With the massive cutout on the Max, how can things still be going numb?
Is it where I’m sitting on the saddle, personal anatomy, or perhaps the saddle in general?
I’m going to try an Adamo Racing & Cobb Plus, but if the Max isn’t working, I don’t see how those would?
Any thoughts?
For me the Max is too wide, so I switched to the Plus and perfection!
Also, I found I need to use either bike shorts with thinner padding or tri shorts. Really padded bike shorts still cause chafing and numbness, but more minimal shorts are great.
Just wondering if you took Cobb’s advise to angle your saddle off to one side a bit? I can’t do that because I have an aero seatpost that won’t allow it. But if you did do that, could you have overdone it?
They are very cush, so even if there is a big cut out when there isn’t a rider sitting on it, once you compress the whole thing with your body weight the cut out might become much smaller.
Can’t do it. Aero post. I’m waiting on a call back from Cobb, I’ll post with what they recommend.
I tried the Plus & it was initially pretty uncomfortable, at least after a year of riding the Max, but I didn’t really give it a chance.
Maybe I’ll put it back on & give it a few rides.
I have the same problem. Had an Adamo Typhoon and it was the best yet, but still not very good. Been trying the Max, but giving up on it also. Just ordered a Dash to give it a try.
Saddle comfort is my limiting factor on the bike and has been for years. I can tough it out for quite a while, but its not right.
good luck.
Agree with Tom3, I have to wear tri shorts otherwise I have issues. I have raced IM on that saddle in a Kiwami without a pad no problems. Also, I find that I can not ride the nose of the saddle, my sit-bones are right in the middle and my boys hang slightly over the nose where it begins to slope down. Lastly be sure that the saddle is level.
I have also been experimenting this winter to try and find “bliss”. Alas no luck so far. I’m on a Cobb Flow Plus, and still get numbness so I tried an Adamo breakaway, podium and race. Sit bones (forward sit bones, the ones either side of the pudendal nerve) could not take it, literally grimacing in pain when moving into/out of aero position. Tried the Cobb Flow Max, and then the SHC170, still no more comfortable than the Plus.
Anywho… my research has led me to others with numbness problems who have contacted John Cobb directly and apparently his advice is to lower you seat height a touch.
I heard back from them today & they asked me to send them pics & video, of bike alone, me on bike, various points in the pedal stroke, head-on, etc.
The guy said that he bets my seat is too high. I was just fit a few weeks back though & all the numbers seem to make sense, but I just can’t find the right spot on the right saddle.
I’ll get back to this thread after I send my pics in & hear back from Cobb.
Thanks, look forward to hearing the results. I should add that I have been indoors for the last 4 months, so my testing has all been on the trainer, not the best for demo’ing saddles, but if it’s comfortable on the trainer it will be outdoors too. I did slightly lower my saddle over the past weekend, and also incorporated a slight negative tilt (0.6 degrees) which did seem to help a little for the Vflow Plus. Good luck.
Let me know what you hear.
My issues have been getting worse. It’s almost to the point where I don’t want to get on the bike.
I have an ISM Racing, Cobb V-Flow Plus, and V-Flow Max. I’m getting desperate.
I bought a Max this week. I tried sitting all over the damn saddle and no luck. Tried sitting on the very nose of the saddle as well as moving little by little toward the back of the saddle. Riding on the tip is the only place my dick doesn’t go completely numb but it is a different pain. Maybe I have a wrong understanding of where the sit bones are. Based on where I think they are, the saddles seem a little thin.
It doesn’t seem like my seat is too high either but I could be wrong. I am a toe pointer at the bottom of my stroke and it doesn’t go away when I lower it. My knee angle is less than 145. I may still try to go lower but I probably need a good fit. I put an app in with Cobb himself but haven’t heard back yet.
I have also thought about giving the Dash a try. 100 bucks for the trial almost seems worth it. I would gladly pay 500 bucks for the seat issue to go away.
I’m going to give the Max a couple weeks and play with the nose angle. I can’t adjust side to side either.
WWLD?
I have also been experimenting this winter to try and find “bliss”. Alas no luck so far. I’m on a Cobb Flow Plus, and still get numbness so I tried an Adamo breakaway, podium and race. Sit bones (forward sit bones, the ones either side of the pudendal nerve) could not take it, literally grimacing in pain when moving into/out of aero position. Tried the Cobb Flow Max, and then the SHC170, still no more comfortable than the Plus.
Anywho… my research has led me to others with numbness problems who have contacted John Cobb directly and apparently his advice is to lower you seat height a touch.
I wonder what you are referring to as the “forward” sit bones. The pubis symphysis cannot tolerate pressure.
A common problem is riders getting into the aero position with insufficient low back flexion which then results in tilting the pelvis forward which then puts pressure at the pubis. If you lack low back flexibility lowering your seat should help but you have to preserve your knee position so the next step is to raise your bars and be less areo.
Yeah, exact same boat it seems. I don’t look forward to getting on the bike right now either.
I’ll let you know what I find out.
I wonder what you are referring to as the “forward” sit bones. The pubis symphysis cannot tolerate pressure.
