Saddle Sores

J.R.

Well-Known Member
Region
USA
City
Piedmont Highlands
Saddles are where the phrase less is more makes a lot of sense. When soft foam seats hit the market a few years ago I tried one thinking it may be nice. It was painful! If your riding very short distances a couple times a week, a large, soft saddle may be comfortable for you. If you're riding 10, 20, 30 miles several times a week, a large, soft saddle can be painful and dangerous to your health.

There have been many, many studies into bicycle saddles and they've all come to the same conclusion; a proper fitting firm saddle is your best defense against pain. A saddle has to be firm enough for your sit bones to raise your perineum off the saddle to minimize pressure and a saddle can't be so large and soft to put pressure on the nerves at the base of your spine.

Your sit bones are essentially the base of your pelvic bone, the massive bone structure that encompasses the hips and base of the spine. I know that's a simplistic description (not a doctor) but it works with regard to cycling. That base (sit-bones) is able to support you very well and will hold your body up keeping pressure from creating nerve pain. That nerve pain can do bizarre things like pain, tingling and numbness in your extremities. Hands, fingers, feet and toes... and yes men that extremity too! With time it can cause permanent damage.

This post is meant to help, not criticize any personal choice. If it's working for you cool, but read up on the subject, it's well worth your time. Brooks saddles have been around for more than a hundred years for two reasons, yeah they look cool... but they work! Other saddles that work well and cost a whole lot less than Brooks are Serfas Rx and Velo Plush.

I personally like the split or imperial saddles, they eliminate any pressure on the perineum and they allow air flow to keep you dry. I currently own Serfas, Velo and Avenir saddles.

All that being said you need to put time in any saddle to break it and you in. A Brooks leather saddle will take a lot more time to break in than a synthetic saddle but the Brooks will outlast most all other saddles by decades in most cases if taken care of. Saddles, pedals and grips are very personal cycling accessories, there's no one size fits all.

I hope this is helpful, let me know:)
 
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J.R.

Very helpful, yes, and thank you!

The stock saddle on my Evo Street is the Royal Selle 'Freeway.' My sit bones were sore when I first started cycling using that seat, but all seems to be well now, especially since I unpacked my cycling shorts once it got warm enough, and I have the chamois working for me. The good news is that nothing else was sore, just the sit bones, so they were the ones taking the brunt, as nature designed.

I might try a different saddle in the future (split design) for more air flow, but at the moment I'm busy changing out other stock items on the bike first (suspension seat post, better grippier pedals).
 
they've all come to the same conclusion

Not exactly... there's another conclusion too, that noseless saddles are much healthier.

http://ipmba.org/blog/comments/no-nose-saddles

To each their own, and this post is not intended to criticize saddles with a nose, which are after all, pervasive. However it's not just police departments talking about noseless saddles, NIOSH also has something to say on the subject:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/bike/

Read the headlines at the link above. I promise you will find some articles that will be of interest to you!

However, noseless saddles face a marketing problem. Even though they're demonstratively safer, they are not in widespread use. For some insight as to the reasons why read this article:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-no-nose-bike-saddle-faces-a-marketing-problem/

Your old fashioned bicycle seat, that has been in place for a hundred years, has been there in spite of the design flaws. It was made for performance, not for safety of the rider's nerves. A nose on a bicycle seat may improve performance slightly, but it does so at harm to the rider.
 
I had a sales woman at my local bike shop arrested on groping charges. She grabbed my badoobies, put her hands all over my tush, and started measuring my manhood. As she was being taken away, all I could think of was how comfy my new custom fitted bike seat was. I think of her fondlingly every time I ride.
 
I had a sales woman at my local bike shop arrested on groping charges. She grabbed my badoobies, put her hands all over my tush, and started measuring my manhood. As she was being taken away, all I could think of was how comfy my new custom fitted bike seat was. I think of her fondlingly every time I ride.

Which now answers the question, "What's a girl gotta do to get arrested in this town?"

C'mon 86. You not only didn't call the cops on BikeShopGroper, you invited her home to join you, your wife, your husband, your boyfriend, and your useless whiny helmet-stealing, Nobel prize winning son!
 
Which now answers the question, "What's a girl gotta do to get arrested in this town?"

C'mon 86. You not only didn't call the cops on BikeShopGroper, you invited her home to join you, your wife, your husband, your boyfriend, and your useless whiny helmet-stealing, Nobel prize winning son!
Truth is stranger than fiction. Upon hearing about the incident, my wife was thankful I got someone else to take over what she calls an unbearable task, my boyfriend was filled with jealous rage, and my son has changed his last name.
 
