

ris wrote:

if you want to stop your (ock going numb

I do, I woke up the other morning after my ride and the first thing I had to do was grab it to make sure it was still there!

tailwindhome

prj45 wrote:

ris wrote:

if you want to stop your (ock going numb

I do, I woke up the other morning after my ride and the first thing I had to do was grab it to make sure it was still there!

Trying raising the height of your saddle

I had the same problem, a disturbing combination of pain and numbness after a longer ride. Raising the saddle and moving it slightly forward seemed to redistribute my weight and solve the problem.


I must say that the problem didn't last as long as the next morning.

Maybe you're getting older.......

NGale

his nibs suffers from the same problem, no amount of seat changing as sorted the problem out. The Charge Spoon seems to be the best so far, but even then he's still getting numbness in the nether regions.

numbeness is the least of my problems, the simple fact that my back is crook and causes me pain when I cycle is my worry at the moment

Robstar24

get out of the saddle every now and then, gets the circulation going again to that area

danowat

Robstar24 wrote:

get out of the saddle every now and then, gets the circulation going again to that area

^ This, also maybe look at dropping the nose of the saddle down a little too.

vorsprung

TailWindHome wrote:

ris wrote:

if you want to stop your size=12]]c[/size]ock going numb

Trying raising the height of your saddle

Lowering the saddle worked for me

I only get this problem now if I use the tri bars too much on long rides, the rest of the time it's fine.

I use a Brooks B17. I am 6'2" and have quite a wide backside, the B17 is fairly wide

The worst saddle I had was a Sella Italia that came with a bike. It was like yours, ok up to 30 miles or so but on longer distances quite literally a pain in the butt

CiB

The saddle should be parallel to the floor and at a height where the legs are straight with your heel on the pedal. Normal riding position should see more weight on your saddle than the bars. If you can, try one of those saddles with a cut-out down the centre. It's a v personal thing but fwiw they do the job for me.

Consider having a proper bike fit. It may turn out to be the best £50 / £75 / £100 you ever spend on bike accessories.

jonginge

CiB wrote:

The saddle should be parallel to the floor and at a height where the legs are straight with your heel on the pedal. Normal riding position should see more weight on your saddle than the bars. If you can, try one of those saddles with a cut-out down the centre. It's a v personal thing but fwiw they do the job for me.

Consider having a proper bike fit. It may turn out to be the best £50 / £75 / £100 you ever spend on bike accessories.

This

get out of the saddle every now and then, gets the circulation going again to that area

This

also maybe look at dropping the nose of the saddle down a little too.

Probably not this. It rotates your hips forward and you end up putting more pressure on the perineum. Not. Good.

Most upper-end bikes are sold with racing saddles to make them look good. Those saddles are too narrow for most people and so the sit bones don't take all of body's weight.

Get measured and you'll probably need to get a slightly wider saddle.

always_tyred

CiB wrote:

The saddle should be parallel to the floor and at a height where the legs are straight with your heel on the pedal.

Ignore this. The saddle should be wherever the hell is comfortable for you.

I have a fairly big seat to bar drop and batwing shifters (i.e. pointing up quite a bit, Landis style) and my seat is imperceptably nose down. Others like slightly nose up with levers right down the front of the bars. Some people like the saddle pushed right back, others fairly far forward. There are no rules, other than, make minor adjustments.

Oh, and what about shorts? Cheaper shorts are fine for commuting, but for 4-5 hour efforts, you want to be investing in shorts with a decent chamois.

Finally - there is a reason the tour riders get up out of the saddle fairly frequently even on the flat. It gives certain muscles a rest and allows blood to flow.

danowat

I used to get a terribly numb weiner, angling the saddle down ever so slightly stopped it.

meanredspider

+1 for the Toupe. Only trouble is it comes in 3 width fittings so you need to get it fitted. But, apart from a recent return after a 2-week break out of the saddle, I don't notice my saddle at all. I couldn't hope for better. It's all a very personal thing though.

always_tyred

JonGinge wrote:

also maybe look at dropping the nose of the saddle down a little too.

Probably not this. It rotates your hips forward and you end up putting more pressure on the perineum. Not. Good..

It depends entirely on the rest of your setup. The point with the thread is "we do not know". What I do know is that setup is personal and its never helped me to take someone else's advice on seat height, angle, position or bar and lever position, because I'm a different shape to them with different musculature. Indeed, I can only recall being made less comfortable.

UndercoverElephant

You know that thing people say they do, where they make their arm numb and then touch themselves so it feels like someone else's hand? prj45, I'm not sure what this says about you...
:shock:

jonginge

Always Tyred wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

also maybe look at dropping the nose of the saddle down a little too.

Probably not this. It rotates your hips forward and you end up putting more pressure on the perineum. Not. Good..