A common problem is riders getting into the aero position with insufficient low back flexion which then results in tilting the pelvis forward which then puts pressure at the pubis. If you lack low back flexibility lowering your seat should help but you have to preserve your knee position so the next step is to raise your bars and be less areo.
Am I understanding Cobb’s recommendation? I had interpreted it as him saying that you DO want to rotate the pelvis forward.
The way to do it is slide back on the seat and roll forward on the front part of your crotch. This should rotate your pelvic bone. (A) forward and down. None of this can usually be done comfortably unless you rotate your seat a little bit to the right or left side of the bike. This applies to men and women riders. Look at the illustrations or call if you have any questions.
The illustration is here if you click on the Sit Chart Tab.
http://cobbcycling.com/cart/V-Flow_Plus_White_C1P3.cfm#tab_sitChart
I don’t know up from down right now. I could really benefit from somebody using their hands to show me exactly where I need to be sitting. Some close ups of people sitting on the damn saddle would be nice as well.
Wow I don’t get it at all. These saddles are designed to avoid putting pressure in the middle. Rotating it puts stuff back in the middle. Why would I want to rotate it?
You balls are too huge, sorry bro, there are only drastic remedies now
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Sorry for the delay. This extract is from the Selle SMP website and shows a normal “Roadie” position. When aero however, I feel the pressure where I inserted the red arrow, since I have rolled further forward. Is your hip and sit bone area in the same position when aero as when upright? . Bear in mind this pain for me is only when trying out the Adamo saddles and is only on the left side, which probably tells me that I may have an alignment issue I suppose. The Adamo saddles are great for getting rid of the numbness, but the pain at this bone is too much. The Cobb saddles I have no pain in this area, just numbness after about 30 minutes into the ride. You could also be on to something with the limited flexibility in the lower back, I will have to work on that. Thanks for the input.
I wonder what you are referring to as the “forward” sit bones. The pubis symphysis cannot tolerate pressure.
A common problem is riders getting into the aero position with insufficient low back flexion which then results in tilting the pelvis forward which then puts pressure at the pubis. If you lack low back flexibility lowering your seat should help but you have to preserve your knee position so the next step is to raise your bars and be less areo.
Am I understanding Cobb’s recommendation? I had interpreted it as him saying that you DO want to rotate the pelvis forward.
The way to do it is slide back on the seat and roll forward on the front part of your crotch. This should rotate your pelvic bone. (A) forward and down. None of this can usually be done comfortably unless you rotate your seat a little bit to the right or left side of the bike. This applies to men and women riders. Look at the illustrations or call if you have any questions.
The illustration is here if you click on the Sit Chart Tab.
http://cobbcycling.com/cart/V-Flow_Plus_White_C1P3.cfm#tab_sitChart
I don’t know up from down right now. I could really benefit from somebody using their hands to show me exactly where I need to be sitting. Some close ups of people sitting on the damn saddle would be nice as well.
I hate to disagree with John Cobb but his illustration seems exactly wrong, he is recommending anterior pelvic tilt.
Your sit bones can be found when you sit upright on a hard chair, not leaning back which might let your pelvis rotate back. Put your hands on the bony prominences and stand up, you should feel the glutes pretty much above your hands, all the soft tissue of the crotch between your hands but not being pressured. The ischial tuberosities (sit bones) are rounded so you can roll forward on them some but too much forward and they are no longer weight bearing.
If I had as much numbness as you describe I would raise the bars and try to get comfortable then start working on gradually lowering the bars while I also worked on improving low back flexibility.
If this doesn’t seem right then upload a photo and we can easily assess your position.
I hate to disagree with John Cobb but his illustration seems exactly wrong, he is recommending anterior pelvic tilt.
Your sit bones can be found when you sit upright on a hard chair, not leaning back which might let your pelvis rotate back.
If you will re-read that clip John didn’t say ‘leaning’ back. He said ‘slide back on the seat’ and there is a very distinct difference. Bending at the waist and bending at the hips are two totally different things. JC is really, really good at what he does and if you call him he can talk you through these fine points. I would guess 1 in 10 bike fitters understand this concept of saddle fit from my experiences, probably on par with the understanding of foot/cleat/pedal fit.
Since incorporating John’s simple analogy I have found I can sit relatively comfortably on a multitude of saddles. Even my crusty old Toupe and Romin saddles work reasonably well, but fail when I get low in the hooks. Before I changed my pelvic orientation to the above I couldn’t sit on them for 5 minutes in any capacity. Oddly, I ended up on an Adamo simply b/c of rail design and setback limitations + a slightly firmer saddle. The pic above is not from John, but simply one I found showing the difference b/t bending at the waist and the hips…very different looking with even more different results ‘down there’.
I hate to disagree with you, but I am a huge advocate of anterior pelvic tilt. It does put more pressure on the perineum but most can find this tolerable with the new breed of saddles that we currently have available to us.
An anterior pelvic tilt causes less stress to the lower back, allows riders to ride with more handlebar drop and allows for the core to be better engaged for cycling resulting in a more efficient pedal stroke.