ix286@sdccs6.UUCP (ix286) (05/20/84)
I have a problem that only women can understand. When I take rides over 40 miles the labia of my vagina become irritated. This irritation becomes particularly painful on much longer rides. Changing from a man's seat to women's seat did not solve the problem. Applications of vaseline seem to help a little, but not enough to satisfy me. When I finish my ride the irritation is not bothersome. I am now in the process of experimenting with different seat and handlebar orientations. Any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated.
libes@nbs-amrf.UUCP (05/26/84)
I have some suggestions that are applicable to both sexes.
One is a clever design for a seat by Dan Henry, Pres. of the NY
Cycle Club for many years. He mounted a pair of dropped handlebars in
place of his seat. The handlebars were rotated 180 degrees up (in the
air) and a broad piece of leather was slung between the drops. In
this way, your cheeks and genitalia were not forced apart as they are
on typical saddles. Reminiscent of a playground swing seat, this was
more comfortable and it was CHEAP. Except for the leather, the rest
could be pulled off any old junked bicycle. There is a picture of him
riding a bike with this seat (and many other interesting ideas he had)
in an old, old issue of Bicycling! (yeah, when the ! was still there).
Catch it in the "Best of Bicycling" book.
Another alternative is the Spenco pads. I'm not sure exactly what
they are, but its a kind of foam that (to everyone but a physicist)
gives a frictionless feeling. It is really a weird feeling at first,
sitting on top of one of these things - there's no friction!! Spenco
makes pads for bicycle seats, handlebars and cycling gloves.
Don Libes {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!nbs-amrf!libestackett@wivax.UUCP (Raymond Tackett) (05/27/84)
:
A seat similar to the one mentioned in a previous followup was
manufactured and sold by a company in Michigan. I had two problems
with it:
1. The company makes the thing in two seat post sizes. My seat post
was a third size.
2. After overcoming problem 1, I found that the riding feels insecure.
I couldn't get over the sensation of being perched precariously
atop the bike rather than astride and in control.
While I don't have the specific anatomic difficulty which started this
series of articles, I would like to see some ideas on keeping the center
of the pelvis from getting sore on long rides.
P.S. Thanks to all, silent or otherwise, who have kept this discussion
constructive.
--
Random Access is IMMORAL!
Ray Tackettwct@mordor.UUCP (05/29/84)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From years of reading bicycling books, it appears that the best
discussion and possible solution of this problem is found in
John Forester's "Effective Cycling". His solution involves
trimming/padding a cheap plastic seat--which in the end
worked well enough that he reported the cyclist in pain threw
away her new leather seat. "Effective Cycling" is available
from Custom Cycle Fitments in Palo Alto, Ca. (Obviously the
address is from memory---I'll try to bring in a full address).
--
William C. Thompson III (S-1 Project, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
U.S. Mail: LLNL, S-1 Project, P.O. Box 5503, L-276, Livermore, Ca., 94550
Phone: (415) 422-0758
MILNET: wct@s1-c or s1-a UUCP: ...!decvax!decwrl!mordor!wct