BikeBiz.com reported on Selle Royale’s Saddle Report DVD earlier this year. This contained lots of useful info by renowned medicos but was used as a battering ram against saddles with holes in them. Selle Royale’s London press agency said such saddles were "dangerous."
Fellow saddle makers were furious with Selle Royale for both the assertion about holey saddles and for raking up the whole subject of impotency and cycling.
See the links below for the story on the Saddle Report DVD and the follow up critique from Specialized’s Body Geometry expert, Dr Minkow.
The cause of cycling was hurt in 1997 by the views of Dr Goldstein, a world-renowned expert on sexual dysfunction. And journalists with easy access to Google – ie all of them – can easily dredge up tons of info damaging to cycling thanks to his comments. That’s why many experts thought Selle Royale’s Saddle Report DVD, and specificially the press release that went with it, was irresponsible.
Yet it now turns out that Goldstein has recanted. He no loger thinks cycling is dangerous and, as many experts have said all along, he agrees that proper bike fit can cure many of the problems he thought intractable.
He has come to this conclusion after working with US cyclo-crosser Matt Kraus. The Ride magazine (issue 111), a cycle magazine for cyclists in Boston, Washington DC, and New York, reports that Kraus went to Goldstein with impotency but cured himself by altering his bike fit and other proactive measures.
Goldstein is reported to have been extremely surprised by the recovery and said:
"I used to be fervently against cycling. I didn’t know of options that actually work. I’m working with a rider [Kraus] who keeps showing improvement in feeling and blood flow [while continuing to ride competitively]. Knowledge and appropiate fitting can minimize the issue."
Hallelujah!