Bicycle saddle shape affects penile blood flow

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of bicycle saddle shape on penile blood flow during cycling. Penile blood flow was measured using a laser Doppler flowmeter in 20 potent male volunteers. In a counterbalanced, crossover design, measurements were taken in the standing and sitting positions, on either a narrow unpadded or wide unpadded saddle, before and after cycling for 5 min. Before cycling, penile blood flow (ml/min/100 g tissue) was significantly decreased from 1.6+/-0.7 to 1.5+/-0.7 (P=0.010) on the wide saddle and from 1.7+/-0.6 to 1.0+/-0.5 (P<0.001) on the narrow saddle. After 5 min of cycling, the changes in penile blood flow on the wide and narrow saddles were 0.34+/-0.49 and -0.38+/-0.49, respectively (P<0.001). The narrow saddle is associated with more significant reductions in penile blood flow and could be a source of blunt perineal trauma, potentially leading to erectile dysfunction.