In article <[email hidden]>,
Peter H said:I hope someone from this excellent group can answer this question for
me.
I'm new to cycling, having just taken it up 2 months ago. Bought a new
Diamondback (Raleigh) Session Mountain Bike on sale. It was about $700
with the odds and ends. I don't know what the frame size is, but I
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You can get an approximate idea by measuring from the centre
of the bottom bracket (the bit the crank spindle goes into)
to the top of the seat tube.
Quoted message said:bought it at a reputable bike shop in the greater Toronto Area and the
salesman seemed to know what he was doing. He said the bike came in
several sizes and that I would need a "large". I'm 5' 10 1/2" and
weigh in at about 180 lbs.
The saddle is a WTB SpeedV and I normally ride in biking shorts.
Anyway, I find that I'm constantly having to pull myself forward on
the seat. When I ride I slowly slip further and further back on the
seat until every 5 or 10 rotations of the crank I have to pull myself
forward again.
I've tried moving the seat back as far as it will go, but it doesn't
seem to help.
Currently riding about 150 kms / week and really enjoying it.
Any ideas why I keep sliding back in the seat?
I've an hunch your MTB is equipped with a so-called "riser" (upswept)
handlebar. You may have also set your saddle height too low.
Too much drop from saddle height to handlebar height will tend
to pull you foward (and put a lot of weight on your hands & wrists😉
too much rise from saddle height to handlebar height will tend to
push you back. In general, both handlebar and saddle should be at
approximately the same height, and the saddle should be fairly level,
although its tilt would probably have to be micro-adjusted to suit
you. And of course the saddle should be high enough that with a
pedal at the six o'clock position, the respective leg has maximum
extension at the point just before the knee locks.
A little bit of drop can give you a competitive/technical advantage
at some expense of comfort; a little bit of rise can give you added
comfort at some expense of aerodynamics, weighting the front wheel
just enough on uphills, and the ease to hop or wheelie. Too much of
either drop or rise is not a good thing.
If you've got a riser handlebar, I suggest trying a flatter one.
N.B: there's good reason why the J-bar-equipped Stingrays of
the mid-'60s came equipped w/ those long "banana" saddles.
cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca
