Numbness on the Turbo

rob13
rob13 Posts: 430
edited November 2012 in Training, fitness and health
Been doing some steady wheel turning on the Turbo these last few weeks. Only an hour at a time, i'm just keeping the legs going between longer rides on the road.

I have been experiencing some numbness in the end of the old chap, and also the outside of my right foot. Its clearly the saddle as it goes away when I get out of it, but I dont generally find the saddle to be a problem when i'm on the road. I dont find it uncomfortable (its a Pro-logo), but i'm worried about cutting blood supply off, especially to the parts which I need most ;)

Is this a common problem? Should I start experimenting with other saddles?

Comments

  • GiantMike
    GiantMike Posts: 3,139
    I used to get that. I changed to a Specialized Romin saddle and it made a big difference. I no longer get the same problems. There are 3 width fittings and Spec's Body Geom fitting service is very good to make sure you get the right one to match your sit bones.
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Turbo will always highlight, and exacerbate issues like this, I use my TT bike on the turbo, which thankfully has an adamo, so I don't get issues.
  • springtide9
    springtide9 Posts: 1,731
    I get the same issue.

    I think you get a break from the saddle on the road by popping out of the saddle every so often to let the blood flow, so even though you may ride for a lot longer, the micro breaks allow you to recover.

    I'm going to have a play with the seat angle as turbo appears to be my main form of cycling for various reasons, so need to live with it.

    Talking about Turbo's and being uncomfortable, they appear to be sweat machines and I'm pretty socked after a ride (and hence cause some chaffing!), but I'm sure an industrial fan would help matters at lot (rather than two small ones)... Anyone know where you can get these cheap?
    Simon
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    On some turbos (probably most) out of saddle work isnt a piece of cake...
    You can just attempt a minute or so slightly hovering over the saddle, puts a little strain on your wrists and arms and it's full on for your core but you dont need to do it for long... enough to gain some relief .
    Think powering down the Arenberg Trench Paris Roubaix at 25mph.
  • mclarent
    mclarent Posts: 784
    JGSI wrote:
    Think powering down the Arenberg Trench Paris Roubaix at 25mph.

    I can tell you've never actually done that then. Unless by trench you mean the path at the side... :roll:

    Numbness is normal, most people suffer from it, it gets a bit better with practice but as mentioned you just have to accept 10-15 seconds out of the saddle every once in a while. With experience you should be able to ride an hour with prob only once or twice out of the saddle, but everyone's different.
    "And the Lord said unto Cain, 'where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: I dropped him on the climb up to the motorway bridge'."
    - eccolafilosofiadelpedale
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Poetic licence.... bad road surface = numbness akin to turbo work
    Unweight a little = gain relief.. glad you have outed me :roll:
  • rob13
    rob13 Posts: 430
    I think it might have something to do with the height of the front wheel as whilst it takes the weight off the wrists which the wind would usually do, it also lifts the nose of the saddle much higher than usual causing the numbness. I'll do a few tests with different heights and see what happens.

    Cheers for all of the advice though.
  • gudmunduringimarsson
    gudmunduringimarsson Posts: 6
    I bought myself an Adamo Racing II saddle and voila: problem solved :)
  • saprkzz
    saprkzz Posts: 592
    springtide9 wrote:
    I get the same issue.

    I think you get a break from the saddle on the road by popping out of the saddle every so often to let the blood flow, so even though you may ride for a lot longer, the micro breaks allow you to recover.

    I'm going to have a play with the seat angle as turbo appears to be my main form of cycling for various reasons, so need to live with it.

    Talking about Turbo's and being uncomfortable, they appear to be sweat machines and I'm pretty socked after a ride (and hence cause some chaffing!), but I'm sure an industrial fan would help matters at lot (rather than two small ones)... Anyone know where you can get these cheap?

    We buy these (below link) from Homebase for our factory as it is like an oven in the summer (low ceilings).
    I stole one and put it in my garage in front of turbo, I can only have it on setting one due to the power of it..it's ace.

    http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=236643

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