Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women(bicycling.com) |
Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women(bicycling.com) |
Back in 1997, Bicycling published a story that linked cycling to erectile dysfunction in men. The article sparked a slew of research on the sport’s impact on male sexual health and led to the development of the first Specialized Body Geometry saddle, which featured a center cutout that relieved arterial pressure. “That story brought it out of the closet,” says Pruitt, who was also a consultant for Specialized’s Body Geometry line and lead developer of the Mimic. But for women, he says, it’s been “a silent epidemic.”The larger problem is that most bicycles still seem to be sold with sub-par and harmful saddles. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of competition and innovation here for the mass market. One could buy a bicycle costing several hundred (or even a few thousand) dollars or euros with a lighter body, fancy brakes, suspension and so on, but you’d still get sub-par saddles.
As a non-cyclist, I’m curious to know if there’s even any kind of standardization to fit saddles to any bicycle…or is it that most common bicycles cannot have these custom or other better saddles fitted at all?
I think the fact that saddles are so individual means that high end buyers expect to be replacing the saddle that comes on the bike with their own personal preference. So brands are incentivized to compete on cost and equip the bike with a cheap saddle since buyers aren't comparing full bikes on the basis of saddle.
> As a non-cyclist, I’m curious to know if there’s even any kind of standardization to fit saddles to any bicycle
Yes, saddle rails are extremely standardized. For most saddles it's a pair of "7x7mm" circular rails that get clamped by the top of the seatpost. (Carbon-railed saddles use 7x9mm rails, I think, but that's a pretty niche part of the market.)
You would have to know this before buying a bike, which most beginners wouldn't, and most bike shops don't want to offer this service because it costs money in parts and labor.
edit: and i use exclusively the MS5 version, which has less room to distribute pressure
The lack of a saddle nose would be a problem for many enthusiast cyclists. Obviously people aren't sitting on the nose, but it's used as another contact point to control the bike at high efforts, when people aren't really putting a lot of weight in the saddle at all.
Edit: further down the thread someone (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40492169) mentions saddle trials as a potential option, so I guess that confirms it. A saddle library sounds like a good starting point for selecting which one to trial, though!
Typically bike saddles are not gendered, to my knowledge. They come in a range of sizes and more typically the wider sizes work better for women, but it's very individual and some men need wider saddles and some women need narrower ones.
The article touches on this:
> Specialized has since advanced the Mimic technology with its Mirror saddles, which use 3D-printed polyurethane to fine-tune the densities in each area of the saddle and further reduce pressure on the sit bones. The company no longer markets its saddles according to gender, as men also love the Mimic and Mirror models.
Obviously simply not using or having a saddle will remove such class of injuries.
Too bad they’re ridiculously expensive for what they are.
As far as bike seats go, I’ve had success with the cloud 9 seat and women and men alike said it was comfortable (for short rides <30 min). Never been a fan of the stiff ones, other than the fancy leather ones.
But back then few women were on road bikes. Perhaps this is why it took so long for this article to appear.
Another factor is that bike shops are heavily male. It's quite understandable that women don't want to discuss their saddle anatomy with bike shop staff.
One problem is that the sitting area has a convex profile.
Your sit bones should be placed on horizontal surfaces, like this - -. This thing is more like / \. What that does is drive a wedge between the bones under the weight of the rider, which is bad for the pelvis.
Can anyone confer that the "Mimic" mentioned in the article solves the issue for women? (I'm assuming it is fitted correctly, of course.)
When I sold saddles at the bike shop I would say “women are more sensitive than men, surprising none of them”.
Anecdotally, as a former guy, I can absolutely report that I ignored tingling and numbness in saddles because I just assumed I was supposed to put up with it, and ended up giving up cycling as a result. As a gal, until this article came out, I’d assumed that cycling was essentially hopeless from a comfort perspective (because if they couldn’t solve it for men, they sure weren’t going to try to solve it for women).
So it’s great to see that progress is being made for all equipment, and that people are more willing to consider such issues “able to discuss” than they were when I was growing up. But I would not say that it’s due to differing sensitivity; it’s due to the cultural baggage around discussing and prioritizing groins.
I swear I have a vulva and am a long-distance cyclist, this subject matters to me. I might not fit everyone's definition of a woman, I certainly wasn't implying that women's issues shouldn't be addressed.
I still want to share my advice: invest in a good quality pair of women's padded cycling underwear. It made the difference for me, and also why it's golden rule #1 from the article.
I was genuinely just sharing my experience and wasn't attacking women or anything like that. I understand I might get downvoted or flagged again, and I apologize in advance.
Towards the 'end' of my previous riding lifestyle, I could only be in the saddle for 10 minutes before excruciating pain and numbness (I don't know how pain & numbness can happen together; but they did.) would force me to walk. And this was during a stage of my life where I was riding 50km daily, and 100+kms every weekend.
