Saddle set back for time trials

It depends a lot on where you are at as a time trialist and personal preference. I have used a forward curved seat post with great results to both my ergonomics on the bike, and my overall aerodynamics. It has some handling and climbing disadvantages to consider... so I tend to only use it on pretty straightforward courses with little technical requirements. Otherwise its a major distraction (the last thing you want when its time to suffer).

Moving a seat forward, whether with a curved seat post or simply on the seat rails, will normally place more pressure on your arms. This can increase the amount of leverage your legs produce (similar to when you stand out of the saddle climbing), helping you maintain a bigger gear. However, a more forward position will affect the handling of the bike to some degree as it removes some of the pressure directed towards the bottom bracket. In cross wind time trails, expect to be pushed around a bit more and try to compensate. But most of all, work out the kinks before you race.

Many time trialist (myself included) prefer a bike that is very close coupled (the length of the chain & seat stays in relation to the seat tube - easily checked by examining how close the rear tire is to the seat tube) as it also helps produce more torque at the drive line by generally steepening all the angles on the bike (and moving the rider forward). The rest of the bikes geometry will then need to compensate, so the bikes tend to be very task specific to time trials (and expensive). Expect a close coupled bike to have very "twitchy" handling characteristics.

Hope that helps.

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