Suspecting that I needed to be able to lean forward a little more, and also wanting more of my weight going through my sit bones and less through my, er, ``soft tissue'', I shifted my saddle 15mm back on the rail and tilted it down a couple of grooves, then raised the post a bit. Yes, yes, I know I should only change one variable at a time, but life's too short.
End result: I can pedal at least a gear higher at the same cadence and I chopped another five or ten minutes off the trip to the office. Is saddle position _really_ that critical? It does seem so...
End result: I can pedal at least a gear higher at the same cadence and I chopped another five or ten minutes off the trip to the office. Is saddle position _really_ that critical? It does seem so...
Yes. But you can take it to extremes. I once a friends bike while we test rode another. His saddle position at the time could only be described as "aggressive". There was no discernible difference between sitting in the saddle and climbing out to sprint. Fine for short hops, not much cop for distance. He has now calmed it down a touch or two.
If you ride the same route every day and have found a major difference in cycling came from these adjustments, try making small changes (One thing at a time!) every day or so and comparing the experience. When making any change makes the ride worse, you've got it licked. Try and get someone to photograph the setup (Preferably while you're riding) so that if / when you change your bike you get quickly get back to a good posture.
Originally posted by Ian G Batten Suspecting that I needed to be able to lean forward a little more, and also wanting more of my weight going through my sit bones and less through my, er, ``soft tissue'', I shifted my saddle 15mm back on the rail and tilted it down a couple of grooves, then raised the post a bit. Yes, yes, I know I should only change one variable at a time, but life's too short.
End result: I can pedal at least a gear higher at the same cadence and I chopped another five or ten minutes off the trip to the office. Is saddle position _really_ that critical? It does seem so...
ian
I too have experimented with saddle position, and I reckon it is slightly different on each of my three bikes, probably reflecting their different characteristics. However, the biggest single difference I noted was when I moved the saddle back on the rails by about 15mm and made sure that the saddle itself was parallel to the ground - made a big difference in my ability to climb whilst seated and extended the amount of time I can stay in the saddle before "the family jewels" go numb.
I'm thinking of getting myself a SaddleCo Flow saddle, but so far haven't managed to find a UK distributor. Anyone know where I can get a hold of this from a UK supplier?
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:18:01 +0000, John Hearns <[email hidden]>
() said:
I'm so sad that I read the subject here as "Saddle Angels" and started to think what shiny new accessory it was.
My first thought was a cable device to stop the saddle being stolen, but I've got one of those already.
Just for fun then, what would Saddle Angels be?
Emergency call-out teams for the saddle-sore, ready with helpful advice, padded shorts, soothing nostrums and the out of hours numbers of reputable 'bentmongers.
"Ian G Batten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Suspecting that I needed to be able to lean forward a little more, and also wanting more of my weight going through my sit bones and less through my, er, ``soft tissue'', I shifted my saddle 15mm back on the rail and tilted it down a couple of grooves, then raised the post a bit. Yes, yes, I know I should only change one variable at a time, but life's too short.
End result: I can pedal at least a gear higher at the same cadence and I chopped another five or ten minutes off the trip to the office. Is saddle position _really_ that critical? It does seem so...
I guess if it was badly wrong before such a difference might be made!
Talking of saddle angles, twice recently I've seen parked bikes with the saddle mounted at about 45 degrees to the side and pointing slightly down - completely weird. The first one I saw I thought might just be loose and that perhaps the rider at least swings it to a more central position when riding, but when I saw the second one like that, just out of curosity I got hold of the saddle to see if it was loose, and it was actually mounted firmly - and therefore deliberately - like that. Strange how some people ride their bikes!
I'm so sad that I read the subject here as "Saddle Angels"
You weren't the only one who read "angels" - ;-)
Quoted message said:
Just for fun then, what would Saddle Angels be?
For me it's my Terry's Liberator TiLite saddle :-)
Cheers, helen s
--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune h*$el*$$e**- nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o**l.c**$*$om$$
Emergency call-out teams for the saddle-sore, ready with helpful advice, padded shorts, soothing nostrums and the out of hours numbers of reputable 'bentmongers.
...and preferably looking a bit like Charlies Angels too.
I could probably do with a visit from the Saddle Angels at the moment - I'm in the process of breaking in a new Brooks B17...
Originally posted by Jon Senior [BI was under the impression that one didn't break in a leather saddle. I thought they broke in the rider!
Jon [/B]
Correect, the saddle breaks all the nerves in your [censored] so that after a certain period you no longer feel pain and discomfort. You kid yourself that your saddle has been "broken in" when in fact it's just your backside that's been bust!
ITYM a new Brooks B17 is in the process of breaking your [censored] in...
Indeed. I've done about 120 miles on it so far and still no sign of 'give' despite frequent and liberal applications of Proofide. But it's not all bad news - my friends love the John Wayne impression.
