xuv500

Recently I had a 600 KM brevet ride and since then I had pins and needles in the reproductive organ. Before that I did not have this much pain. Little bit of pain in my 300 KM ride, but recovered very fast in couple days. The only change I did between these rides is increased my seat height marginally to reduce knee pain in my right knee and now I do not get any pain in long distance ride. (The 600 was superb. No pain at all) But I am still having pins and needles in groin area occasionally from my 600 ride. ( 15 days back)


Day before I did a 150 KM ride and made a conscious effort to seat on the sit bones always and stood up every few KM. That ride was good and did not add to the pain.

My current set up is Saddle and handlebar are level.

Now I am considering to remove some spacers and get a more aggressive position. My question is doing this will I be putting more pressure on soft tissues?

Will tilting saddle down help? I was thinking before that 150 but did not do it. Don’t want to take chances.

( We do not have master fitters, so everything is mostly web learning and trial and error.)


Appreciate your help.

Carbonfiberboy 

Whatever you do, don't do that anymore. You might want to have a relationship with someone someday and this damage can be permanent and frequently is. So reach down every now and again and make sure you haven't gone numb. If you have, get off the bike and well, massage until it feels normal again. Long climbs are the worst. Get out of the saddle and pedal for 1 minute every 10 minutes by the clock.

This is usually a saddle issue. You need a saddle which does not put pressure on your perineum. Usually that means a cut-out. I had this problem on a long ride long ago and fixed it with a saddle change. My bars are ~3" below my saddle. I don't have the saddle tilted down - that's usually a bad idea because you'll keep sliding forward and putting pressure on your perineum again on the saddle nose.

Anyway, welcome to the club of saddle experimenters. There is a saddle out there which will work for you. You just have to find it. Specialized saddles are a good choice. Some people like the Selle SMP. Others have found success with one of the Performance Forte Pro saddles.

fietsbob

Keep Your hips Upright and bend with your spine above your Hips .

Reproduction is over rated + Western lifestyles Over consume, part of Why the globe is getting more toxic all the time.

berner

It is likely mostly a saddle issue and less likely due to position. However, I'm an old man of 76 and the most comfortable position has evolved so that the handle bar is now a cm or two below the saddle. I've found a cutout in the saddle reduces pressure in the groin. Also necessary to reduce pressure for me is having the correct width. Just several cms in width is the difference between a happy cyclist and pain. I've also found swiveling the saddle a mere several degrees off center promotes greater comfort. Experiment lots.

Cromolyman

https://www.sellesmp.com/smp4bike/

For me personally, THE ANSWER! Not just any of their models, but the one with the width appropriate for the distance between my sit bones (ischial tuberosity), the Glider.

I now get out of the saddle when I want to, not because I have to. Good luck.