Discussion on:

The no-nose bike saddle faces a marketing problem

I wish the article would have actually showed some of the latest "noseless" saddles.

I suffered through the numbness during my later years of bicycling. The damage done is long-term. Unfortunately, at that time, the only alternative was a seat that threw all the weight forward to my wrists which also give me problems, now. The real solution, for me, would probably be a recumbent bicycle.

Comfort is #1 for me and I don't care what anyone has to say about how I ride. I now ride a day6 comfort bike, no back pain, no wrist pain, no butt pain, no neck pain, just shear riding pleasure all day long. The biggest improvement would be to make this bike lighter, but other then that it goes everywhere.

It all depends on if you are riding a bike for exercise or for transportation. It amazes me how many people just don't think when it comes to bikes. I see moronic posers out on $5,000+ road bikes for exercise. Seriously, for exercise... If you want exercise, ride something that will give you a real workout. If one of my biking buddies tells me they rode 60 miles, I ask what they rode it on. If they rode it on their best bike I call them out for what they are, a wuss. If they rode it on a POS Huffy they get respect.

My main exercise bike is a fairly inexpensive, heavy, clunky mountain bike that I put some custom $400.00 rims on (after I tacoed the originals on a 6 foot drop off a loading dock). That is the bike I use to train muscle. And when I get on my road bike with a group of friends, I ride point and let them draft because they can't keep up unless I let them.

But all my bikes have a gel prostrate seat with a nose. I use the seat nose to control the bike in various situations. It lets me control the bike and do things like shift my grip, adjust clothing or helmet, take a drink from the water bottle, etc.

I will look into that day6 comfort bike... Looks like a good comfortable workout that would be great for training muscle.

Hi,

It's not always easy to get photos in time for my posts. (That's why the original version pointed you to web sites where you could look at them.) I managed to get one now, though. You can see it in the post.

Laura

sorry

terrible
(not sorry...)

Sorry, but I don't buy this story. I cycle regularly (100+ miles a week) and don't generally have any problems with numbness, etc. with a saddle that fits. Not every saddle with a nose creates numbness, if a cyclist has that problem it should be easily fixed by using a different saddle shape. Most manufacturers make more than one shape for that very reason. My concern with a noseless saddle is that it does not seem like it would be very good for performance. Many cyclists tend to move around a lot during rides, partly for comfort, but also because different terrain requires a different angle for maximizing power. Sometimes a cyclist sits on the back of the saddle, sometimes very far forward, almost on the nose. A noseless saddle does not seem nearly as good for bike handling, either. The nose is very useful for steering around tight corners with the inside of the leg, especially while descending. I would feel very unsafe without being able to grip the nose between my thighs.

Perhaps I am wrong about the limitations, but this group of scientists seem to ignore how cyclists really use existing saddles. A noseless saddle might work for recreational cyclists out for a slow crawl along the bike path, but then why show a picture of Lance Armstrong in a professional race?

Where have you been privatewaterlaw? Lance Armstrong should be the poster boy for noseless saddles. He had and overcame testicular cancer?

Sorry, Mr. Privatewaterlaw, but your analysys SEEMS to be very full of "seems", without any actual experience. "Where's the beef?"

I think you made very good point. There are many sadles on the market that do great job for the most cyclist. No-noise saddles might be good choice only for group with special needs. Let's see..

Sorry butt my penis is more important than anything especially insults from a numb-crotch.

If you take a look at the saddles that a growing number of pro triathletes are using (both men and women) the Adamo saddle (without a nose) is very popular. For the most part you ride in a time trial position which puts more pressure in that area so it is even more important.

I'm glad to see that you are apologizing for you posterior...

As an electronics design eng I am sure that I could modify the Rigiscan to do things it was not intended to for a different market....(grin)

I get it ronangel but I think you're onto something. I'm perplexed by the use this gripping device was put to because in the normal, healthy male, the penis becomes (non-sexually) erect during REM dreaming. This can occur up to 25% of sleep time. What were they trying to show? I need to know more. Meantime, lets get this Rigiscan in the right hands and put it to better use with ronangel as the CEO of RigiCo.

After more than half a century of riding cycles I now don't venture out much and all because the saddles are rubbish.
No matter what ones I buy they all hurt and I cant buy one like my dad had in 1950,big fat and sprung. So this is a no brainer.
Where can I get one

The no-nose saddles DO "look funny" but I think the real reason why people don't like them is simply because they do not offer the same amount of control, and control is CRUCIAL for a bicyclist to feel comfortable while riding.

It's the nose portion of the saddle that lets you hold position while peddling; that lets you move your hands and do things while riding -- like taking a drink from your water bottle. The nose gives the rider TWO points of stability that play against one another to stabilize his/her stance. The legs can grip the nose WHILE peddling, even letting the rider do things with BOTH hands off of the bar grips.

The no-nose, by contrast, requires you to balance on two sliding points, and takes away your gripping area. The rider needs to keep BOTH hands on the grips pretty much all the time, meaning that he/she can't change stances -- an important relief factor while riding. The nose of the saddle can't be used as a stability factor.

I've ridden all my life, and though I've thought about a no-nose, a brief try was all it took to convince me that it was a non-starter.

