Riding - and decreased sensation during sex (?)

Hi ladies,
This is embarrassing, but here goes...
I'm 55yo, post-hysterectomy in 2007, have been riding since about July, and purchased a road bike in the past month (Trek Domane - beautiful). The saddle is Bontrager Affinity WSD, recommended by a girlfriend. After riding I have some soreness in my sit bones and a little dull discomfort in the nether regions, but no numbness or pain-pain there. I've also started dating a lovely man in the past couple of months, and spent the night with him this past weekend. All good so far.

But what I noticed was, I didn't feel as responsive as usual - a sort of dullness of sensation in my lady bits, and an orgasm was a long time coming. Fortunately no pain. I would chalk it up to just lack of practice, except for the dullness of sensation, and am wondering if it could be related to riding, and/or my saddle. Has anyone else experienced this? Thank you for your thoughts.

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Hi, and welcome :-) And congratulations on your date :-)

I think a certain amount of numbing is not unusual, no matter the saddle, but not enough to be a problem. If you ride every day, you might want to take a day or two off every now and then and see if it feels different. Sitting on any saddle does toughen up some parts not usually toughened up, to put it that way.

This might be a combination of menopause/lack of hormones related changes and riding together. I had to see my gynocologist about a slightly different, but similar issue.

Thank you ladies, I appreciate your thoughts.

Yes, when I initially had an issue, I was riding with a terrible stock saddle on my first road bike. Thankfully, my gyn was a tri-athlete and when I told her I thought the riding was making my already thin membranes worse, she knew exactly what i meant! I had not needed a perfect saddle when I started riding on a mountain bike, but the position on a road bike quickly changed that.
I can't imagine riding without a cutout now.

Are you taking any medication or anti-depressant - if so that may be the factor over you bike riding. Also for me, I enjoy intimacy more in the morning than I do in the evening. Alcohol affects me now where it never did in my younger days. Hey, at least I am still enjoying the green side.

Is your saddle level? It looks like it might be a smidge nosed-up. If it is, that can make issues worse. If you have a fit reason to do that, ignore me:) It might also be an optical illusion.

take that affinity saddle off your bike and throw it in the trash... or sell it on craigslist.
i purchased a domane last march that came with that saddle. it was an instrument of female torture!! after many tears and short rides, i purchased a specialized oura. specialized will give you 30 days to test a saddle. i am riding with a big smile on my face after a professional bike fit. a fitter can get the position and angle of the saddle set up right. the fitters sometimes have test saddles. another brand may suit you better than specialized.

Wow, what wisdom! Thank you ladies for sharing! I never considered the nose being up, that will be easy to adjust. And yes, I may well need another saddle - will check into that Specialized Romin, Muirienn, and thank you for the suggestion. After riding a hybrid for a few months, it still feels a little odd down there, bending over like that on the road bike. I'm tall (5'9") with long arms, perhaps that's why the saddle-to-bars drop is the way it is. The bike was fit to me at the Trek shop, and honestly, I don't know anything about fitting a bike. But I'll try one at a time - adjust nose, different saddle, adjust handlebar height. I've seen passionate discussions on saddles with regards to chafing and saddle sores, but not so much regarding dullness of sensation - but I think I'll re-read them.

Hi Muirenn,
She's 56cm, a 'show bike,' so she has some upgraded components - definitely a bike I will need to grow into as a rider. She's not women-specifc. I looked at a few women-specific bikes but honestly, being the same size as an average guy, I figured it's not critical for me the way it can be for my more petite sisters. I had also tried a 54cm and it just felt too cramped all over; even front to back As soon as I sat on the 56, i said "Aaahh." A little odd, as my partner Dan is 6'1 and also rides a 56, albeit with a seat adjusted up a lot. But I tried quite a few of both with the same response, so 56 it was. What size is yours?

I do think you're right about needing a cutout. While riding I feel pressure there in the soft tissues - not pain, but definite pressure. Some sit-bone discomfort as well, which I'm just chalking up to being unfamiliar with a road bike. Other than that, I cannot even describe how good it feels to be on that bike - what a delight! I feel like a cyclist again, and what a joy that is! Thank you for your wisdom!

I'm so impressed, Muirenn, with your knowledge! I have read and re-read your post and will need to do so again. Terms like cockpit, reach, offset markings on the saddle rail - all new to me.

I think the fitting took about an hour. I felt a little cramped, front to back, so they moved the seat back a bit. I have bad knees and anything that makes them feel hemmed in, or unable to stretch out, makes me uncomfortable rather quickly. If I move the saddle forward a bit, perhaps i won't be pushing soft tissues down so hard on the saddle (?)

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Is this picture more clear as far as offset? I took off the bag.

