Mountain biking is a very technical form of bicycling. It requires superb balance, skill and the proper equipment. While shock absorbers and big knobby tires catch most of the attention, the mountain bike saddle, or seat, is often overlooked. Though a very basic piece of gear, a saddle can make or break a good mountain bike ride if it is properly sized or adjusted, causing pain and numbness.
Neuropathy
Many mountain bikers and other types of bicyclists have experienced numbness in their groin region after riding a bike for an extended period of time. The numbness is caused by pressure on the pudendal nerve, located behind the soft tissue in between your ischial tuberosities. Your ischial tuberosities are the bones in your butt that you feel pressure on when you sit down. Neuropathy is the term associated with any damage or injury to nerves as is given to this condition of numbness. It can be very mild with only minor numbness or more serious, causing long-term damage.
Mountain Biking
Mountain bikers must constantly transfer their weight forward and backward on the saddle to compensate for changing terrain. To allow for this transfer back and forth many mountain bike saddles are fairly long. In addition, to help minimize chafing and obstruction of leg movement, the saddles are also usually quite narrow. The combination of a long and narrow saddle is good for the demands of mountain biking, but it may cause numbness in some people.
Saddle Fit
A bicycle saddle is not meant to support your full weight. It is meant to support a portion of your weight while your arms receive the other portion on the handlebars. However, even with reduced weight on the saddle proper fit is crucial. Your seat should support your ischial tuberosities and not the soft tissue in between. Because most mountain bike seats are long and narrow, the seat slips between your ischial tuberosities, putting full pressure on the pudendal nerve. If you experience chronic numbness, a slightly wider seat may fit you better and eliminate the numbness.
Considerations
Do not attempt to change your riding position or saddle style unless your numbness has become a common problem. Mountain bikers who do not ride very often and attempt long rides without building up to it will surely have some soreness and numbness. Most often this is due to poor preparation, attempting too much too soon. Always make sure that your saddle's height, position and pitch are correctly adjusted as well. Many bike shops will help you adjust your saddle for a small fee. An improperly adjusted saddle is just as prone to cause numbness problems as a saddle that doesn't fit.
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