What I recommend is that you use a gel saddle, and tip it as far forward as lets you keep control. This preserves the option of using the nose as a stability grip, and lowers the impact on your sensitive regions.

BTW, I'm also totally against helmets (for experienced riders). I've fallen MANY times, but NEVER been hit by a car, and I am long past hitting my head when I hit the ground. This is where the experience comes in. The first times one falls, one seems to just "shift" to a "fallen" perspective; the fall happens so fast, that "control" of the fall is a moot point. With experience, the PROCESS of falling becomes more amenable to control, and you find yourself falling where and how you want to.

To my mind, a helmet just adds mass to your head, making it harder to swivel it for situational awareness, and sometimes blocking the corner-of-the-eyes view -- all important.

BTW2: This is not the first time you guys have missed the obvious. Try running a topic past someone who knows something about the subject, before publishing. You'll have fewer misses like this, and like the "feedback" speed notification signs that you said lower speeds "because" the driver gets the feedback. NOT -- it's the PUBLIC NATURE of the speed feedback sign that the driver is responding to, not the simple feedback.

Lightning Joe I strongly disapprove of your advice. I understand where you are coming from but do you really think it is a good message to spread to cyclists?

I mountain bike so I've fallen hundreds of times over the course of ten years, and I can't even begin to imagine all of the ways that this little melon of mine could get split. I'm sure you know how easy it really is, and if you don't ask any emergency doc and they will tell you. I have also never hit my head but I strap on my sexy ass helmet every time because I don't think you are ever "past" hitting your head. Wouter Weylandt would probably agree if he were alive.

Mine is a 200 dollar GIRO so maybe you have to splurge to get past the slight mass and peripheral vision issues but it's worth it! Everyone wear a helmet!!

I'm onto my fourth helmet now. You don't want to see what the previous 3 look like. We sometimes get ice, even in July, and ice and bikes don't usually go well together. The helmet is replaceable. My noggin isn't.

I started riding with a no nose saddle about 4 years ago. It took a whole season to become comfortable with it. It is true that you have less control than a nose type saddle but you do adjust somewhat and I can easily ride with no hands on the handle bars. I switched mainly so that I could ride longer without a sore bum, it has certainly done that. As for helmets, crashes can happen in the most unexpected ways and times, no matter how much you think you are always in control, you are not, be protected. As for helmets blocking peripheral vision, I've never figured that out, my helmet sits on top of my head not down beside my eyes. I ski and use a helmet and I hear that same complaint, again I can't figure out what people are talking about. If anything prevents peripheral vision it is the goggles not the helmet that do this.

I have a friend, an experienced, long-time bicycle rider, who was hit from behind by a car while riding his bike. It flipped him back onto the hood so hard he had brain injury even though he was wearing his helmet. It was touch-and-go for a while. One friend said it might change his personality. I asked her, "Does that mean he won't tell someone to go {urinate} up a rope?" She replied, "That might be all he says!" He was in the hospital for a good while. He came out OK, but I could tell his personality had changed slightly. He seemed more subdued, but at least he was alive; I doubt he would be if he hadn't been wearing his helmet. Not wearing a helmet can definitely result in you being removed from the gene pool. Your mileage may vary.

...wasn't Darwin's--he just published the first exhaustive proof.

'Notes on flora and fauna recorded on H.M.S. Beagle'. He came to his senses after witnessing the evidence of numerous mass extinctions that could in no way be ascribed to the gradual, attritive effects of 'natural selection'. By that time, of course, his 'first exhaustive proof'(!)---with its *easy answer* for a complex, dynamic biosphere---had snowballed beyond his ability to contain it with his further investigation. It was too convenient a cudgel for various societal agendas to relinquish in light of further, contradictory evidence. The verdict was too popular for anyone to have a future in re-opening the case on subsequently-discovered facts---not even Darwin himself. His observations (mostly of Patagonia and down the eastern coast of South America) while sailing with the Beagle are a fascinating read; his consternation grows as direct evidence flies in the face of his work (and the many assumptions that devolve therefrom).

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Where can I get one? I suggest that the Biologic folks market these.

Now I know why I have my saddle tipped forward much more than anyone recommends. Remember that the seat is there, not to be a chair, but to keep you in riding position.

My significant other and I bought Spider-flex no-nose bike seats last year. http://www.spiderflex.com/

This is what I experienced: It took a while to get it adjusted properly, but once adjusted, was extremely comfortable. No pressure on sensitive areas!! Yes, it feels different compared to a typical bike seat, but just takes a little getting used to.
On my first ride of the season, I have no discomfort, no feeling like I have to build up a "callous" in order to ride comfortably for a distance.
My partner has prostate cancer and was not able to bicycle AT ALL even with a severely centre cut bike seat .. he uses this new seat with great comfort as well and no pain!

To me it just screams "comfortable" and how others interpret it, I couldn't care less. Mine was just a foot long padded piece of wood positioned laterally and it worked perfectly. There's enough pain involved in cycling without neutering oneself in the process. Whoever designed the first bike saddle must have been some kind of sadist.

What I wonder is why the downward pressure on those two cheek pads is not being converted into forward motion in some way. Seems hydraulics should be able to use that energy and add a little boost to the pedal power. Sure it might not be much, but a couple of % can make a big difference in a competitive environment. And if it made the bike go faster, the uptake would be greater as well.