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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

#71

Post by jerlam »

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

I'm glad it works for you.

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.

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

#72

Post by altairprime »

amunster wrote: post #58
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”.

Men’s behavior is not representative of men’s physical sensitivity.

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.

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

#73

Post by incomingpain »

My other comment was downvoted and flagged for me being trans and not a real woman.

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.

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

#74

Post by jerlam »

kazinator wrote: post #61

The saddle shown in the "Anatomy of a Saddle" picture doesn't seem very good to me. 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.

Keep in mind that enthusiast cyclists are not sitting upright on their bicycles, like a chair. Their torsos are rotated 45 degrees or even more horizonally for aerodynamics. Their legs are constantly pedaling and pushing against the front of the saddle, so they look like they are convex even though the rider should not be sitting on that part of the saddle. Realistically, only the rear third of the saddle should bear any weight.

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

#75

Post by incomingpain »

klyrs wrote: post #65
incomingpain wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

For what it's worth, I didn't downvote you for being trans; that wasn't obvious at all until you edited your comment (yet my question specifically allowed for that possibility). I downvoted you for being reductive and dismissive of the problem; and for suggesting a "solution" that the article clearly describes as a common and inadequate approach to the problem whose application results in injury requiring surgery.

>I downvoted you for being reductive and dismissive of the problem; and for suggesting a "solution" that the article clearly describes as a common and inadequate approach to the problem whose application results in injury requiring surgery.

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.

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

#76

Post by Aachen »

loeg wrote: post #35
nowandlater wrote: post #28

I have an absolute treasure trove of saddles; it's hard to state just how personal they are to each person's physiology. What works for one may not work for another. It can be a long frustrating (and expensive) experience.

Some bike shops run programs called saddle libraries that allow you to try many before buying.

Isn't it also like chairs, beds, pillows, glasses' frames, bras, mice, etc. though? You can often tell when it's terrible but not when it's going to still feel good after the first 8 hours of continuous use

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!

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

#77

Post by Aachen »

davisoneee wrote: post #50
loeg wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are saddles which work better for some women, but they do not work for all women and are not exclusively for women. > 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 M…

There's never going to be a universal "you are male, so you CANNOT use this saddle", or vice versa... but there _are_ saddles which are marketed and designed to _more likely_ better suit men or women. There is no saddle that is universal for anyone...so it seems like you're arguing a case no-one actually claimed?

(In case that's the intended effect, HN's markup uses *asterisks* for emphasised words. If not, as an n=1 data point, I find the thrown-off spacing a little harder to read, or maybe that's because of my narrow phone view.)

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

#78

Post by [deleted] »

incomingpain wrote: post #75
klyrs wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what it's worth, I didn't downvote you for being trans; that wasn't obvious at all until you edited your comment (yet my question specifically allowed for that possibility). I downvoted you for being reductive and dismissive of the problem; and for suggesting a "solution" that the article clearly describes as a common and inadequate approach to the problem whose application results in injury requiring surgery.

>I downvoted you for being reductive and dismissive of the problem; and for suggesting a "solution" that the article clearly describes as a common and inadequate approach to the problem whose application results in injury requiring surgery. 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 ru…

[deleted]

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

#80

Post by rickydroll »

UI_at_80x24 wrote: post #63

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…

I also switched to recumbent for the same reason. 5 years of chronic pelvic pain that I would not wish on anyone.
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