Thread: Saddle Tweaks
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Old 08-29-18, 04:10 PM
  #4  
philbob57
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Location: Chicago North Shore
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Bikes: frankenbike based on MKM frame

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There are a number of manufacturers that address perineal numbness. Websites include: ismseat.com, sellesmp.com, kontactbike.com, rido-cyclesaddles.com/, Cobb saddles, and a few noseless saddle makers. (Just search for noseless bike saddles; I've never considered them because the nose is useful for controlling a bike.)

First I went through my 30 year old Avocet Touring, then a Specialized Toupe, a Fizik Aliante, and finally a Brooks B17 Imperial. without solving the numbness. The Brooks was the best, but I couldn't go more than 15 miles without getting numb.

I've used an ISM and a Selle SMP. The ISM did not work for me; it forced too much weight onto too small a portion of my pubic rami, which hurt a LOT, but ISM has a following. My next experiment was a bargain-priced Selle SMP TRK. Even with lots of padding in the saddle, it solved my perineal numbness problem - 2000 miles in mainly 20-30 mile chunks and hours on a trainer with no problem. That's good enough for me.

A lot of people like Selle Anatomica. I stayed away, because when I needed a seat, their heaviest duty one had a 450 lb. weight limit. I was about half that, but sometimes I hit a pothole or RR track or the like pretty hard, and I was afraid the force would exceed the weight limit.

The Selle SMP patent application is pretty interesting - one of the figures says it all. Unfortunately, I can't find it in the time I can devote to the search. Basically, the cutout reduces pressure on the nerve and blood vessels, and the 'eagle beak' of the saddle allows the soft bits trglide along with no pressure on them at all, except from whatever the rider wears for modesty....
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