It depends entirely on the rest of your setup. The point with the thread is "we do not know". What I do know is that setup is personal and its never helped me to take someone else's advice on seat height, angle, position or bar and lever position, because I'm a different shape to them with different musculature. Indeed, I can only recall being made less comfortable.

True, true. I did say probably.

Bike fitting is the way forward, I think

Norky

prj45 wrote:

Dealing with a numb "thingy"

It's alright to say "penis", we're all grown ups here (mostly).

Aidy

Norky wrote:

prj45 wrote:

Dealing with a numb "thingy"

It's alright to say "penis", we're all grown ups here (mostly).

Not me. snigger.

PBo

NGale wrote:

his nibs suffers from the same problem, no amount of seat changing as sorted the problem out. The Charge Spoon seems to be the best so far, but even then he's still getting numbness in the nether regions.

numbeness is the least of my problems, the simple fact that my back is crook and causes me pain when I cycle is my worry at the moment

His, or yours?

NGale

PBo wrote:

NGale wrote:

his nibs suffers from the same problem, no amount of seat changing as sorted the problem out. The Charge Spoon seems to be the best so far, but even then he's still getting numbness in the nether regions.

numbeness is the least of my problems, the simple fact that my back is crook and causes me pain when I cycle is my worry at the moment

His, or yours?

his and mine

in all seriousness a few of the other guys in his cycle club have complained about the same thing and they all use different types of saddle, I guess it just comes down to how everything 'sits'.

I now carry extra ice packs on the club cycle runs because a few of them find that brings back the feeling pretty quickly :shock: :shock:

barry_kellett99

Taking the time to adjust your set up little by little until it feels just nice is so very important.

I have a toupe incidentally and love it. Very comfy for long rides. I have a cheap white thing on the SingleSpeed, The cheapest one I could find in white in Chainreaction when I was stuck for cash when building the bike up. Its as hard as the road, not really that comfortable but still I havent had Numb Nads on it and I have done 75mile rides. I DID used to get numb meat and two veg occasionally when I did the same 36mile round trip commute I do now on a Roadied up Mountain bike.

Essentially what I am getting at is, that as TailWindHome says, it is more likely to be the set up rather than the actual saddle. Though it may also play a small part.

I've spent an age tinkering and messing with my singlespeed and its feels just right now after changing to a shorter stem, a shallower bar but moving the stem a little lower and turning it round to a negative 6 degree angle, Turning the angle of the bars down a little in rotation and moving the hoods of the brakes up slightly to accomodate, moving the saddle about 10mm forward and getting a new longer seat post to get a litttle extra extension.

Its a labour of love for my balls.

SamWise1972

Brooks B17 Imperial might be fave. The leather takes the shape of your arse nicely, and the cutout relieves pressure on the perinium



http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP7255.as ... mpaign=FGL

prawny

Charge spoon is best for me so far. Only get a bit of numbness if it's windy and I;m on the drops for ages. That said, I haven't put any real distance on it yet just commuting.

Zombie_donkey

When I get numb hands I rub them furiously by the side of the road to get the feeling back. Why don't you... oh no maybe not.

dennisn

I vote for trying a "cutout" saddle. Worked for me. So does a "sit bone" type.
Aslo a big +1 for getting saddle that you like and not one that looks good.

EKE_38BPM

I use a Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow and I have nothing but love for it. Did 138 miles on it and felt fine. I can't recommend it highly enough if you have my bits. Dunno what it would be like with your bits though. Saddles are VERY much down to individual taste.

When I get my new bike built I'll be having another one fitted.

prj45

EKE_38BPM wrote:

I use a Selle Italia Flite Gel

Funny enough I was sat behind somebody on the embankment tonight with that exact saddle and I though it looked very comfortable.

always_tyred

prj45 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

I use a Selle Italia Flite Gel

Funny enough I was sat behind somebody on the embankment tonight with that exact saddle and I though it looked very comfortable.

On the other hand.....I used one of these for years and I realised how much I hated it when I got a Toupe. The Flites are quit rounded (from the front); they spread the load, but that might include the hotline to the ballsack and sword, depending on how you are configured. The other design philosophy (such as several of the Fiziks and Specialized) is flatter, to allow blood flow to the naughty bits, with the trade off that the load is more focussed.

There are also things like the Selle SMP's, which seem to be basically saddle rails with padding.

rjsterry

Just had another thought (I know, two in one day), The odd time when I ride in something other than my padded shorts, I'm much more aware of the shape of the saddle relative to my nether regions, so it might be worth going 'unpadded' when trying out saddles. If it's comfy then, then it should be even more so with padded shorts.

EKE_38BPM

I remember my first road bike had a hard plastic saddle that was agony for the first week or so but then it moulded it's shape to my nether regions (or moulded my nether regions to it) and I was fine after that.

In all honesty, people can only really tell you what works for them. What is sauce for the goose may not be sauce for the gander.

Non-cyclists look at my saddle and remember that old Yellow Pages advert. The bit at 0:16 gets quoted to me.