Redesign of the standard bicycle seat to prevent male impotence

Abstract

Standard bicycle seats inflict injury to the perineum, the center for arteries and nerves feeding the penis, through repeated compression loading. Though harmless in low cycles of loading, the result for many high-mileage, male riders is sexual dysfunction. Recum­bent bicycle seats prevent damage to the perineum by shifting the compressive loads to other parts of the anatomy. The object of this project was to design an upright bicycle seat that gave the same benefits as recumbent seats in terms of protection of male sexual functionality. A seat design utiliz­ing similar principles of the recumbent seat and preventing damage to the perineum was proposed. This design maximized stability and comfort, while maintaining the rider's abil­ity to generate pedaling power. Additionally, a streamlined process for rapid prototyping of bicycle seats was developed.