61–70 of 98 posts
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.
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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The first 2 comments on HN on this article about women in cycling are talking about men in cycling instead. 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.
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.
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"?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Disclaimer: I'm a guy. This is why I switched to riding recumbent bikes. 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 12…
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.
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…
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.
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.
I encourage doing a bit of reading about the mistreatment of women in US medicine in the 90s and beyond, specifically with regards to how doctors disregard complaints of pain from women (and continue to do so to this day). Most women have stories of how a doctor blew them off when they sought medical help for pain and/or disfigurement concerns, especially with regards to any body parts not commonly possessed by men.