Major seat/prostate/? problems

Numbness isn't good. At your size and weight, you need a seat that's wide enough and strong enough to support your sitz bones without compressing the soft tissue. The italian seats I've used are likely all too narrow for your frame. A gel split seat may not be what you need either, since it may be closing up or sagging under your weight.

Specialized has a new line of seats which come in specific widths, or you could try a Brooks B17...they are about 6.5" wide I believe.

If you have some degree of prostate enlargement, could be all seats are going to be uncomfortable. A recumbent would be a good option in that case. Good luck.

Have you seen these Saddles? It looks like there's also a lot of good info there....
http://mcmwin.com/cycling%20shop.htm

Do you know for a fact that you have prostate enlargement? If not, I think you should see a urologist, if only to stop worrying...

Good point about seeing a doctor. My regular doctor does the check for prostate enlargement; it's part of the standard physical for us old guys. When he puts on the rubber glove and starts making lame jokes, I know it's time to bend over...

On the question of underwear or a supporter, neither should be worn under bike shorts. The supporter isn't needed if your lycra shorts fit well; everything should stay in place just fine once adjusted.

I'm not sure is this applies to you, but:

I think I had some prostate enlargement a few years ago, but I was only about 32, so my doctor thought I was a nut, and just told me to eat some soy and tomato, and take some prostate supplements (seranoa serrulata, a.k.a. saw palmetto) -- drinking a little soy milk every day in my tea has helped more than anything.

I didn't have any numbness or erectile problems, but I had some slight pain and discomfort when riding, right in the prostate area -- it felt like I was sitting on knife's edge. In my desperation, I tilted the seat way forward for a while, but this was obviously very uncomfortable having a tonne of weight on my hands, so i tried a couple of anatomical saddles, which were only a little better, and "trying" different types of saddles was very expensive.

One guy in a bike shop said that when anatomical seats first appeared in magazines, he was so curious, he cut out a hole in one of his old saddles just to see what it was like. This gave me the idea, so I bought a heap of old, 2nd hand saddles from 2nd hand shops, and experimented. I found that some older Selle Turbo Gel (vinyl cover) models were comfortable when I cut a hole out of the under side of the saddle, about 1.5" wide, and about 5 inches long.

I think the trick is to get the pressure off the middle of the crotch, and further out to the "ass bones". Someone suggested I try a women's racing saddle, because they are slightly wider across the middle/crotch area

good luck

Try to check the saddle tilt. Make sure its 0 degrees and try to experiment if you want it tilted up or down. If not, try a saddle for women. Some male cyclist I know swear by it that it works and alleviates the pain. Nothing to lose and everything to gain if you try it. Good luck!

I get numbness, my views on it are:

1) You are likely to have issues if you are carrying alot of upper body weight. I am 6' 4'' and 210lbs. Lighter riders won't have much of an issue. I would say that it is your weight that is causing the problem, not prostate issues.

2) Most saddles are too narrow for big men. My sit bones are quite wide, and most saddles cut stright up between the sit bones and squash the soft tissue, cutting blood supply. As noted above, try a wider saddle.

3) Don't be fooled by squashy saddles. You weigh enough to squash the soft material down pretty completely, so shape is much more important. When you are heavier, a harder saddle may be better because it won't squash up between the sit bones.

4) Handle height is a big issue too. The lower the bars the more you lean forward and more pressure you put on the soft tissues. Try raising them.

In spite of the above, I am still experimenting as I still have issues with this. Bottom line is I need to lose about 15-20 lbs to be comfortable.

g00dd0ggy said:

1) You are likely to have issues if you are carrying alot of upper body weight. I am 6' 4'' and 210lbs. Lighter riders won't have much of an issue. I would say that it is your weight that is causing the problem, not prostate issues.

2) Most saddles are too narrow for big men. My sit bones are quite wide, and most saddles cut stright up between the sit bones and squash the soft tissue, cutting blood supply. As noted above, try a wider saddle.

I agree. Many people don't realize that when we get fat, we get get fat everywhere, including that whole inner-thigh/crotch region. So, having extra fat down there increases pressure and discomfort.

