Taint issues - long lasting
 

I'm a guy and had taint pain/issues come up last fall where I had to totally stop riding. It wasn't really pain, just a pretty uncomfortable sensation especially after the ride even for a few days after. I was riding on average a good 10 hours a week for a couple of years (less through the winter). So I gave it a break from riding back in October when all this began and have ridden maybe 5 or so times since then. I visited a local shop back in November (the owner of the shop who helped me is a former pro Czech cyclist) who look at me sitting on my bike and definitely said my seat had been way too high all that time. So we adjusted it down of course. And I did a few rides since then but the issue came back, not as bad as in the fall, but it was there, a bit. The feeling after a ride is like if someone grazed or slightly hit my balls and that feeling lasting a couple of days, slightly. It's super annoying but does go away. Back in the fall, I guess when my saddle was way too high, the issue/pain was much worse, hence why I totally stopped riding for many weeks. I even visited a urologist but all down there was totally fine. Anyway, I'm ready to get back on my bike and hope to ride again, like 10 or more hours a week but I'm honestly afraid. Now I'm thinking it's the size of the saddle (fixing the height may have been the 1st problem). I have a feeling the saddle I'm using may be putting too much pressure on my taint (soft tissue there) as I'm riding all those hours and not on the sit bones enough. Any advice on buying a new saddle and how the sizing works exactly? With the sit bones? We've had ridiculous Covid closures where I am for months and months and the bike fitting guys cant work, so who knows when that'll ever end. But I am really starting to think I have a poorly sized saddle, simply not the size to support my sit bones. Instead, the pressure on those long rides is on my damn taint. Uggg. Sucks having to go through all this. I just wanna ride!! Sorry for the annoying rant...

Sounds like you addressed the height (too high saddles increase saddle pressure). I would try a wider saddle which also tends to decrease pressure - to properly support the backside you want it wider than the sit bones (in your riding position).

I also find it really comfortable to use a short nosed saddle which I angle slightly down and ​​​​lower the front end, but you can go overboard with that and put a bit too much weight on your hands or exceed your flexibility, if you go overboard with it.

Some weeks off may be needed and then taking it easy despite the changes to get everything to heal up properly.

Everything is easier if you're lighter so there's that, too.

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Thanks for the reply and advice. Yah, need to find a new seat. just need help in sizing it properly..

Over time I've used the "trial and error" method, suffering through the "errors" while "trialing" quite a few different saddles.

At least it's not difficult to sell on a nearly-new saddle on eBay.

I've settled on a San Marco Monza "wide" saddle, it measures 145mm - it was an option on a Planet X bike I bought in August, and it worked really well, so I bought a second (for another bike that I've always had saddle issues with). 10mm seems like it'd be a big difference to me, but oddly, the San Marco Concor I have on a third bike is 135mm and feels fine. Go figure.

This might be helpful, the San Marco catalogue defines their "narrow", "wide", "open fit", "full fit", "waved", "flat" etc.

https://issuu.com/bttlobo/docs/catal...san_marco_2019

my saddles of choice
Flite
​
Fizik
​​​#happy taint
others tried = the unhappy taint.pain in the heynanny region is not fun or healthy...

Is your saddle level? Try tilting it down. A lot if necessary.

Helps immensely.

Start off with shorter rides of 1-2 hours. Remember to stand up for 10 seconds every few minutes.

Yah, it's slightly down. Guess I can try and angle it even more but then I do read that can cause issues with weight/pressure on arms/hands..no?

Im confused..so you recommend a saddle called Flight? or also one of the Fizik ones?

It almost sounds like you might have pulled a groin muscle. I did it bad once. Every time I stepped on my right foot, felt like I got kicked in the balls. I was on crutches for two weeks, and it took another 6 to 8 weeks to really heal.

