Honest Medical Question

All about body geometry saddles from Specialized. Go to www.specialized.com and have a look. From my experience they are much more comfortable than normal saddles.

Occasional Cycl said:

I couldn't seem to find a newbie or medical concern forum, so I'm posting here.

Also, let me preface by saying that I don't mean to be funny or inflammatory and that this is a genuine question.

Do any men have the same trouble with Bike seats that I do? The front portion doesn't seem to give any room for my testicles to sit, and usually end up either putting them to one side or sort hanging over the front of the seat. Neither are ideal solutions and any time I hit a bump the seat jolts and hurts me. I would rather they made seats without that cumbersome middle part, as I don't really sit on that part and it only gets in the way. Am I built funny? Am I simply sitting on the seat wrong? I only started biking around town last summer, and I can't for the life of me figure out why a culture historically dominated by men would build bicycle seats the way they do.

Many thanks.

The horn of the saddle is necessary to keep your bodyweight firmly centered on the bike when you're cornering or riding on bumpy roads. Without something for your thighs to grab, you can easily lose connection with the bike on a bumpy road at speed. If this occurs, handling and control of the bike is compromised. There actually have been saddles made without any horn, ie, a semi-circle shape. But in the several reviews I've seen of these, they are judged unsafe for road riding.

Proper position on the bike and adjustment of the saddle is important to avoiding the issue you have. With correct positioning and fitting, your weight will be on your sitzbones, which contact the wide rear part of the saddle, not on your soft parts.

Could also be the saddle you have is too narrow, flimsy or broken down from age to support you properly. A 140 lb, 5'6" guy can be OK with a skinny racing saddle, but a 6', 180 lb rider needs something a bit bigger and stronger.

Your problem shouldn't be that hard to solve. If you have an LBS or experienced cyclist you trust, suggest you have them take a look at your position on the bike and your saddle and make some recommendations.

there is an impotence specialist doctor who says that the only "safe" bike saddle would be shaped like a toilet seat.

seriously - you say you're new - it takes time to get used to it - your skin will toughen up.

something to be concerned about is if your....errr...."old chap" goes numb. your body weight should mainly be supported on the seat bones, not on the soft flesh of your perineum. If you rest on this the blood supply to the "old chap" is cut off. if you're riding long hours this tends to happen anyway, so stand up on the pedals intermittently.

your testicles should go where they go.....I wouldn't hang them off the front though.

Occasional Cycl said:

I couldn't seem to find a newbie or medical concern forum, so I'm posting here.

Also, let me preface by saying that I don't mean to be funny or inflammatory and that this is a genuine question.

Do any men have the same trouble with Bike seats that I do? The front portion doesn't seem to give any room for my testicles to sit, and usually end up either putting them to one side or sort hanging over the front of the seat. Neither are ideal solutions and any time I hit a bump the seat jolts and hurts me. I would rather they made seats without that cumbersome middle part, as I don't really sit on that part and it only gets in the way. Am I built funny? Am I simply sitting on the seat wrong? I only started biking around town last summer, and I can't for the life of me figure out why a culture historically dominated by men would build bicycle seats the way they do.

Many thanks.

You do you use cyclingshorts?

Must--------- Resist---------

Nicolai Foss said:

You do you use cyclingshorts?

Good question because I lift my balls up a little inside my cycling shorts to avoid them getting trapped before I get on the bike. Without the cycling shorts I think they would just hang down and get in the way.
😄