Now, I can ride for 12hrs and the only thing sore are my muscles from the workout.
Also for break-in, follow brooks recommendations closely, not all the crazy suggestions on the WEB. After a season of riding almost every day, you will be sitting on a cloud. You do not want a soft saddle, but one that forms to your butt. I have been using the same saddle for well over 20 years, no issues plus it has lasted longer than any other saddle I have ever owned.
I never liked the saddles with the hole in them and I cannot help but wonder if the article is really an advertisement.
To me, if you are having this issue, see a qualified sports doctor first.
Another point raised in the article is getting a proper fit. Whenever I shop for bikes, I add about $800 to the price tag: for a new saddle, and a professional fitting. I am too old to fuck about with a bike that's gonna hurt me.
Get yourself a nice pair of women's cycling padded underwear helps a great deal. I haven't found a good seat yet.
It’s fascinating. I can’t tell if it’s a sign of HN commenters never talking about the topic itself, about HN being predominantly male, or the fact that women issues are constantly ignored in society and men tend to make things about themselves instead.
I do notice I've been heavily downvoted and flagged. How dare I share my experience.
Interesting how everyone hates on me for being trans.
Also, like, what is your comment even aiming to achieve?
Are you hoping people will be like, "oh yes, I'm interested in learning how we could improve the lives of women but this insightful comment about balls made me really think about how I shouldn't"?
As a trans person, having both equipment, and being a long distance cyclist. I was just sharing my experience.
But as usual the anti-trans people on HN have censored my comment.
>Also, like, what is your comment even aiming to achieve?
Sharing my opinion in a way that people hate I guess?
How dare I share the recommendation for women's padded underwear.
No good reason to use those horrible diamond hard lightweight seats.
E.g. https://www.freerangecycles.com/faq-1#:~:text=small%20(but%2...
But it's hard to generalize, and the original comment did an extremely typical thing in men's spaces -- taking a woman's experience and immediately responding with "but men also!" Could be your comment simply coincidentally fit the pattern.
Also, extremely fuck that transphobe poster. They can eat shit.
You want to be on your sit bones.
> Specialized has since advanced the Mimic technology with its Mirror saddles, which use 3D-printed polyurethane to fine-tune the densities in each area of the saddle and further reduce pressure on the sit bones. The company no longer markets its saddles according to gender, as men also love the Mimic and Mirror models.
> Specialized has since advanced the Mimic technology with its Mirror saddles, which use 3D-printed polyurethane to fine-tune the densities in each area of the saddle and further reduce pressure on the sit bones. The company no longer markets its saddles according to gender, as men also love the Mimic and Mirror models.
There is no saddle that is universal for anyone...so it seems like you're arguing a case no-one actually claimed?
You should re-read the article. Your interpretation doesn't align with my takeaway from it, and I'm curious why that is.
The article mirrored my advice. Their number one golden rule was padded shorts: "Endura’s Pro SL bib shorts, which use silicone in the pad to prevent "bottoming out," unlike foam."
I suggested investing in a good pair of women's padded cycling underwear without specifying a brand. I've never even heard of the Endura brand.
>For what it's worth, I didn't downvote you for being trans;
I do think you downvoted for me being trans.
Feel free to assume whatever you will about my body, my identity, and my motivations. But you're wrong.
Do you suppose that this first-order reasoning was not available to the riders, their doctors, and saddle designers? Would you be willing to consider that balls and shafts may stick out differently than labia; and how addressing those differences may be more fruitful than reducing a 3-dimensional problem to a one-dimensional consideration of "more vs less"?
I believe you'll find the reverse happens too; talk about an issue affecting men to a prominently female audience and the topic will be changed to how it affects women.
Why?
I never see any of the womens books, magazines and websites my wife visit ever go "Oh shit, we should fix this bad experience for men first" before discussing anything.
Demographics discuss what they find relevant, usually. Why is this a problem for you?
We should all be comfortable lifting each other up, rather than focusing only on our own demographics. Otherwise those without power will suffer needlessly.
I am paying attention, and I just asked my wife, and she says she can't remember ever seeing that happen in any group of women, online or not.
You'll forgive me if I take the account of actual women I know over the account you are selling.
It's trivial to demonstrate that these exist. Maybe your wife just doesn't read Vogue, glamour, Elle, etc. but for those of us who do, this sort of thing is a mainstay.
https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/everyone-wants-in-on-me...
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/men-talk-about-your-mental-h...
https://www.elle.com/beauty/a26342438/ryan-reynolds-armani-c...
https://www.glamour.com/story/mens-sperm-and-lifestyle-choic...