Originally Posted by
50PlusCycling
I've been riding for a long time, I completed my first century at 13, competed in races in America and Europe, and have experienced every discomfort possible on a bike. I've broken bones in crashes, have a few scars from road rash, been hit by cars three times, and have been stitched up as much as a baseball mitt. I've worked in a bike shop, and fitted many a rider. There isn't much about bicycles and cycling that I don't know.
You simply do not get on a bike and go for a long ride without getting accustomed to it. You cannot judge what will make you sore or numb without a fair amount of saddle time, and it's best to track down fit problems early. I haven't been on my bike for a couple of months now due to work, travel, weather, and the holidays. But if I go out tomorrow for a 100km ride, it doesn't matter what saddle, shorts, or bike I am riding, I am going to get sore as hell, and probably numb as well. Numbness can be caused by pressure, but it can also be caused by having blood circulation cut off to a nerve. Blood circulation to the perineum improves over time as you ride, just as circulation improves to your legs and lungs. It takes time.
Numbness usually happens early in any ride, and if it happens, you need to address it's cause. The easiest thing to do is "adjust" things in your shorts a little, and often this helps. The next thing is to adjust your position in the saddle until you get into the "sweet spot." I hate having to stop on rides, because once I get going again, it takes a little time to get everything in the proper position again. But inexperienced riders often don't consider such things, they simply sit on the bike and start riding, and when numbness or pain occurs, the first thing they blame it on is their seat and/or shorts.
Believe me, it took several years before I fully understood how to properly set up a bike, and to find my most comfortable position.
You should read this article:
Erectile Dysfunction and Bicycling » Sexual Medicine » BUMC
Numbness is additive because every time you get numb, you've caused damage. Numb is something one never wants to experience. The more you ride numb, the closer you get to ED. That's a fact. You can dispute that, and go ahead. But please, please, do not imply that a little numbess is OK. Numbness is never OK. Other riders are not you. The existence of threads like this, and your statements about inexperienced riders make that case.
It's certainly true that each rider must get a good fit to be really comfortable, though I believe that's not as important as many people think, judging by what I see on double centuries, and on my own experience. I believe being fit is more important than bike fit. I can ride a century on any bike where I can reach the pedals. Heck, PBP's been done on SS comfort bikes.
That said, the only way to judge if a saddle is going to work on long rides is to do a century on one. They all mostly feel OK until after the 3rd hour. I always do a century ride on a new saddle, right out of the box. How else will I know whether it'll work for me or not? And doing that, sometimes I get sore and sometimes I have to stand a lot. Has to be done, though. And that said, of course the article I posted shows that this level of devotion to bike and saddle fit isn't necessary for the vast majority of riders who ride 2-3 hours a week. However posters on this forum are more likely to want to ride longer distances, hence my concern for their sexual health.
If I go out for a century tomorrow, I will experience no butt pain, and no numbness. Why? Because not only is my fit correct, my saddle is perfectly suited to the shape of my undercarriage. That latter is actually more important than exact fit. I don't have two bikes which fit exactly the same, yet I have the same experience of no pain on all of them because they all have the same saddle. Yeah, I ride a lot. I tell folks that sex after a long bike ride is a good check on your health.
Many years ago, I did a 150+ mile ride, after which I couldn't do it for 3 days. My wife told me that will never happen again. I took her at her word, went through about 20 saddles over the next few years, and it never happened again. I finally gave those saddles to a charity bike shop. I've ridden several 400k day rides, many double centuries, and many 100+ mile mountain rides without butt pain or numbness. The saddle just disappears if it's the right saddle and you ride a lot. Good shorts help, too. Leg pain is still a feature.
We should all thank Ed Pavelka, who bravely brought this issue to the attention of cyclists in 1997.