Truth is stranger than fiction. Upon hearing about the incident, my wife was thankful I got someone else to take over what she calls an unbearable task, my boyfriend was filled with jealous rage, and my son has changed his last name.

But, but, what about your husband? 86 we got your number and it's... ummm....86!
 
I personally like the split or imperial saddles, they eliminate any pressure on the perineum

Actually split saddles still have a nose and can create quite a bit of harm to the perineum, when you lean forward. What you need to be talking about here is noseless saddles. No I don't own stock in a noseless saddle company, just presenting the facts! :)

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/science/28tier.html?referrer=

Each person is different, no doubt... but the science merits a serious look at noseless saddles. I'm sure some people will wonder what I'm talking about, but even they are pain free in spite of the saddle nose, not because of it - it's youth or iron constitution that's saving them!

http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2009/04/22/bicycle/
 
Upon returning from the doctor, I told my wife that I was suffering from genital numbness. She mumbled something that sounded like, "Dear god, thank you," and then suggested I go for a long bike ride. My kids could care less about my genital numbness and are only concerned that I do not suffer any financial numbness.....feels so good to be surrounded by a loving family.
 
"Brooks saddles have been around for more than a hundred years for two reasons, yeah they look cool... but they work!"

Yesss! The first thing I did after I started riding my new 2015 Pedego Interceptor III was scrap its oversized "comfort" saddle and replace it with a properly oiled "B17 Standard" Brooks saddle. The Brooks provides real "comfort" for my 86 year old butt.
 
I also use B17 on some of my bikes and they are the most comfortable saddles. For someone who has not used them and just looks at them on the internet they may appear hard but one just needs to stand next to the saddle put the hand on the saddle and push down to see how much actual flex and springiness is in the Brooks Leather saddle.
 
I had issues with saddle sores for quite a while, and eventually switched from cotton underwear to stretchy synthetic compression shorts, and I've found that I can cycle 100+ miles a week without getting saddle sores, whereas I used to have problems when cycling 50 miles/week. Another thing that helps is applying either chamois or Vaseline petroleum jelly to the groin area before a ride. I've been buying petroleum jelly from the grocery store for $2.00 and I apply a dime-sized amount before riding in the morning and I never get saddle sores anymore.

This is the chamois glide balm that I have (but in general, I use petroleum jelly as it's less expensive), and it's quite good:

http://www.amazon.com/BodyGlide-CG1...oor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1430250444&sr=1-17
 
Got into a long discussion about saddles last night with friends at dinner. An eclectic group of men and women with varying styles of bikes. I often think of this thread and of this article by Sheldon Brown.

One thing is for sure; our opinions are many and varied!
 
All good thoughts to ponder. I replaced the stock saddle on my new Optibike Pioneer Allroad so fast I don't even know what it was.
I had a black Brooks B17 Special waiting and—now that it's had over 900 miles to get accustomed to my butt—we're getting along just great. I just had to snug up the tensioner one-half turn last night, which is a sure sign that the break-in process is well underway.
My old-school Trek 720 had an identical saddle back in the day and it was a dream once I broke it in. I sold that whip a quarter-century ago, but if it's been well-cared for, there's no reason that old Brooks saddle isn't still going strong (nor the Trek for that matter).
I avoided the Spring pain this season by riding the Grey Ghost right through the Winter, whenever conditions allowed. Studded Hakkapelliita's FTW.
A non-biking colleague sneers in derision at the B17 and says I should get one of those nice gel saddles. He's flat wrong,
You get what you pay for and Brooks saddles come pretty dear. But IMHO they are worth every penny.
I've found that dressing the saddle sparingly with Brooks Proofide every couple of months, riding with fenders, and making sure to put the rain cover on in snotty weather keeps this Brooks in fine fettle
WRT penile numbness: "Mr. Happy" still seems as happy as ever.
Allen
 
I'm still in the break-in process for my Brooks B17-S. I've used mink oil in addition to the proofide, trying to soften it.
 
I just purchased a new black B17 Imperial. Looking forward to getting it broken in!

:)
 
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A few weeks ago I bought a "noseless" saddle- the ISM Adamo Breakaway http://www.ismseat.com

Soft tissue pressure has certainly gone. My sit bones have been hurting like a bugger though - apparently that's normal which is a little unfortunate.
 
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