bikernew

Went for short spin with new shorts. 5 miles out and no real prob. The cushioning felt nice, albeit a little awkward. Anyway, took short break and did the ride home at a slightly stronger pace... not even halfway into the ride my boys were NUMB, and remained that way! I've been riding already a dozen or so times, usually 12-22 miles total, and felt my butt/sit bones were already used to the seat/ride distance, and have not had any real trouble with numbness. FYI, I have a Giant Defy 1 and have been using the stock saddle, a Selle Royale Seta. Was kinda surprised because last year on my other bike which is Giant Escape 0 with stock Giant saddle I would get numb on longer rides even after my initial 'break-in' period. After just 5 or 6 rides this season on the Defy, and without padding or any saddle changes, I could go 20 mi. with no problem.

So-O, I thought the padded shorts would help keep me in saddle comfortably and for longer?? Do you think:
A. I just need to go for a few more rides?
B. Possibly they're too small?
C. The padding 'up front' is just jamming my junk and the cause of the lack of circulation? Honestly, I had not realized there would be padding 'up front' too, and while I used to wear 'snug' workout shorts, no where near this.
D. New saddle with cut-out??? (Related to C above) I had been considering this anyway, and have the Selle SMP Extra in my shopping cart already...

Any advice greatly appreciated-
Thanks all, and Happy Trails!

JohnDThompson 

Could be too much padding. It's somewhat counter-intuitive, but more padding does not necessarily mean more comfort. Padding can move the pressure points from the ischial tuberosities (aka "sitz bones") to more sensitive areas in the perineum. What saddle are you using? Some people find a saddle with a cut-out helps with perineal numbness.

bikernew

Selle Royal Seta stated; like I said this 'stock' saddle with no padding seemed just fine so far... 20 miles and no real numbness to speak of. Sit-bones seemingly already broken-in.

JohnDThompson 

Perhaps try shorts with thinner chamois? Modern bike shorts are much thicker than traditional bike shorts, but relatively thin chamois are still available.

PepeM

You need bibs. Good ones too, none of that cheap stuff. $150+

bikernew

Why say so?
The bibs have padding or not??

PepeM

They do. The cheap ones will have big padding like I'm assuming your current shorts have, which causes issues as you already found out. Quality ones will have much thinner padding, which will work better.

Just joking a bit on the bibs stuff, but the padding thing is true: Less padding works best, or at least it does for me and many others. You could go to a store and try the ones they have see which ones you like. Or if you were not having any issues before, you could just continue doing what you were doing, cycling shorts are not mandatory.

RPK79

...but they should be.

PepeM

Depends who's riding.

69chevy

Check your seat angle.

If it is pointed up, even one degree, level it or point it down one degree.

Your boys will thank you.

RPK79

Too much of an angle down can cause crotchal-numbness as well.

WhyFi

If you're talking about your junk going numb, thick, dense padding exacerbates that problem for me, too. Bibs/shorts with thin, flexible padding is what works best for me. Unfortunately, the saddle/chamois combo is just one of those things that you have to work through on your own.

netman9718

Went through this same battle last summer. Bought bontrager mtb padded shorts. Fine for a mile or two then numbness. Happen to get on my bike with cargo shorts to ride into town for coffee. No problem whatsoever. Rode for a hour with just gym shorts and no problem. The second hour my butt was sore. Did some searching on here and bought a good pair of bibs. No more problems since. Have ridden around three thousand miles since February and loving my bibs.

69chevy

True, which is why I said level or one degree down. Plant the sitbones and relieve the rest a little.

goenrdoug

Be sure you haven't bought shorts a size (or two?) too small...

rpenmanparker 

C'mon Pepe. That is just confusing. There is no inherent difference between the padding in bibs and the same brand/model of standard shorts or the way they will affect your 'nads.

OP isn't experienced enough to get the joke if you were pulling his leg...either with regard to riding or posting.

rpenmanparker 

For the record: bibs and shorts...no difference WRT the 'nads if they are padded the same. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

ltxi

Methinks padded shorts are often used as a "fix" for non-optimal (usually padded) saddle and saddle fit. I've never found them necessary/used them and have never, in 36 years, had an issue/problem.

rpenmanparker 

Exactly! A distressing trend.

rms13

I have had great luck with Performance Elite for half that price:

Performance Elite Bib Shorts

I also have some Primal Wear that retail for $75 and I got for 50% on one of their sales. Both are comfortable and durable. I have tried some cheap $20-30 bib shorts from China that were also fine in the comfort department but fell apart after 3-6 months so I wouldn't go that cheap. I don't think most people need Rapha or Castelli or what have you

MikeyBoyAz

What about NOT BIBS? We can recommend those too right?

Lazyass

Maybe riding without padded shorts caused your nuts to make two indentations in the saddle for them to rest in, and the padding blocked that off now.

bikernew

Run fn kidding me???��

bikernew

Thanks for all your input guys!!! Went out again today without the padded shorts... honestly, I think the harder/faster I try to go, the worse it gets, and reason being I'm leaned over/stretched out a little more, hence the added pressure. Wondering if I need to either shorten my reach a little or move the saddle forward a pinch more. I noticed when bent over a little more my sit bones were actually off the back of the saddle a bit, and more pressure directly on the 'nether' if that makes any sense.

jbylake 

I'm having fits with the same problem on a Cannondale Synapse. Strange thing is that the seat was the same as the one on my C'dale CX3. I bought the Selle with the cut out, hoping to solve the problem. No help. I'm not wearing bibs or shorts. I'm wearing the cargo shorts with the Chamois. I've adjusted seats until I'm blue in the face and can't catch a break in the "cavity" area. I'm squashing my nads, and after a few minutes I feel like I'm riding a porcupine, in the cavity (sorry, can't remember the medical name for it). I'm going to try to see if I can take it to another bike shop and have them fit it, and see if their fitting makes any difference. I'm a bit to heavy for Bibs, and I really don't see how they are going to save my 'nads. Since I don't have the same problem with the CX3, which seats you mostly upright, I almost have to believe it's the angle of the seat, but I don't know in relation to what. Level, or a bit below level, no difference. I'm losing riding time daily because my nads feeling squashed and burning. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

J.