Numbnss

cuculainn

Ok Guys, this is a serious question.


i do a fair bit of cycling.....but not crazy long distances. 40 - 80km

but I suffer from numbness in my man bits.....to such an extent that I think I could get a kick there and not know!!

I have adjusted the set up (saddle height, saddle position, etc) but in general I have a set up that I am comfortable with.

At this stage I just spend time out of saddle to get circulation going.....


Is this a common thing? is it something you just put up with? is there long term implications? could something fall off over a very long cycle?


The only thing I have left to try is a new saddle, but not sure that will do any good

fat bloke

Well, when it starts to affect your typing, you really need to get it looked at

doozerie

Take saddle width into consideration too. A saddle that is too narrow could be the cause of your problems, it certainly contributed to issues I experienced for a while. I now use a saddle which is 143m wide, standard saddle width is 134mm. I’m skinny incidentally, the width of the saddle relates to the width of your sit bones on the bike which is not necessarily directly related to your bulk, so you might be assuming your saddle is a suitable width based on the wrong rough measure.

There are means of measuring what width of saddle is suited to you, Specialized have a measuring system for this which should be available to use in any bike shop which sells Specialized saddles. You can measure it yourself at home too, there are a few historical threads on here which talk about how to do this.

As to whether numbness is a source of concern, the answer is yes. Treat it seriously, don’t just live with it, it may not cause you problems longer term, but it just might too so don’t take the risk. If you can’t resolve it yourself then get a professional bike fit done by someone reputable, it will have been worth the cost if it sorts this out for you. And don’t rule out a conversation with your GP either, if there is a medical factor involved here they may be able to identify it.

quozl

Don't ignore it, it can cause serious long term consequences.

I had to swap from a Fizik Arione saddle to a Specialized Romin Evo which has a channel down the middle to relieve pressure. That solved the problem immediately. I also have a Specialized Toupe Pro which also has the channel and also resolves the problem

Some people don't have any trouble with saddles without a channel down the middle. Saddle fit is very individual.

cuculainn

fat bloke wrote: »

Well, when it starts to affect your typing, you really need to get it looked at

I dont even use that appendage for typing so the condition must be spreading:eek:

cuculainn

doozerie wrote: »

Take saddle width into consideration too. A saddle that is too narrow could be the cause of your problems, it certainly contributed to issues I experienced for a while. I now use a saddle which is 143m wide, standard saddle width is 134mm. I’m skinny incidentally, the width of the saddle relates to the width of your sit bones on the bike which is not necessarily directly related to your bulk, so you might be assuming your saddle is a suitable width based on the wrong rough measure.

There are means of measuring what width of saddle is suited to you, Specialized have a measuring system for this which should be available to use in any bike shop which sells Specialized saddles. You can measure it yourself at home too, there are a few historical threads on here which talk about how to do this.

As to whether numbness is a source of concern, the answer is yes. Treat it seriously, don’t just live with it, it may not cause you problems longer term, but it just might too so don’t take the risk. If you can’t resolve it yourself then get a professional bike fit done by someone reputable, it will have been worth the cost if it sorts this out for you. And don’t rule out a conversation with your GP either, if there is a medical factor involved here they may be able to identify it.

interesting I always heard the thinner the saddle the less numbness...I am pretty skinny and light, about 70kg so maybe I dont have enough padding.

My latest adjustment really focused on getting those sitting bones on the saddle to take the weight. I definitely feel they are taking some but maybe not enough, or maybe I need to tilt saddle forward, but when I do that I slip forward and sitting bones are not taking weight.

Its finding someone reputable for the fit that is the problem, but would definitely be worth the money

cuculainn

quozl wrote: »

Don't ignore it, it can cause serious long term consequences.

I had to swap from a Fizik Arione saddle to a Specialized Romin Evo which has a channel down the middle to relieve pressure. That solved the problem immediately. I also have a Specialized Toupe Pro which also has the channel and also resolves the problem

Some people don't have any trouble with saddles without a channel down the middle. Saddle fit is very individual.

Do shops let you try out saddles or is it trial and error?

quozl

Cycleways on Parnell street let you try it out and return it if it doesn't suit, but you need to keep it in immaculate condition to return it and you want to be on a saddle for a good while before you really know how it suits you IMO. So it's kind of awkward.

Best bet is second hand saddles from the adverts forum here or getting lucky and finding someone who will loan you one.

Get In There

cuculainn wrote: »

Ok Guys, this is a serious question.


i do a fair bit of cycling.....but not crazy long distances. 40 - 80km

but I suffer from numbness in my man bits.....to such an extent that I think I could get a kick there and not know!!

