Best Bike Seats to Prevent Male Problems

Is this really a problem?  I remember seeing something on a news magazine show about 10 years ago, but I'm not sure it's as wide-spread a problem as it is sensationalist media fodder.   There are millions of cyclists around the world and this doesn't seem to be a big issue, despite studies and media reports.

I used to ride an expensive gel seat on my mountain bike.  This thing was very squishy, about 4x the size of the Arione on my road bike and probably weighed 2 pounds.  My butt and other parts would go numb and fall asleep while riding after about 10 miles on that seat.  My Arione, however,  weighs 179 grams, is as hard as a rock, but lets me ride 4+ hours and with complete feeling in my lower region.

I believe a proper bike fit and a seat that fits your anatomy are probably going to serve you best.

x2   I had a gel seat too, until I got fit correctly.  Now I just have a properly adjusted hard seat, and it is WAY more comfortable than the gel seat ever was.

I just recently started with the Adamo road saddle after getting number after the 20 mile mark with the stock Bontrager saddle that came with my new bike.  No more numbness, but the sadddle did take some getting used to ... it's hard as a rock.  Very comfortable with it now, though.

I also question, um, "positioning".  I've noticed sometimes that it just takes a little moving around in the shorts after numerous miles.  Kind of like a long flight on an airplane ... you move your legs, you move in your chair.  Sometimes all it takes is a little adjustment to keep the blood flowing. 

Point of clarification: it's a saddle, not a seat.

If you are comfortable on your current saddle, then you'll be fine. You will not develop any kind of "problems" if you are comfortable. On the other hand, if, after periods in the saddle, you experience chronic numbness, tingling, burning and the like, then you could be at risk of developing long term "problems". If this is the case, you can try several things such as tilt, angle, etc. If you are still experiencing numbnuts, then get thee hence to your LBS and try out alternative saddles. You would be looking typically for a saddle with anatomical cut-outs, of which there are many models to choose from, the popular ones including Blackwell's Flow and Mo-Flo and Adamo series, and many others.

I've ben using the adamo race model for 2 years and love it. 

Another example of how post counts portend little as to the contents of a post as my friend below is dead-on ... the problem is possibly not the seat but the bike fit that puts pressure on your boys/surrounding area.

A simple bike fit, complete with trial + error on seat position, angle, etc., might be the solution you are looking for.

Btw, I trained for and did IMFL on an Adamo with no problems - and liked it so much I bought one for the road bike I just built.

Awesome seat.

Complete agreement from me on this!!!  I love mine!

It's all about the fit .......

I ride this on my road bike ..... not exactly the most cushioned saddle out there at 140 grams.  But I do not have any problems with it because I'm correctly positioned on the bike.

(SLR Saddle.jpg)

I think you can do more with proper a seating position (one that does not create a pressure point on nerves or blood vessels) than spending money on a new saddle. I rode 11,000 miles on my touring bike since March and have not experienced any numbness. I believe it was a result of correct posture on the bike.

Matt Cazalas
Technical Writer

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I ride a Profile Design Tri-Stryke saddle on my tri bike and a Specialized Gel Toupe saddle on my road bike.

The Tri-stryke is better on my tri bike because my aero position has me riding forward and closer to the nose of the saddle when pushing on flats so the cushioning of the gel is more comfortable.

On my road bike, where I sit more upright and to the rear of the saddle, the thinner Toupe is more comfortable and supportive.