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Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

bicycling.com

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Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#51

Post by p1esk »

luqtas wrote: post #23

i cycled thousands of kilometers on this: https://mantasaddle.co.uk/ and i used Brooks and other good stuff before, for thousands of kilometers... the former doesn't even compare! no need for cycling shorts (tho i never used shorts with the Brooks too) and maybe isn't the most aerodynamic saddle out there but who f* cares :P edit: and i use exclusively the MS5 version, which has less room to distribute pressure

Is it comfortable to ride with no hands, sitting in a fully upright position? How does it compare to a wide plush seat like ones on cruisers?

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#52

Post by [deleted] »

msrenee wrote: post #37
kazinator wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Balls and shafts stick out more than labia, so in this situation, it's entirely fair to suspect that the remedies for male cycling problems are of (even more) benefit to women. You know, like split saddles that don't poke at the crotch region, but support the "sit bones". Which are unlike the garbage saddles that come most cheap, bicycle-shaped objects.

The cutout saddles actually cause similar injury in women. That's a big point in the article. Women need specialized support in that region, not a complete cutout.

[deleted]

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#54

Post by BXLE_1-1-BitIs1 »

It really surprises me that women's needs were neglected when mens' erectile dysfunction was quickly addressed back in the 90s.

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.

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#55

Post by AnonHP »

The details in the article describe saddles from Specialized that solve the problem for women. It also says that men prefer and are able to use the same saddles (Mimic and Mirror), which is why Specialized doesn’t make women’s and men’s saddles separately anymore.

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?

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#56

Post by idunnoman1222 »

idunnoman1222 wrote: post #22
yareal wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not an excuse. Men can and should be capable of "oh shit, we should fix this bad experience women have!" Without needing to center men's experiences.

Or I don’t know, women could do it

[flagged]

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#57

Post by incomingpain »

klyrs wrote: post #4
incomingpain wrote: post #2

Cycling with balls is far worse then labia. I've done both. Get yourself a nice pair of women's cycling padded underwear helps a great deal. I haven't found a good seat yet.

Do you have firsthand experience with both?

I do. I'm trans and have had sexual reassignment.

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.

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#58

Post by amunster »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #40

Have two women in my life I wish found cycling as enjoyable as I (a man) do. Can anyone confer that the "Mimic" mentioned in the article solves the issue for women? (I'm assuming it is fitted correctly, of course.)

Anecdotally: yes. Mimic saddles are more comfortable for both men and women than identical non-mimic models. Myself (male) included - it was a significant improvement. It’s a simple change, softer padding, something that recreational riders have used for decades.

When I sold saddles at the bike shop I would say “women are more sensitive than men, surprising none of them”.

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#59

Post by incomingpain »

yareal wrote: post #8
incomingpain wrote: post #2

Cycling with balls is far worse then labia. I've done both. Get yourself a nice pair of women's cycling padded underwear helps a great deal. I haven't found a good seat yet.

What an absurd statement. It's a) not a fucking competition and b) nearly impossible for you to know that and c) not going to be universal for all balls-havers and all labia-havers. 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 ho…

>What an absurd statement. It's a) not a fucking competition and b) nearly impossible for you to know that and c) not going to be universal for all balls-havers and all labia-havers.

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.

Re: Cycling's Silent Epidemic: Labial swelling and pain in women

#60

Post by loeg »

AnonHP wrote: post #55

The details in the article describe saddles from Specialized that solve the problem for women. It also says that men prefer and are able to use the same saddles (Mimic and Mirror), which is why Specialized doesn’t make women’s and men’s saddles separately anymore. 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 innovati…

> 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.

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.)

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