You might want to look into getting a proper bike fit, from someone who specializes in it - not just the shop owner. There are a few good ones and a whole lot of mediocre ones. So you might want to ask around to find a good one. Depending on where you live, I might know someone.

yes.
both fit my buttocks well.
expensive but a healthy taint = priceless

It's "Flite" and it's the name of a series of saddles from Selle Italia. Lots of different saddles named Flite.
It doesn't matter what anyone else uses. Nothing on a bike is more personal than the seat. What works for me might not work for you, no matter how much it costs.

I have found that a saddle might feel good when you first sit on it but after a few hours on the road it's miserable. It's trial and error.

Have you tried a saddle with a cut-out? They are made to relieve pressure there.

Our collection of bike saddles | Selle Italia

How much to you accept the correct riding position on your road bike? If you are one of those that like to sit up, then you will probably always have an issue unless you make the leap to recumbents. On a road bike you can get a wider comfortable saddle for sitting upright, but you likely won't be comfortable on it for anything but short rides.

You bones narrow up as you roll your pelvis forward. This helps give you support on a correctly fitted road bike saddle so you don't entirely smash those soft tissues of your taint. If you aren't allowing your pelvis to roll forward when you get aero, then you aren't taking advantage of your own body's design that the saddle maker is counting on.

Not sure about what you described and how your testicles fit into the problem. They should be out of the way unless you have them so smashed in way too tight shorts that they can't move out of the way.

Not if your reach is set up well.

Try an SMP saddle. Read how to select the right width at their website. Standard or thicker padding, no minimal padding model.

I use the stratos.

I love this saddle...
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8836d1538.jpeg
ISM Adamo road saddle

Oh... and it’s your perineum.

I like my San Marcos Apside with the cutouts. I used to have some pain there. Not anymore.

I got a phony one of AliExpress to make sure I liked them and it’s a damn good copy of the genuine ones I got later. I kept the cheap one on my rain bike and it’s held up. Mostly. 25$ can’t complain

I had a similar issue and tilting the nose slightly down (and I mean ever so slightly) fixed the problem. If you're already slightly nose down then the source of your discomfort could be saddle shape and/or width.

Trying multiple saddles in search of one that works can be an expensive proposition, especially if you don't know your sit bone width. I'd recommend that you first measure your sit bones and then look at saddles that are designed for your preferred riding position (i.e. aggressive racing position, relaxed cruising or commute position or somewhere in between). For any given sit bone width the width of the saddle will increase as your position becomes more upright/relaxed and will decrease as your position becomes more agressive.

For example, my sit bone width is roughly 10.5 cm. On a road bike (more aggressive riding position) I fit comfortably on a 142mm saddle, on a touring bike I ride a 156mm saddle, and on a cruiser (very relaxed/upright position) I can be happy anywhere between 180mm and 210mm.

As much fun as the hairy taint talk is ... know that a lot of bike shops and companies have generous saddle trial and return policies because this is so personal. I could tell you what saddle I think is comfortable but unless you're going to use my ass when you ride it it doesn't matter to you what I think is great. Go out and try as many as you can get your sweaty butt cheeks on. When you find the right one, ride it like you stole it.

And consider buying several, if you might get more bikes. Your favorite saddle might be discontinued, and you'll be stuck going through the process all over again.

Thx for all the replies and info here!

I'm leaning towards buying the Fizik Tempo Argo R3 or R5 online. Where I am, covid has kept things closed for months and months and probably will be closed for many more months, so I have no way to visit a shop and speak to a specialist or someone to help me.

So I had some similar issues as well. Not as much pain, but more of a discomfort and numbing sensation down in the perineum region through the balls and the back of hamstring area connecting to the butt. So I tried this saddle, Pro Stealth LTD (142mm). Its on Amazon with free returns, so I had nothing to lose. Its got a shorter nose and a wider contact area in the back. So far, a much improved feel over my last saddle, which was like a generic Specialized saddle so not much to compare to, but definitely made a difference. After reading some of these replies, I am going to experiment with tilting the saddle more forward as well. It just feels like the right move intuitively.