I recently got my first tri-bike and have been trying to get comfortable in the tuck, but after about 30-45 minutes I start to get numb in the junk. I must say that after I am done the sensation isn’t altogether unpleasant, but very disconcerting. I have been micro-adjusting the saddle for relief, but I am not sure which way to adjust. Is there a specific way to position the saddle to alleviate this, does it differ for everyone? If it matters I have a San Marco Aspide saddle. My bits say thanks in advance for any help
some tilt the saddle down, but some find this causes them to slide foward and hurt the shoulders
some use an adamo saddly, so there is no tip to squish yer junk. but some find these painful on the butt
some raise the aerobars up a little, so there is less pressure on your junk
some pedal harder, so there is less pressure on your junk.
I do notice some relief when I hammer on the pedals, but I surely couldn’t hold that pace for 56 miles of my goal race later this year. Thanks for the info
I was fine on my stock saddle until about 60 miles, then that started to
happen.
Switched to a RacerX and no longer any issues. Go to the LBS you
trust and get some advice.
-Jot
Jack pretty much covered it…The Adamo is the saving grace for many people and I think I may buy myself one this season.
What you can do if you don’t like the Adamo is to simply try many other saddles. Somewhere there will be one that’s OK.
Also, what’s your hip angle right now? I noticed my comfort got a lot better when I moved my saddle forward significantly (without moving my cockpit forward). I was at less than 90 degree hip angle before and that contributed to my seating position being hurtful.
I get this after every hiatus from riding. There are only 3 things that I can think of to solve this problem (in order of ease): (1) settle in during your warmup and before you start your intermediate sets “re-adjust” your junk so that it’s not pinched between your thighs and the saddle (bring it forward and up), (2) build up your time on the saddle, and (3) if all else fails, maybe you need a different saddle. A lot of LBS will let you test-ride a saddle for up to 2 or 3 weeks.
You need to try the Adamo saddle. Best decision I ever made.
I had the same issue and tried the Adamo. Worked great for solving the numbness issue but it is simply too wide for me. The width just caused different pain and discomfort so I recently switched to John Cobb’s Flow Plus saddle. So far so good. It is the most comfortable saddle I have been on yet. No numbness and pretty comfortable. I do have to move around on the saddle from time to time to change the pressure points but nothing real uncomfortable arises and people say you should move around from time to time anyways.
I have been using a Selle Italia SLR T1 which was good, but not perfect. I recently switched to an Adamo Racing saddle and the difference is unbelievable! I could tolerate the SLR, but the Adamo is just comfortable!!!
With that said, I beleive 90% of the saddle issues come down to fit. Have you tried fore/aft, tilt and saddle height adjustments to try and alleviate? Try to make a note as to what feels better or worse with each adjustment.
If you have a chance, I would recommend trying out the Adamo. It may look weird and alien, but it works. The key with the Adamo is getting the correct fore/aft adjustment as well as saddle height dialed in, but once you do…no more NUMB JUNK!!!
For tri-positioning, I would try the Adamo. I really think though that you need to give it 2-3 weeks to make sure it works and you get used to it. If you set it up properly, then the width shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve been on one for almost 2 weeks now, and I’m just now getting conditioned to the ‘different’ way of support that it provides. I ride about 8-12 hours per week right now.
SELLE SMP Glider, been riding it for 2 years and can ride 4+ hours comfortably.
A pic of you on your bike from the side would help us out.
jaretj
I have thought about that but I don’t know if my fragile psyche can take all the abuse you guys hand out on “critique my position” threads. I still new and don’t want to be ridiculed!!!
I tried a lot of saddles and finally realized the problem was not the saddle, but how I was riding on it. When I finally discovered the Arione Tri it became by favorite tri saddle because the nose was long, narrow and padded. You have to sit on the end of the saddle with your gear off to one side or the other and your weight supported by your pelvis. You can point your saddle slightly off center to help with this, or not if you don’t like how that feels. Sitting the nose of the saddle also allows you to pedal with your knees narrower, i.e. closer to the top tube.
This will take some transition time, since that is a lot of pressure on a small area. A neoprene saddle pad can help in the beginning or on longer rides.
You can’t sit in the tri position the way you do on a road bike with all your weight on your two sit bones. If you do that and then lean forward on the aerobars it will crush your gear.
I tried the Adamo and it did not work for me, so again there is a lot of personal preference here.
Chad
Tilting the saddle nose down can make the situation worse and cause shoulder and neck issues. When the nose is tilted down your ass tends to constantly slide forward putting a lot of preasure on your nuts, shoulders, neck, arms. I prefer a dead flat saddle. Get a fit done and like another guy suggested make sure you are sitting on the saddle in the correct body position.
Two words
Adamo FTW
.
Two words
Adamo FTW
that is four words!!
I’ll agree with the “tilt the nose UP” direction. My coach prepped my fit and he knew right off when I was on the rivet (Arione TRI 2) and I noted about the pressure on my taint and subsequent numbage, he tilted it up a few mm and BOOM. All better.
cheers
S.
up? not down?
I’ll agree with the “tilt the nose UP” direction. My coach prepped my fit and he knew right off when I was on the rivet (Arione TRI 2) and I noted about the pressure on my taint and subsequent numbage, he tilted it up a few mm and BOOM. All better.
cheers
S.
up? not down?
I’ll agree with the “tilt the nose UP” direction. My coach prepped my fit and he knew right off when I was on the rivet (Arione TRI 2) and I noted about the pressure on my taint and subsequent numbage, he tilted it up a few mm and BOOM. All better.
cheers
S.
Yep. UP. In my case it seemed to do the trick as I was putting MORE weight sliding a little more forward when it was down. It seemed counterintuituve to me too but he made the adjustment and after a couple of minutes on the trainer…all better.
cheers
S.