IPMBA Product Review

No-Nose Saddles

The Chicago Police Department and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have created a one-minute YouTube video to create interest in the use of noseless (no-nose) bike seats among bike patrol officers.  This brief video quickly dispels some purported problems of noseless seats.  The officers are able to ride in traffic, conduct police work, and have complete bicycle control to the extent that they can ride “no-handed,” all while using a noseless bike seat.

After a decade of research studying the reproductive health effects of the bicycle seat on bicycle police officers, NIOSH has shown that the noseless (no-nose) bicycle seat is a good intervention to relieve harmful pressure in the genital area and, at least in part, restore sexual function.  While the science is strong and has been published in highly respected medical journals, recommendations have been made, and the seats have been integrated into major police departments like Chicago, the shift of large numbers of public safety cyclists to this “healthier design” has been slow.  In an attempt to raise awareness of this important intervention, NIOSH created a video showing how the Chicago Bicycle Patrol officers have integrated the noseless seat into their standard safety equipment.

To view the YouTube video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEzfgS36eEE

For more information please contact NIOSH at sms4@cdc.gov or visit http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/bike/.

Dr. Steve Schrader leads the Reproductive Health Assessment Team for NIOSH and has been conducting occupational studies on reproductive health since 1983.  He was the project officer for the NIOSH bicycle research studies.

Sgt. Joe Andruzzi has been the commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department’s Bicycle Patrol Unit since March 1999. He oversees a fleet of more than 450 bicycles and trains 100-200 officers yearly for bike patrol. He also is an avid user and advocate of the noseless bike seat.

This note appeared in the Winter 2012 issue of IPMBA News

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Comments

  • John Doe

    Can I’ve more information also your suggest regarding non conventional saddle for my Ipb ? Thank you

    05:23pm, 12/07/2014
  • John Doe

    For more information about no-nose saddles, please visit http://ipmba.org/blog/comments/noseless-saddles-provide-protection, http://ipmba.org/images/uploads/NIOSH_Workplace_Solutions-Noseless_Saddles.pdf, and http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/bike/.  There are various non-conventional saddles available, many of which are listed on this website: http://www.healthycycling.org/.  You may need to try several models until you find the one that you find most comfortable.

    10:52am, 12/19/2014
  • John Doe

    Oh, okay. I think this article would be totally helpful for my brother-in-law when he goes out and makes a purchase some time soon. He plans to start using his old bicycle again after keeping it in his garage for years but when he tried it yesterday he found the seat to be extremely unbearable. Luckily, you did mention that noseless saddles have been proven to alleviate pain around our nether region. https://moonsaddle.com/product/moonsaddle-classic/

    06:01am, 04/27/2022
  • John Doe

    The link to http://www.healthycycling.org is broken.

    10:01am, 06/06/2022

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