Bike Seats May Be Hazardous To Your Sex Life

OCTOBER 04, 2005 -- The New York Times reported on a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine that linked impotence to traditional bicycle seats. Dr. Steven Schrader, a reproductive health expert at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, declared there was no longer any question "whether or not bicycle riding on a saddle causes erectile dysfunction." The study, completed by researchers in Boston and Italy, found that the more a man rides, the greater risk of impotence or loss of libido. It was estimated that 5% of men who rode bikes regularly developed moderate of severe erectile dysfunction. The figure may be higher as many men would be embarrassed to admit such.

There have been several attempts at designing better seats since the original warnings in '97. But the new ergonomic seats may actually make matters worse, the paper said. The smaller surface areas mean more weight on less saddle. Schrader recommends seats without the traditional nose.

http://www.sportstrend.com/sportinggoodsbusiness/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001221154

Is any of this true?

Well my dad has problems and he "never" rode a bike in his life. I use a selle italia that has a cut out mid section that keeps pressure off your prostate. If it's gonna happen to you, then there's nothing you can do.

FYI, this is about as much news as the "Dewey Beats Truman" headline.

Do some people get ED from riding a bike? Sure. Were some of the bikes of those some people properly set up? Sure. Have some people on properly set up bikes with very low mileage still got ED? Sure. Some people are predisposed to various ailments and should not engage in activities that trigger those ills. BUT (!!!!) what percentage of reasonable riders (not really those trying to crank 300 miles in 30 hours, or whatever) on properly set up bikes who use even the slightest bit of wisdom in their riding style get ED? I really don't care how many people get ED from riding aero bars for 20 hours without standing up - it may sound harsh, but there is likely some penalty for stupidity, much as we might wish otherwise. Until someone has a study based on something other than "a bunch of guys came into my office with ED and they are bike riders" or "a bunch of people on an endurance ride or a club ride report ED", you don't have much. Common sense should tell anyone that if things get numb when they do something, they should change the way they do things. None of this suggests that Goldstein is other than a publicity hound, abetted and enabled by hack outfits like 20/20 and Bicycling magazine.

Some thoughts on what has so accurately been called the "gravy train." Guys like Goldstein don't have to worry about working themselves out of a job if their "theories" are disproved. The splash is in the initial press release, not in the high quality work it takes to sort out the truth. Please recall a press release from the prestigious University of Southern California (about 10 years ago?) which described a correlation of childhood leukemia with the consumption (by the father of these children) of more than six hot dogs a week. Cause and effect? I think not, but they got the headlines and the column inches and that's all they wanted. Think back 30 years to the study that showed a correlation of the same childhood leukemia with proximity to high power lines. Some of you probably still believe this to be true. 25 years of public policy and power line siting hearings were based on this study, the results of which have been shown to be without merit! Where was the publicity on the studies that refuted this one?

The condensed version? Kneel down and open wide, fella. ;)