I didn't get saddle sores for ten years, gained 20 pounds, then was getting them all the time.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I am, or was, just about at the give-it-up point. I don't have all the time in the world to mess with this anyway. But I think the best suggestions are the wider seat and lose a little (more) weight. As to the guy who is 6'4" and 210 and said they needed to lose more, I'm not so sure - my nephew is 6'4" and maybe 205 or so, and he has little or no problems in this area. When I find the time, I'm going to try a stiff n' wide seat, maybe one of the new Specialized ones, as someone suggested.

Thanks again, and LiveStrong. (7-yr. cancer survivor myself, but I'm rooting for all of us).

codjh9,

I won't laugh if you won't. Are you having trouble going.....#2? I was having the same problem until did something very simple. I moved my butt back on my saddle. No kidding, that's all I did, I slid back so that my sit-bones were further back. I believe that relieved the pressure on my prostate/schmecky area. I was really worried for awhile. I feel better now. Let me know if it works for you.

Good luck to you, my friend. Live Long and LiveStrong.

I got really bad problems with this, to the extent that I would go completely, and I mean completely, numb. I ended up just not wanting to go anywhere near my bike.
I started by replacing my saddle with a cut out one which helped make the numbness less extreme. I then realised that the problem was that the bike was too big and I was reaching too much for the bars and therefore leaning forward onto my perinuem too much. I was also getting shoulder and hand pain from having to shift too much of my wieght forward. I experimented with a shorter stem until finally biting the bullet and selling the bike to buy a smaller one.
The change was enormous and restored my enjoyment of cycling, however towards the end of long rides I would still get some shoulder and crotch pain (but nothing like before). After reading Sheldon Brown's excellent articles on pain (http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html) I realised that I had to make some simple changes (I raised my bars so that there's about only a half inch drop from the saddle) and also some more difficult changes. These involved my posture on the bike. I realised that I was keeping my back too straight and that as I tired during a spin my whole upper body would sag forwards and the pain would return.
So, I've concentrated on bending my back more and making the front of my shoulders take more load. This tilts my rear end back onto the sit bones and keeps the pressure off my wrists and hands....basically a proper cycling posture.
Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post, but I would highly recommend Sheldon Brown's articles on this subject.
Good luck!

tanggoman said:

Try to check the saddle tilt. Make sure its 0 degrees and try to experiment if you want it tilted up or down. If not, try a saddle for women. Some male cyclist I know swear by it that it works and alleviates the pain. Nothing to lose and everything to gain if you try it. Good luck!

You could also try either / both lowering the saddle or moving it a bit closer to the bars or try raising the handlebars a bit - but one step at a time or you don´t know what worked , try it then go back and try something different then start mixing if one does work .

ps if your worried it won´t hurt to see the doc - welll yes it will ´cause it´s so embarassing - it will set your mind at rest and prove that it´s how you relate to the bike not a medical thing .
I´m 49 and use a selle italia flite max trans am gel flow ( boy these Italians can think up catchy names can´t they ) and even after almost 8 months off the bike ( ankle ligaments ) it´s even comfy on the cycle trainer - that´s 20 - 30 minutes at a time .
good luck

I honestly don't feel that weight has anything to do with it--its being in the right position, perched on top of the right saddle that makes all the difference (saddle choice, in the end, will take weight into account slightly though). If you choose the right saddle, its the right saddle that fits your butt, pretty much regarless of size (your sit bones aren't going anywhere, right??). I weigh about 240 at 5'10" (yeah, I know, I'm trying to lose some), and have never encountered any of these issues. I have used Selle Italia Flites for years, then tried the "cookie cutter" Flite model, which I quickly disposed of, and am now riding a Fizik Arione. The saddle you choose as well as fit to your bike will make the most difference.

On the weight thing, it is an issue, although I think you can work around it.

I have to say that last week I used a very hard, old saddle (no cut outs, very basic, virtually no padding either) and although it hurt my backside, I got no numbness at all in a two hour ride.

I will stick with it, because I will get used to the hardness whereas the numbness is a major worry.

Specialized body geometry saddles are medically "proven" to help with this sort of problem.

Eldrack said:

Specialized body geometry saddles are medically "proven" to help with this sort of problem.

Yes , but with the top of the line model our treasurer fitted one to an old steel framed bike and the aluminium chassis of this saddle gave him lumbage due to road shock .

If you are experiencing numbness and you have aero bars on your bike, get rid of them. I was having a similar problem a few years ago. I went to see my doctor who also rides a road bike. He told me to get rid of the aero bars.

3 week later I was fine.