[jacksonpt]

OK... serious post time...

I've been off my bike for about 6 weeks due to numbness (my penis goes numb after about 45 minutes). This is only on my hardtail, which I only use for road riding, so I'm ALWAYS in the saddle.

Is there an easy to to tell if it's the saddle or the way the bike fits? Before I got my yeti, I used to ride the HT on the trails with no problem... but when on the trail, I'm in and out of the saddle all the time. On the road, I never leave the saddle.

I don't mind buying a new saddle, especially if it will fix the problem. However, I don't want to drop $75 - $100 on a saddle if the bike just doesn't fit me. The bike is a large (not sure the measurements off the top of my head), which is usually a little stretched out for me... however I have not other discomfort when riding... aside from the numbness, the bike feels great.

Any thoughts?

 

[douglas]

cool, DHgirlie was saying yesterday she wished there was a thread about penis's

 

[andym]

I was having some discomfort on long trips in the saddle. I moved my saddle forward 5mm and fixed the problem. Of course a good saddle always helps.

 

[llkoolkeg]

cool, DHgirlie was saying yesterday she wished there was a thread about penis's

Yeah, but his is going to develop necrosis, shrivel up and fall off like a dog's bobbed tail!

 

[DRB]

Is your saddle level? If so maybe drop the nose a bit.

 

[LordOpie]

what saddle and shorts are you wearing?

I've found that too much padding is typically the problem that causes numbness. At least that was my problem. I now wear bibs that have very little padding -- just enough to help the chamois work -- and a saddle with a split center and less padding. I'm now using a saddle that has no padding at all and numbness isn't an issue.

Also, shifting around in and getting out of the saddle periodically certainly help.

 

[MMcG]

what is your current saddle Jackson?

 

[jacksonpt]

I've tried the old SDG saddle that came with the bike and the Selle Italia Flite from my Yeti - no difference either way. To this point, all my riding has been winter riding, so I wear EMS brand shorts (just spandex and chamois), thermal underwear, and EMS tights - no padding.

 

[jacksonpt]

Is your saddle level? If so maybe drop the nose a bit.

for the most part... the nose is very slightly lower... but it's basically level. I'll try dropping it a bit more... put more weight on my tailbone and the back of the saddle.

 

[LordOpie]

is your saddle much higher than the handlebars? If you're leaning over a good deal, maybe that's part of the problem?

 

[jacksonpt]

is your saddle much higher than the handlebars? If you're leaning over a good deal, maybe that's part of the problem?

About the same height. But as I said... the bike is a large, which is generally to big for me... so I am stretched out more on this bike than on my other bikes. However, the numbness is the only discomfort I feel. I assume that the more stretched out I am the more pressure there is on my groin (rather than my butt/tailbone)... is that correct? I wonder if I swapped in a shorter stem...

 

[LordOpie]

Before you buy anything, what about moving the saddle forward? That'll put more weight on your hands, so be wary of that. Also, KOPS (knee of pedal) is a good general guideline, so where are your knees in relationship to the pedal? If they're already in front, well, that's an issue.

Of course, you know the right answer... buy a roadie

 

[jacksonpt]

lol... as you know from my posts in the roadie forum... a road bike is *hopefully* in the near future.

I'll check the knee/pedal thing when I get home. Any other tips like that that I can check would be great.

 

[caputo1989]

Try a shorter stem to shorten the reach. Aso try a split saddle with minimal pading. (somthing like the SLR saddle. Just cheaper)

 

[Ciaran]

This was happening to me as well for a bit. I played around with the angle of the saddle and it went away.