Anatomical (men's) bicycle seats

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I have
noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the length of it.
Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats work to relieve the
pressure? Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

Thanks,

Jon

On 2010-03-14, Jon Danniken wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I have
noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the length of it.
Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats work to relieve the
pressure? Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

Saddles are a very subjective issue. Some people find saddles with
perineal relief to be helpful; personally, I've never found them to be
necessary. The best thing is to try a few different saddles and see if
you like one or two better than the others. When you find that one (or
two) that work for you, stick with them. I've been using Selle Italia
"Turbos" and Brooks "Professionals" on all my bikes for about 30 years
now.

--

-John )

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:16:13 -0500, John Thompson wrote:

On 2010-03-14, Jon Danniken wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I have
noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the length of
it. Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats work to
relieve the pressure? Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

Saddles are a very subjective issue. Some people find saddles with
perineal relief to be helpful; personally, I've never found them to be
necessary. The best thing is to try a few different saddles and see if
you like one or two better than the others. When you find that one (or
two) that work for you, stick with them. I've been using Selle Italia
"Turbos" and Brooks "Professionals" on all my bikes for about 30 years
now.

Maybe you just have small nuts?


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"Bother!" said Pooh, as Christopher Robin pleaded to be spanked again.
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Dan C wrote:
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:16:13 -0500, John Thompson wrote:

On 2010-03-14, Jon Danniken wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I
have noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the
length of it. Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats
work to relieve the pressure? Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

Saddles are a very subjective issue. Some people find saddles with
perineal relief to be helpful; personally, I've never found them to
be necessary. The best thing is to try a few different saddles and
see if you like one or two better than the others. When you find
that one (or two) that work for you, stick with them. I've been
using Selle Italia "Turbos" and Brooks "Professionals" on all my
bikes for about 30 years now.

Maybe you just have small nuts?

Wow. The guy gives a thoughtful, helpful reply and you go right for his
balls.

Force of habit?

BS (jus' sayin')

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:48:24 -0700, Bill Sornson wrote:

Dan C wrote:
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:16:13 -0500, John Thompson wrote:

On 2010-03-14, Jon Danniken wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I
have noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the
length of it. Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats
work to relieve the pressure? Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

Saddles are a very subjective issue. Some people find saddles with
perineal relief to be helpful; personally, I've never found them to be
necessary. The best thing is to try a few different saddles and see if
you like one or two better than the others. When you find that one (or
two) that work for you, stick with them. I've been using Selle Italia
"Turbos" and Brooks "Professionals" on all my bikes for about 30 years
now.

Maybe you just have small nuts?

Wow. The guy gives a thoughtful, helpful reply and you go right for his
balls.

No, just a thoughtful, helpful question that intended no offense. Why
did you take offense to it? What's your problem?


--
"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".
"Bother!" said Pooh, as he backed into a squad car.
Usenet Improvement Project: http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/
Thanks, Obama: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/politica/thanks.jpg

Dan C wrote:
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:48:24 -0700, Bill Sornson wrote:

Dan C wrote:
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:16:13 -0500, John Thompson wrote:

On 2010-03-14, Jon Danniken wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I
have noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the
length of it. Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats
work to relieve the pressure? Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

Saddles are a very subjective issue. Some people find saddles with
perineal relief to be helpful; personally, I've never found them
to be necessary. The best thing is to try a few different saddles
and see if you like one or two better than the others. When you
find that one (or two) that work for you, stick with them. I've
been using Selle Italia "Turbos" and Brooks "Professionals" on all
my bikes for about 30 years now.

Maybe you just have small nuts?

Wow. The guy gives a thoughtful, helpful reply and you go right for
his balls.

No, just a thoughtful, helpful question that intended no offense. Why
did you take offense to it? What's your problem?

Regardless of anyone's nut size, it's apparent where the Big Dick is around
here.

Bill "thought that was helpful" S.

On Mar 14, 5:36*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I have
noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the length of it..
Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats work to relieve the
pressure? *Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?


I'd recommend that you set up the one you have properly to make sure
that's not the problem. If it's a nylon shelled saddle, setting it
dead level works for most. Also, are you sitting on it properly so
your sit bones are supported? Is it wide enough to support you, or is
it too wide and causing numbness? Is it too soft? Are you sinking in,
putting pressure on the perineum?

If you're on a go-fast bike, not too heavy, and put some weight on
your hands and feet by riding with vigor, a classic saddle like a
Rolls, Unicanitor, or Turbo is a great place to start. If you're a
little more upright, there are a number of quite inexpensive saddles
that can be very comfy, often made by Velo and rebranded as OEM. Check
your LBS's bin of cursed saddles and try out a few.

On Mar 15, 3:27*pm, landotter wrote:
On Mar 14, 5:36*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I have
noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the length of it.
Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats work to relieve the
pressure? *Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

I'd recommend that you set up the one you have properly to make sure
that's not the problem. If it's a nylon shelled saddle, setting it
dead level works for most. Also, are you sitting on it properly so
your sit bones are supported? Is it wide enough to support you, or is
it too wide and causing numbness? Is it too soft? Are you sinking in,
putting pressure on the perineum?

If you're on a go-fast bike, not too heavy, and put some weight on
your hands and feet by riding with vigor, a classic saddle like a
Rolls, Unicanitor, or Turbo is a great place to start. If you're a
little more upright, there are a number of quite inexpensive saddles
that can be very comfy, often made by Velo and rebranded as OEM. Check
your LBS's bin of cursed saddles and try out a few.

