Saddle post-prostate biopsy?

[saudidave]

The logic of a B17 is that the contact area of your bum on the seat is tiny, just where the sit bones are, thus blood flows through the rest of it and it doesn't go numb. That's why virtually every long distance touring bike you see has a B17 or a similarly styled firm seat with hardly any padding. That padded one will completely envelope it and stop the blood flow, quickly numbing it. Sweaty too!

You have absolutely confirmed what I wrote in my first post:

...I don't understand why, but noseless saddles are one of those areas where people who've never used them feel absolutely compelled to tell you why they're not a good idea - I guess this is because they don't like the look of them so are determined to formulate theoretical objections to them, which don't actually stack up in practice.

Your homework is to go away and find the physical dimensions of the saddle which we're discussing and come back and report your results. If you can't find them, you can simply ask me - which is what you probably ought to have done in the first place...

I fully appreciate that's what you said in your first post but the saddle you posted the link to is for a very thick padded saddle that won't just support the sit bones, it will envelope your rear in completely in thick upholstery. The size, which I had already noted is 200 x 180mm and approx 75mm thick. The advert actually says it's "a soft cushion" I don't know about you but my sitbones are not much more than 100mm apart and if I sit on a piece of soft foam that big my bum will sink in to it and go dead in no time. Some of the rivals to that style of seat are actually advertised as a "Big Ass Bike Saddle"

[DevonDamo]

I fully appreciate that's what you said in your first post but the saddle you posted the link to is for a very thick padded saddle that won't just support the sit bones, it will envelope your rear in completely in thick upholstery. The size, which I had already noted is 200 x 180mm and approx 75mm thick. The advert actually says it's "a soft cushion" I don't know about you but my sitbones are not much more than 100mm apart and if I sit on a piece of soft foam that big my bum will sink in to it and go dead in no time. Some of the rivals to that style of seat are actually advertised as a "Big Ass Bike Saddle"

Could you post a link to where you saw those incorrect dimensions?

[saudidave]

I fully appreciate that's what you said in your first post but the saddle you posted the link to is for a very thick padded saddle that won't just support the sit bones, it will envelope your rear in completely in thick upholstery. The size, which I had already noted is 200 x 180mm and approx 75mm thick. The advert actually says it's "a soft cushion" I don't know about you but my sitbones are not much more than 100mm apart and if I sit on a piece of soft foam that big my bum will sink in to it and go dead in no time. Some of the rivals to that style of seat are actually advertised as a "Big Ass Bike Saddle"

Could you post a link to where you saw those incorrect dimensions?

You posted it this morning at 11.02 a,m,!! It’s this link, I’ve copied it from your post!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Noseless ... Swr~ZfBKah

[saudidave]

Extreme COPD. By dint of exercising almost every day (cycling mostly, walk if weather too awful) I have "bought" c.5 years already, but inevitable and accelerating decline continues.
Despite lung age in mid-90s I managed 6500 miles pedaling last year, but I can't delay it much longer!
I have no wish to simply sit hooked up to oxygen tank. Quality over longevity for me.

Ah, I see. If you have extreme COPD then that is probably why they can’t operate on you, you possibly wouldn’t survive the anaesthetic.COPD is an awful disease. I sympathise and wish you well.

[DevonDamo]

You posted it this morning at 11.02 a,m,!! It’s this link, I’ve copied it from your post!!

Your claim is that this saddle will envelope your buttocks and restrict blood flow. The reality is that this saddle supports your sit bones and no more. It is a flat platform which you sit on, rather than straddle around. The cushioning is enough to keep your sit bones from pressing on the hard plastic base, but no more. That's the only significant contact your butt has with the saddle and in over 10 years of using this, I've never experienced the numb backside which you predict.

If you go back and look at my original post, you'll see that the one thing I didn't do is tell the OP that this was the saddle for him - it's impossible to predict saddle-fit for a stranger on the internet because, for example, people with more 'generous' backsides than mine might find a flat platform to be uncomfortable or even unstable. My post was intended to give him a cheap way of trying out a cheap copy of this type of saddle which definitely meets one of his key criteria, i.e. completely removing pressure, and indeed any contact at all, in the perineum area.

[djnotts]

Extreme COPD. By dint of exercising almost every day (cycling mostly, walk if weather too awful) I have "bought" c.5 years already, but inevitable and accelerating decline continues.
Despite lung age in mid-90s I managed 6500 miles pedaling last year, but I can't delay it much longer!
I have no wish to simply sit hooked up to oxygen tank. Quality over longevity for me.

