Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
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Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby poeter » Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:53 pm
I've just got into biking and been love riding at least 1-2hr everyday. Having much to learn about biking, I've also been digging information on the internet.
Now I've come across there are a few articles expressing concerns that biking riding could potentially make us men impotent and raises risk of testicular cancer.
At this stage, I'm not alarmed or is it stopping me from continuing my rides but I am curious to find out if there are any solutions around this. For instance, are there any seats out there that are designed and engineered to address this concern for male cyclists? Or perhaps some sort of protection gear for the crotch?
Cheers,
Peter.
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby AUbicycles » Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:47 pm
The thing is, with so many different body types, there is no perfct saddle that fits all and it is sometimes a matter of trial and error. You will notice a number of saddles on the market with cutouts in the middle, sometimes these provide a solution, others swear by a certain brand if leather saddles.
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Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby gabrielle260 » Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:15 pm
He didn't last long as a recumbent rider and soon went back to a road bike as he was never sure his issues were caused by riding. Around the same time a urologist published an article about the subject but it was discredited at the time although it was widely quoted a few years later (I never did figure that out!)
Then Dr Roger Minkow developed the Minkow wedge saddle as a cure and sold it to Specialized who marketed it strongly.
To cut a long story short, to this day I am still not sure whether the whole thing is a marketing ploy playing on what some say is men's biggest fear!
Like the last post I believe saddles are a very individual thing but I would add that bike fit also has a big influence on how comfortable you are down under.
Cheers,
Andrew
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby Sydguy » Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:31 pm
This assists in keeping your focus 100% on the bike. It reduces 100% your risk of any cancer down there and the risk you will have children who take up a lot of time which would be better spent on your bike.
This is a lesser know fact with cyclists, but you should discuss implications with your GP prior to having the Op done at your LBS.
A good LBS will use a very fine wire, similar to removing a loose tooth, they will attach one end of the wire to you and the other end to a door handle, once you have your vocal anaesthetic "this won't hurt a bit" they slam the door really hard. Every once in a while some tough nut will need a second door slam, this is rare.
As you can see from the above I have no idea on this topic but still felt the need to post something. If your seat is comfortable and your not feeling any pain down below after rides then you should be fine. Wearing tight clothing is said to lower your sperm count, and as such maybe don't wear your knicks to bed.
All the best.
JM
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby RonK » Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:35 pm
You do wear knicks don't you poeter?Sydguy wrote: Wearing tight clothing is said to lower your sperm count, and as such maybe don't wear your knicks to bed.
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby Ozkaban » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:53 am
Nicely written. Brightened my day up somewhat. ThanksSydguy wrote:Most people who cycle opt for surgery and have it all removed.
This assists in keeping your focus 100% on the bike. It reduces 100% your risk of any cancer down there and the risk you will have children who take up a lot of time which would be better spent on your bike.
This is a lesser know fact with cyclists, but you should discuss implications with your GP prior to having the Op done at your LBS.
A good LBS will use a very fine wire, similar to removing a loose tooth, they will attach one end of the wire to you and the other end to a door handle, once you have your vocal anaesthetic "this won't hurt a bit" they slam the door really hard. Every once in a while some tough nut will need a second door slam, this is rare.
As you can see from the above I have no idea on this topic but still felt the need to post something. If your seat is comfortable and your not feeling any pain down below after rides then you should be fine. Wearing tight clothing is said to lower your sperm count, and as such maybe don't wear your knicks to bed.
All the best.
JM
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby unavailablerequest » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:57 am
ps. the only time i could possibly hurt myself (when not wearing padded shorts) is when i stand up for sprinting and sit down, as the alignment is off as my body is leaning towards one side hence, my balls will be kinda "crush" when i try to center myself while sitting down. - of cos, after experiencing a few times, sub-consciously, it sure changed my habit of leaving a few cms off the seat to ensure "they" are aligned b4 sitting down.
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby silentbutdeadly » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:29 am
A 'good' LBS does no such thing....they use the proper tool.Sydguy wrote:A good LBS will use a very fine wire, similar to removing a loose tooth, they will attach one end of the wire to you and the other end to a door handle, once you have your vocal anaesthetic "this won't hurt a bit" they slam the door really hard. Every once in a while some tough nut will need a second door slam, this is rare.
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby Sydguy » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:30 am
One thing I see often, and I know I should not be looking, is undies under knicks.
Richie Porte confessed to this being something he did when he went from Tri to Cycle, as a 'rookie error'
You should be going commando under your knicks.
JM
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby unavailablerequest » Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:59 am
i am getting confused... by which, the "loose tooth", is not referring to what i think it is... correct?silentbutdeadly wrote:A 'good' LBS does no such thing....they use the proper tool.Sydguy wrote:A good LBS will use a very fine wire, similar to removing a loose tooth, they will attach one end of the wire to you and the other end to a door handle, once you have your vocal anaesthetic "this won't hurt a bit" they slam the door really hard. Every once in a while some tough nut will need a second door slam, this is rare.
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby poeter » Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:05 am
At this stage, I don't feel any pain during the ride and post-ride. I'm riding on a Fizik Tundra 2 saddle + fox knickers with padding. So it never really occurred to me what risks there were until I read some articles about it. Especially reading about the Lance Armstrong's battle against testicular cancer, I had become somewhat more what aware of this.
So I'm thinking may I should stand up a bit more in-between my rides to relieve some pressure down there and get some blood flowing back regularly.
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby Xplora » Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:01 pm
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby AUbicycles » Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:17 pm
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby fatherofmany » Fri Apr 06, 2012 11:26 pm
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby kunama » Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:39 am
Rather than the piano wire removal device, I chose instead to go with this:
No more numbness in the nether regions!
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby Benz250 » Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:19 am
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby gorilla monsoon » Tue Apr 10, 2012 2:32 pm
Ralph, ya gotta stay away from the chook shed and the gold fish tank, dude!fatherofmany wrote:Read signature, then name again... no problems here !
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Re: Bike saddles - Risk to men's family jewels?
Postby elStado » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:09 pm
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