I have adjusted the set up (saddle height, saddle position, etc) but in general I have a set up that I am comfortable with.

At this stage I just spend time out of saddle to get circulation going.....


Is this a common thing? is it something you just put up with? is there long term implications? could something fall off over a very long cycle?


The only thing I have left to try is a new saddle, but not sure that will do any good

If you're able to meet me in Dublin city centre or Finglas, I can give you a used specialized saddle which I bought as a spare but have never used myself. You can try it out and if you want to keep it, I won't take any money for it. A donation to the dogs trust will do me.

cuculainn

Get In There wrote: »

If you're able to meet me in Dublin city centre or Finglas, I can give you a used specialized saddle which I bought as a spare but have never used myself. You can try it out and if you want to keep it, I won't take any money for it. A donation to the dogs trust will do me.

Thats very decent of you...unfortunately I am in the West...was there a specific reason you picked that saddle? Do you find it good?

Get In There

cuculainn wrote: »

Thats very decent of you...unfortunately I am in the West...was there a specific reason you picked that saddle? Do you find it good?

I had ordered a cheap saddle from chain reactions and found the relative lack of padding (compared to the previous saddle) difficult to get used to so I spotted the specialized saddle on cycling adverts and bought it but in that time I had sort of gotten used to the cheap saddle and decided to leave it on and now i'm grand on it. Can't comment on the specialized saddle because as I said i've never used it.

I hope you'll be able to get yourself sorted with a saddle that you're comfortable with. Good luck.

NeedMoreGears

FWIW I began to get some numbness having had no problems before. It turned out the saddle had slipped backways out of position. Once I restored it back to where it should have been all was ok. 'hope this helps.

bogmanfan

I had trouble with the stock saddle on my Trek. Changed it after 2 weeks to a Specialized Romin Evo (with cut-out in the middle) and have never had any numbness since.

doozerie

cuculainn wrote:

interesting I always heard the thinner the saddle the less numbness...I am pretty skinny and light, about 70kg so maybe I dont have enough padding.

My latest adjustment really focused on getting those sitting bones on the saddle to take the weight. I definitely feel they are taking some but maybe not enough, or maybe I need to tilt saddle forward, but when I do that I slip forward and sitting bones are not taking weight.

Its finding someone reputable for the fit that is the problem, but would definitely be worth the money

Padding is a bit of a minefield, it can cause more problems than it solves as you settle into a “groove” in it and the padding causes pressure elsewhere. It seems to work for some people, but not all, and at the other end of the scale there are some that believe that absolutely no padding is what is needed.

Tilting the saddle is another contentious area, again it seems to work for some and some warn against it. Personally, I wouldn’t tilt it. And what counts as a tilt for one saddle doesn’t for another either - for example, some saddles are meant to be level along their entire length, others are meant to be level only along the middle third so that the front (third) of the saddle drops down a little and the back (third) rises up. I have a Prologo saddle that falls into the former category, as do Fizik saddles, the Specialized saddles fall into the latter category.

Re sit bones, they narrow as you bend further over, so you might find that if you are in the aero position with your hands in your handlebar drops your sit bones might be resting correctly on the sides of your saddle, but if you sit up a little your sit bones widen and might not be supported adequately by the saddle any longer. Systems for measuring saddle width usually get you to sit in the position you’d adopt with your hands on the hoods, and measure your sit bones in that pose.

There are a few past threads that discuss professional bike fit and include recommendations for various people. If you decide to go that route they may be worth a look. In the meantime, there are various online fit guides that might be useful, bear in mind though that the concept of “proper” fit varies quite a bit. there are some rules of thumb that are useful and some that have become very controversial (for example, the idea that your leading knee should be directly over the pedal spindle in the 3 o’clock position, aka KOPS, was advocated for years but has been vigorously challenged and derided by some notable people for quite a while now).

Some links that might be useful:
* Boards.ie thread on Specialized saddle measuring system
* Peter White Cycle fit guide
* Competitive Cyclist fit calculator
* Gary Klein debunking some myths about bike fit
* Tri bike fit - lots of tri-specific info but some more generally useful info in there too

Jabel

Hi OP, for what it's worth I had a similar problem almost immediately after I got my new bike.
The saddle that came with my bike was a Selle Italia X1 but a Boardsie on here 'diomed' gave me
a Selle SMP (different company I think) saddle to try out and it worked for me, they have an unusual
shape that droop at the front with a cut out.
I'd recommend you try a new or secondhand saddle with a cut out.
For the record, Cycleways will let you return/change a saddle but you have to buy it first.

