In June 2016, pro cyclist Alison Tetrick faced a panel of Specialized Bicycles\u2019 saddle designers\u2014most of them men\u2014and invented a slew of euphemisms for \u201clabia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her many hours on bikes had caused her genitalia to become chronically inflamed. Describing her condition felt excruciatingly awkward and embarrassing; emotionally, it was as painful as the throbbing tissues that she endured during her 25 hours of weekly training. Still, Tetrick hoped that by alerting Specialized\u2019s designers to her problem, they might develop a solution\u2014for her and the many other women who experience saddle-related discomfort.<\/p>\n
Tetrick knew that other female pros also suffered from swollen labias or numbness\u00a0and, occasionally, lymphedema (clogged lymph nodes in the pelvis). But no one talked openly about such issues. \u201cWe were all dealing with it, but quietly,\u201d Tetrick says.<\/p>\n
Teammates shared recommendations\u00a0of surgeons who could alleviate discomfort by trimming the labia with a scalpel to make it smaller and less prone to abuse. (Besides applying ice, labiaplasty is the only real remedy available to pros.)\u00a0Recreational riders can take a few days off when cycling irritates their undercarriage, but elites can\u2019t afford the lapses in training that would allow their tissues to regain equilibrium.<\/p>\n
Tetrick appealed to Specialized\u2019s team of saddle gurus, who put their best scientist\u00a0on the case:\u00a0Andy Pruitt<\/a> leads the industry in bike-fitting innovations, having developed (and patented) Specialized\u2019s Body Geometry ergonomic\u00a0sole and footbeds. In summer 2016, the Boulder-based sports medicine consultant agreed to apply his detective skills to the problem of women\u2019s saddles.\u00a0His r\u00e9sum\u00e9\u00a0didn\u2019t include a background in men\u2019s saddles. (Male riders experience similar but not identical problems, which equipment designers started addressing several years ago by placing a doughnut hole or cutout\u00a0in the center of the saddle to accommodate a man\u2019s package.)\u00a0But Pruitt\u00a0did bring a willingness to see the problem through a fresh, women\u2019s-specific lens.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thinking had always been that if a big cutout worked for guys, then a bigger, ovalized cutout must be what women need,\u201d Pruitt says. But no brand\u2019s cutout-style saddle was succeeding at solving women\u2019s problems. To identify exactly what was causing women\u2019s tissue damage, Pruitt determined that he needed to look at how those tissues responded to saddle pressure. He decided to borrow a technique that\u2019s commonly used to fit prosthetic limbs. Pruitt\u00a0developed a clear plastic saddle that would let him and his research team see\u2014with their own eyes\u2014the ways saddle pressure affected women\u2019s tissues.<\/p>\n Pruitt is personally familiar with the limb-fitting process\u00a0because he is an amputee. After a hunting accident cost him his lower right leg, Pruitt was fitted with various prosthetic limbs, which, like a cyclist\u2019s pelvis,\u00a0interface with a part of the human body that nature never designed to bear weight. That process also involves a clear plastic test mold that lets the fitter eyeball the limb\u2019s effect on skin tissues. To feel comfortable, prosthetics must apply even, equal pressure across the entire socket, eliminating all pockets of swelling (edema) or restricted blood flow (ischemia). Pruitt set out to design a saddle that would do the same thing for female genitalia.<\/p>\n Sure, there was an element of awkwardness to the research, Pruitt admits. \u201cAt times, I was the only dude in the room, and I\u2019ve had to apologize for that,\u201d he says. But the 15 brave and determined women who participated in the study trusted Pruitt\u2019s dedication to sports physiology\u00a0and were motivated to contribute to a solution to their years-long problem. So, while naked (or nearly so), they pedaled a stationary bike fitted with a clear plastic saddle that would reveal the ride\u2019s effect on the women\u2019s genitals. The clear saddles revealed swelling in some tissues\u00a0and restricted blood flow\u00a0in others. Cutouts didn\u2019t help\u2014they choked off blood to some tissues, while other tissue swelled out through the opening.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a jock strap for women,\u201d explains Pruitt, who developed the\u00a0Mimic construction<\/a>\u00a0Specialized used in the\u00a0four women\u2019s saddles<\/a>\u00a0($125 to $350). The four models apply different materials\u00a0at different price points.\u00a0The design relies on a soft <\/strong>depression, rather than a cutout,\u00a0in the center of the saddle that acts like a trampoline floor to\u00a0cradle\u00a0<\/strong>tissues. Firmer materials at the rear of the saddle support the sit bones.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a game changer,\u201d Tetrick says. Riding the Mimic prototype helped her heal, and now that she\u2019s using the\u00a0version that\u2019s still in development, Tetrick says she has\u00a0entered an era of unprecedented comfort.<\/p>\n Not all women cyclists agree. The wide V-shaped Power\u00a0profile\u00a0that Specialized used for the initial Mimic launch doesn\u2019t suit all riders\u2014some women report hamstring pressure from the saddle\u2019s broad rear end. The company will introduce two additional saddle profiles with Mimic technology in fall 2019. Men\u2019s models will also inherit the Mimic construction, and Specialized is investigating Mimic\u2019s applications beyond saddles\u00a0to include other touch points, such as grips.<\/p>\n For women, Tetrick says, the Mimic saddles represent more than just gear<\/a>. \u201cIt makes the sport more inclusive,\u201d she says. For years, saddle-related soreness has deterred would-be riders and prevented elites from reaching their full potential. But like the sports bra, which encouraged more women to try running and stick with it, the Mimic saddle may\u00a0improve women\u2019s participation in cycling.<\/p>\n