Ah, I see. If you have extreme COPD then that is probably why they can’t operate on you, you possibly wouldn’t survive the anaesthetic.COPD is an awful disease. I sympathise and wish you well.

Just so! Plus benefits to me a poor return on use of over-stretched resources. I'd far sooner deployed on someone 20+ years younger with a family etc. I've had more than my 3 score and 10 and pushed my luck many times along the way!
Already outlived most of those I knew from my teens and whose fate and current circumstances I am aware of. And all but 1 of those still alive in worse health state than am I.
Thanks.

[saudidave]

You posted it this morning at 11.02 a,m,!! It’s this link, I’ve copied it from your post!!

Your claim is that this saddle will envelope your buttocks and restrict blood flow. The reality is that this saddle supports your sit bones and no more. It is a flat platform which you sit on, rather than straddle around. The cushioning is enough to keep your sit bones from pressing on the hard plastic base, but no more. That's the only significant contact your butt has with the saddle and in over 10 years of using this, I've never experienced the numb backside which you predict.

If you go back and look at my original post, you'll see that the one thing I didn't do is tell the OP that this was the saddle for him - it's impossible to predict saddle-fit for a stranger on the internet because, for example, people with more 'generous' backsides than mine might find a flat platform to be uncomfortable or even unstable. My post was intended to give him a cheap way of trying out a cheap copy of this type of saddle which definitely meets one of his key criteria, i.e. completely removing pressure, and indeed any contact at all, in the perineum area.

When I see lots of touring bikes with one of those contraptions on it, or a serious paper by an expert extolling it's virtues I might consider one. For now I'll stick with a B17 as they have been serving me well for almost 60 years.

[Vorpal]

Prostate biopsy (targetted transperineal version) yesterday afternoon. Procedure far from pleasant but only moderately painful! No pain as such overnight, indeed right now FEELS as if could get straight out for my daily 10-25 miles.
The nurse practitioner who did the procedure happened to be a cyclist. When I asked about getting back on a saddle he said about a week, which is what I had planned.
Internet skimming suggests a noseless or split saddle safest. (A full seat recumbent probably best, immediate and longer term, but expensive and difficult to source during current travel restrictions.)
Any experience/suggestions welcome.
Thanks.

I don't get on with hard saddles, but I do like the ones with a cut-out in the middle. Although my preferred saddle is Serfas, you might do better to get something similar to what you already have, like a Selle Italia with a cut-out?

Best wishes for continued quality of life & good luck with the saddle.

[djnotts]

Thanks, vorpal.

And for all the saddle info all - didn't realise would be so controversial!

If I have any "results" re noseless I shall share!

[djnotts]

Well ..... on a stationary steed comfortable enough for 1 hour and meets the purpose of no pressure on the area which I wished to protect. Does give a feeling of sliding off the front, with increased weight on my arms.

[djnotts]

PS in case of any interest!
Seems to me that irrespective of any medical need, ideal for "stationary" use where not so much moving about, occasional stopping for lights, out-of-the saddle etc. One hour non-stop seated in one position is entirely comfortable.
I've tried a few 00 yards actual riding and it feels very strange! The whole balance thing is plain wrong, although I expect practice would help.

[DevonDamo]

PS in case of any interest!
Seems to me that irrespective of any medical need, ideal for "stationary" use where not so much moving about, occasional stopping for lights, out-of-the saddle etc. One hour non-stop seated in one position is entirely comfortable.
I've tried a few 00 yards actual riding and it feels very strange! The whole balance thing is plain wrong, although I expect practice would help.

Glad it's working out for you comfort-wise, which I guess is a big ask so soon after surgery. I imagine that you'll really want to avoid any pressure on your perineum in the near future, so it makes sense to try noseless first. When I first bought mine, I had the opposite problem to what you've reported in your penultimate post - i.e. rather than slipping forwards off it, my problem was that the two sticky-out bits at the fronts were jabbing me in the back of the thighs. I solved this by altering my seat-post to allow the saddle to angle more nose down, i.e. making it more slidey-downy. I vaguely recall that it initially felt a bit like I was slipping forwards off the thing, but once I'd got used to the alien feeling, it was quickly forgotten. (I did also experience excessive weight on my hands, but that turned out to be a 'bike fit' problem which I resolved by adjusting the geometry up front with different stem, bars etc.) I've now gone back to using a traditional saddle on my mountain bike (because I find it easier whilst I'm learning to wheelie) so I'm regularly swapping back and forth between that and the noseless saddles on my other bikes - and, apart from when wheelying, really don't notice any functional difference. And as you've discovered, there's certainly no danger of restriction of the blood supply causing your buttocks to go numb(!)