I'm afraid I'm going to make things worse by messing about here - I'm not very mechanically inclined - but will definitely start by trying to get the nose down a smidge. I took a closer look at the saddle - it has a dip about halfway up to the nose, and then the nose comes back up - this may help explain the pressure. Have you looked at the Stella Italia Diva Gel saddle? http://www.performancebike.com/bikes...ck-to-top-link. Looks similar to the Specialized Romin Evo.

Thank you for being so generous with your wisdom; I'm sure it's hard won, and I appreciate it!

saddle nose up, saddle nose down. As weird as it sounds, don't be afraid to actually raise the nose on your saddle. Of course, we work primarily with Gilles Berthoud, Rivet, Brooks and other leather saddles so by tilting the nose up (slightly) is puts the sit bones where they belong and keeps the rider from sliding forward onto to the nose. My nose is fairly level, maybe a hint of an upward tilt. My DH's saddle nose has an obvious upward tilt. Yes it sounds counter intuitive but don't rule it out as a possible solution. :) When people come into our shop complaining of saddle discomfort, that is the second thing we do (after measuring sit bones)

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Originally Posted by Sky King

saddle nose up, saddle nose down. As weird as it sounds, don't be afraid to actually raise the nose on your saddle. Of course, we work primarily with Gilles Berthoud, Rivet, Brooks and other leather saddles so by tilting the nose up (slightly) is puts the sit bones where they belong and keeps the rider from sliding forward onto to the nose. My nose is fairly level, maybe a hint of an upward tilt. My DH's saddle nose has an obvious upward tilt. Yes it sounds counter intuitive but don't rule it out as a possible solution. :) When people come into our shop complaining of saddle discomfort, that is the second thing we do (after measuring sit bones)

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We need a chart;
Does anything hurt?
No - good. Ride your bike
Yes - have you had your bike fit?
No - go to your LBS and get it fit.
Yes and I still hurt!!
Did anyone at your LBS measure your sit bones?
No - go back and get your saddle fit
Yes and I still hurt!
Read the cervello/KnottedYet article 4.5 rules of saddle fit , find another shop and get another saddle
Now, does anything hurt?
No - great. Ride your bike
Yes - still rocking the underwear under the bike shorts?
Yes - go commando and ride your bike! ....,

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Originally Posted by BlessedB

I felt a little cramped, front to back, so they moved the seat back a bit.

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I'm 5'9", and have a 56 cm Domane. I HATED the saddle that came with it (I also have a men's version so it was the men's affinity?) to the point that I cried wondering why I bought a road bike since it hurt so much. The original was way too narrow and I needed a cutout -- the Oura ended up working for me.

Before I changed saddles and had a fitting, I kept feeling "cramped" in the cockpit and kept trying to move the seat back, I always felt like I was too far forward and kept shifting back in my saddle. At my fitting, we changed the stems. The one the fitter chose for me was angled (sorry if I'm describing it incorrectly) that raised my handlebars a little, but more importantly stretched me out a bit more. He said this was a better fix than moving my saddle for my knees. It was a $30 change (much cheaper than all of my saddle trial and error) and made me much happier. It actually surprised me -- I was afraid the 56 cm would be too big so I couldn't believe he recommended a stem that actually made the reach a bit longer but it worked. I am pretty upright on the bike, but it's working for me.

I'm about to go back for a second fitting because when I do long hours on the trainer, one of my knees is hurting a bit. Part of it may be sitting in the same position for a long time (I think I move around more when I'm riding outside), or it could just be that I'm getting more repetitive type injuries and my fitting needs "fine tuned." I think "fitting" is an ever changing process where as we ride more, get more flexible, etc. might find that we need some additional tuning. I don't know enough (or have enough patience) to do a lot through trial and error, I'd rather pay someone who can have great suggestions from experience. Now that you've ridden that bike more, you can tell the fitter what is bothering you in more detail than you could at your first fitting.

I am 5'7" and ride a 56.5 Specialized Roubaix SL4. I have really long legs but am short waisted and so this bike works great for me. I have had two fits on this bike, once when I bought it (two tune-ups within weeks) and then once again this year when I got new shoes. I tried six different saddles when I bought my bike two years ago and LOVE the Selle Italia Diva. I ride about 150 miles a week and do some touring when visiting friends or traveling.

I have one Selle Italia Diva for my bike and one for travel. I take the spare with me so I know I will always be comfortable. Now when riding I never think about my butt. That is the best recommendation I can give any saddle. If you are not thinking about your butt or lady parts your saddle is working.

As others have said - go commando with your shorts and get a good pair. Cheap shorts won't last long and don't provide comfort on long rides.

Now I only wish they made this saddle in RED!

BTW - one last comment - I saw the post about the fit from someone who didn't like this saddle. You can go to any of the better bike shops and most of them can give you your sit-bone measurements. That is important and makes a huge difference on the saddle you buy. The Selle Italia Diva fit me perfectly but not be the one for you.