Cheers J

mamax

+1 on the selle smp, it's been years since I've had a saddle that fits as good
I use the selle smp extra, check out this video http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5yXtohThTrU

SMacX

Anyone whose been around a bit may remember the Sean Kelly story about having his saddle dead level.

The story goes he went to his LBS in Carrick-on-Suir to pick up his bike after the saddle was fitted.

He asked, "Is it level?". A level was duly produced and popped on the back and nose of the saddle and boom, it was level.

Then the bold Kelly asked "Is the floor level?". It wasn't and the couple of degrees it was out would have caused him problems.

Check that you saddle is level from Nose to Back. Doesn't matter of there is a dip or a channel, level it out.

If it wasn't level, you may have to adjust the height and forward/back position.

Once you do that, level it again. Small increments...

Now the triathletes and time triallists among us may have apocryphal stories that having the saddle nose down improves your power etc but I prefer to keep my original ligaments, tendons and knee caps thank you very much

cuculainn

SMacX wrote: »

"Is the floor level?". It wasn't and the couple of degrees it was out would have caused him problems.

Check that you saddle is level from Nose to Back. Doesn't matter of there is a dip or a channel, level it out.

If it wasn't level, you may have to adjust the height and forward/back position.

Once you do that, level it again. Small increments...

sorry, but I dont fully understand. Whats the difference between level and floor level..?

if you put a level length ways on the saddle it will either be level or not surely?.

SMacX

cuculainn wrote: »

sorry, but I dont fully understand. Whats the difference between level and floor level..?

if you put a level length ways on the saddle it will either be level or not surely?.

If the bike is not level the seat won't be level. *simples*

cuculainn

SMacX wrote: »

If the bike is not level the seat won't be level. *simples*

Oh, ok..,,, thought it was a bit more complicated than that.......I would be pissed if someone levelled the saddle when the bike was not on level ground!,,

Cee-Jay-Cee

Another thing to take into consideration is your shorts. I found that shorts which were slightly too big on me moved about and bunched a bit in the perenial area which put pressure on it and caused numbness. All my shorts now are a tight but comfortable fit and so there is no movement of the padding or material and i no longer suffer from numbness (which I did originally and ended up changing my saddle 4 times thinking it was the problem, it was only when I bought bib shorts which fitted me properly that it stopped.)

BTW I've a Prologo Kappa PAS (with cut out) which probably helps too...and the saddle is set dead level.

cuculainn

Ok, just an update.....I checked the saddle and it was not dead level, the nose was tilted down slightly.....leveled it up and it made no difference whatsoever
Gonna keep an eye out for a second hand saddle and if that fails its a bike fit

doozerie

A level saddle is not the right choice for all saddles, with some saddles it'll make things worse. Specialised Romin saddles (and perhaps other Specialised saddles), for example, should have the front dipping down, the back rising up, and only the middle third level.

cuculainn

doozerie wrote: »

A level saddle is not the right choice for all saddles, with some saddles it'll make things worse. Specialised Romin saddles (and perhaps other Specialised saddles), for example, should have the front dipping down, the back rising up, and only the middle third level.

Thanks for the info...my saddle is totally flat along the length so it is either level or not....if you get what I'm saying....

Esroh

cuculainn wrote: »

Thanks for the info...my saddle is totally flat along the length so it is either level or not....if you get what I'm saying....

Where in the west are you. Pretty sure Marrey's in Ballinrobe or Nigels in Galway have Fizik saddles that you can use for a Trial basis. May have other makes.

cuculainn

Another update.....I moved the saddle forward about 3mm...this was the most i was willing to go because I know moving any further will mess up where my centre of gravity is and throw my weight onto my hands (dont like tingly hands either!!)

This made a small improvement but nothing major.........So I have bought a selle italia max flite saddle.....It has a cut out so heres hoping


I''ll update when I try it

cuculainn

Just getting round to giving an update on this. Bought a selle italia max. It was a more comfortable saddle but no major improvementbon numbness,
my final tweek has been to change the amount of setback on the seatpost. The reason this came about is because I am always sitting on nose of saddle and recently always putting the saddle 100% forward. So I got a zero setback post and after a bit of adjustment I think I nailed it. My sit bones seem to be engaging and supporting me and numbness is almost gone. I also seem to be more over the peddles and getting more power out (perceived)

I do feel a little bit forward over the bars, but hasnt impacted on climbing


judt said I would give an update


thanks for all the help im gonna tty to give this setup some time and see how it goes

Qualitymark

Google brings a couple of suggestions:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=84072
http://www.bicycling.com/maintenance/bike-fit/ditch-tingles
http://www.johnpolson.com.au/2011/11/05/something-every-male-cyclist-should-read/
http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/stop-numbness-cycling-4628.html