With regards to the balance issue, if you're like me, you might find it just takes a bit of getting used to. I'd previously posted a couple of links to (1) a research study comparing the effects on perineal pressure from these and traditional saddles and (2) an article by one of the study participants, who is the head of the Chicago cycle-mounted police department, who also reports that the weird-feeling balance/handling was just a matter of getting used to, and is urging people not to let dogma and misinformation rob them of an opportunity to protect their health. These links were censored when I last posted them, but I'll have another go at posting the link to (2) as you might recognise what this Chicago copper is saying about how it felt when he first tried them:

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.173.2234&rep=rep1&type=pdf

(The study was looking at these saddles from the sexual health angle, but the metric they use is 'perineal pressure' which is the same issue of concern with all the other more serious health issues associated with saddle-use. You can find loads of other research studies on these saddles via Google, but I chose to link this one as the guy is using the expensive ISM saddle which yours is a cheaper copy of.)

[djnotts]

Thanks for the follow up to your original helpful commentary. Very interesting.
To be clear, this period of use related to post- investigation, IF surgery follows then at best only option will be noseless after a significant period of none! More likely I think will be a seated recumbent. Decisions yet to be faced....

[Jon Lucas]

Prostate biopsy (targetted transperineal version) yesterday afternoon. Procedure far from pleasant but only moderately painful! No pain as such overnight, indeed right now FEELS as if could get straight out for my daily 10-25 miles.
The nurse practitioner who did the procedure happened to be a cyclist. When I asked about getting back on a saddle he said about a week, which is what I had planned.
Internet skimming suggests a noseless or split saddle safest. (A full seat recumbent probably best, immediate and longer term, but expensive and difficult to source during current travel restrictions.)
Any experience/suggestions welcome.
Thanks.

I had a transperineal prostate biopsy last May, two months after having had a TRUS prostate biopsy. I understand that the transperineal biopsy is normally done under full anaesthetic, but they chose to do mine with an epidural, so I was conscious throughout but didn't find it unpleasant at all. However, after the painkillers wore off I was in a lot of discomfort, and unfortunately then became severely ill for 3 weeks. So there was no chance of me going near a bike for a long time, and it took the whole summer for me to recover properly. However, I've had no problems riding since the summer, so no long-term damage, though as my PSA has continued to rise, I've been told I may end up having another biopsy this spring. C'est la vie.

[djnotts]

Prostate biopsy (targetted transperineal version) yesterday afternoon. Procedure far from pleasant but only moderately painful! No pain as such overnight, indeed right now FEELS as if could get straight out for my daily 10-25 miles.
The nurse practitioner who did the procedure happened to be a cyclist. When I asked about getting back on a saddle he said about a week, which is what I had planned.
Internet skimming suggests a noseless or split saddle safest. (A full seat recumbent probably best, immediate and longer term, but expensive and difficult to source during current travel restrictions.)
Any experience/suggestions welcome.
Thanks.

I had a transperineal prostate biopsy last May, two months after having had a TRUS prostate biopsy. I understand that the transperineal biopsy is normally done under full anaesthetic, but they chose to do mine with an epidural, so I was conscious throughout but didn't find it unpleasant at all. However, after the painkillers wore off I was in a lot of discomfort, and unfortunately then became severely ill for 3 weeks. So there was no chance of me going near a bike for a long time, and it took the whole summer for me to recover properly. However, I've had no problems riding since the summer, so no long-term damage, though as my PSA has continued to rise, I've been told I may end up having another biopsy this spring. C'est la vie.

I had a local anaesthetic rather than epidural - lungs don't tolerate generals.
Absolutely fine for 2 days and then stupidly did some strenuous leg exercises and the blood flowed copiously in the urine! Waited another 4 days then on the stationary bike for an hour but checking for blood every 15 minutes.
Last few days 10 stationary plus 5 to 10 real. No discomfort.
Results appointment tomorrow, only 2 weeks after biopsy. Expect they'll don the black cloth on the head.
Good luck.