Landotter's advice is good. Saddles are like shoes, in that what's
comfortable for one person can be agony for another. You've got to
try them.

The width of your sit bones is a very important factor. I once saw a
gizmo in a bike shop, sort of a foam panel, that would retain the
impression of your sit bones so you could measure it and use it to
choose a saddle. There are other ways to get that measurement, but it
is something that's good to know. Once I deduced my sit bone width
(by examining wear marks on my saddles) I was able to do a much better
job of saddle shopping.

But to try saddles out, they pretty much need to be on a bike. And to
_really_ try them out, you need a long ride. If you're buying new,
the shop would probably cooperate by at least letting you sit on lots
of bikes. If the shop (or the saddle company) is super-wonderful,
they may allow returns on saddles that are uncomfortable.

This article may be helpful:
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/Sore.htm

- Frank Krygowski

On Mar 15, 5:13*pm, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Mar 15, 3:27*pm, landotter wrote:



On Mar 14, 5:36*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:

Hi, I have started doing a little bit of road riding again, and I have
noticed the new (to me) bicycle seats with a cavity down the length of it.
Being prone to numbness after a ride, do these seats work to relieve the
pressure? *Do they actually work?

Of the types available, which one(s) would you recommend?

I'd recommend that you set up the one you have properly to make sure
that's not the problem. If it's a nylon shelled saddle, setting it
dead level works for most. Also, are you sitting on it properly so
your sit bones are supported? Is it wide enough to support you, or is
it too wide and causing numbness? Is it too soft? Are you sinking in,
putting pressure on the perineum?

If you're on a go-fast bike, not too heavy, and put some weight on
your hands and feet by riding with vigor, a classic saddle like a
Rolls, Unicanitor, or Turbo is a great place to start. If you're a
little more upright, there are a number of quite inexpensive saddles
that can be very comfy, often made by Velo and rebranded as OEM. Check
your LBS's bin of cursed saddles and try out a few.

Landotter's advice is good. *Saddles are like shoes, in that what's
comfortable for one person can be agony for another. *You've got to
try them.

The width of your sit bones is a very important factor. *I once saw a
gizmo in a bike shop, sort of a foam panel, that would retain the
impression of your sit bones so you could measure it and use it to
choose a saddle. *There are other ways to get that measurement, but it
is something that's good to know. *Once I deduced my sit bone width
(by examining wear marks on my saddles) I was able to do a much better
job of saddle shopping.

But to try saddles out, they pretty much need to be on a bike. *And to
_really_ try them out, you need a long ride. *If you're buying new,
the shop would probably cooperate by at least letting you sit on lots
of bikes. *If the shop (or the saddle company) is super-wonderful,
they may allow returns on saddles that are uncomfortable.

This article may be helpful:http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/Sore.htm


That's certainly a good objective article. It's right about the fart
slot--some folks do seem to like 'em, some don't. Could be a matter of
how your tackle is hoisted or the lay of the land down there. I find
that a fairly firm saddle, like the classic 80s racing shapes keep my
tubers hoisted high enough for a slot to matter little. That said, the
touring saddle that I put the most miles on has a good amount of
padding--a bit like a vintage Avocet, but it's rather dense. I can
ride that thing all day in street clothes, including jeans, and not be
bothered. It is wide enough that while I don't notice discomfort, it
does eat a pair or two of pants per year of tooling around by
patiently gnawing at the insides of the thighs.

Again, try the bucket of discards at the LBS. This most recent
generation of Taiwanese OEM saddles are often quite good. I met a girl
a month ago that had one branded "Trek" that she adored and was going
to pay good money to have recovered. I flipped it over for her and we
found the actual manufacturer and model and she got a new copy sans
branding for ~20 bucks.

As many have said, and will say in this thread. buying a saddle is no
less an issue as buying the proper size and shape of shoe if you want to
be comfortable. Sure, there are those who can walk into their local
WalMart, pick up a pair of $9 tennies and be perfectly happy with them.
Others, can't.

There are many types, shapes and sizes of saddles for the same reason.
Every one's derriere is different, everyone is riding differently for
different reasons even on different terrain and conditions. That is why
there are so many types. Usually the wider saddles are designed for
riders who spend more time in an upright position, while those who are
hunched over the bars more tend to prefer narrower models. They may look
uncomfortable, but remember that less of their weight is on the saddle,
and the narrow design lets their legs work easier.

The "fart holes" as they are affectionatly called, are not really
necessary in most cases if a properly fitting saddle is adjusted
correctly, I myself have done three hundred miles on a single ride with
a regular Brooks B17 and was perfectly comfortable. I'm not saying they
are useless, some folk, especially women, find they do need the relief
in that area.

Remember also, a saddle can be adjusted in four ways: up/down, fore/aft,
tilt and rotation. Yes, believe it or not many riders find relief simply
by twisting their saddle so it doesn't point exactly forward. The point
of all this hot air is that if you really want to be comfortable on the
bike, you need to look at all the factors; size, shape, your anatomical
quirks, what you ridr and how you ride it. Then use the advice of either
an expert cyclist or dealer (and preferably unbiased, or at least
interested in the same kind of riding you do) in choosing and adjusting
what will best work for you.

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Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

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