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bicycling damages #1 – the seat
1 Comment | Posted by Saar Drimer in cambridge, personal, transportation
My current mode of transportation is a used mountain bike I got for 50GBP. It’s a no-frill ride but it does the job. For two weekends now I’ve taken long bike rides and it’s not falling apart (side FYI: we found out that “The National Trust” sites give a discount to people arriving on cycles.) One reason for going cheap is that nearly every new bike in Cambridge gets stolen. They even sell stickers to make the bike look old and used.
I want to discuss some sensitive bike-seat issues. Here’s a quote to get us started (from “bicycle seats explained“:
Pity the poor bicycle seat. Few products in the history of sports have taken such a bum rap. Prostate problems. Numbness. Boils. Infections. Chafing. Even impotency! You name the malady and it’s likely been blamed on the pedaler’s perch.
A certain someone diligently notified me of studies that show that, for men, nose-seats reduce the flow of blood to, well, the equipment and may cause some permanent dysfunction to the, well, performance. This happens to 5-10% of men and it may be a problem if one rides more than 10 hours a week. This got me concerned, of course. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it, but for now, every time I get reminded of this issue while I ride, I either stand on the pedals or shift to one side or the other.
Next I’ll write about helmets.
1 Comment for bicycling damages #1 – the seat
Max | November 7, 2005 at 15:52
Dear Saar,
Thanks for your concern. I’ve definately spent my time on a bike seat (1200 miles in 21 days at one point). … and I can assure you that I am anatomically functional still. Some ways to make that I assure this are : 1. Get an ergo seat!! Look for a “trough” down the middle and a soft nose. For a good comfy cheap ergo seat, try a WTB “Super-V” — probably cost you around 15 quid online. 2. Make sure your seat is level or a hair tilted back (nose higher). Women want the seat a hair tilted forward (nose lower). 3. Get some padded shorts if you plan longer rides. You can either get ones that look like normal shorts, or get the obscene ones and wear them under your normal pants or shorts instead of your normal favorite undergarment.