TT Position

n crowley said:

If the front of saddle / bottom bracket rule was removed and replaced by a front of helmet / front wheel axle rule, would TT riders move their saddles forward or continue to use the existing saddle position.

I think they'd move their saddle forward - it works for most but not for everyone.

I had a custom frame made with a longer top and down tube such that the front wheel is further out. That way your body weight is still distributed across the front and back wheels like a road bike, which makes for good cornering and out of the saddle riding, but allows for a steep seat angle.

It is possible to build a time trial bike that handles like a road bike but makes it comfy enough to get your back flat.

See my little avatar for the example....

n crowley said:

If the front of saddle / bottom bracket rule was removed and replaced by a front of helmet / front wheel axle rule, would TT riders move their saddles forward or continue to use the existing saddle position.

I don't know but but if they did, I think they might have to allow for morphological exceptions as they do now for extension lengths. If they didn't, I might be in trouble of violating it, though I don't do any races where UCI rules are in force.

Do you have specific knowledge that they are actually considering this? If so, how far ahead of the axle would the helmet be allowed?

n crowley said:

If the front of saddle / bottom bracket rule was removed and replaced by a front of helmet / front wheel axle rule, would TT riders move their saddles forward or continue to use the existing saddle position.

😕 I'm not seeing that changing the reference point allows a change in the position of the rider's body. Are you asking whether they would slide the saddle back under their asses rather than sitting on the nose like they do now?

frenchyge said:

: Are you asking whether they would slide the saddle back under their asses rather than sitting on the nose like they do now?

Yes, that's it. Can riders get more power to the pedals by using that perched on the nose position. Of course this position also eliminates the friction between sides of saddle and legs which occurs when using the sit bone rear of saddle position.

n crowley said:

Of course this position also eliminates the friction between sides of saddle and legs which occurs when using the sit bone rear of saddle position.

Yep. For me I'd probably rather stay on the rivet as it removes one item (the nose of the saddle) trying to occupy that very small gap between the legs and torso.

Just a general rule of thumb, 5mm up, 5mm forward usually works and drop a few specers on your handlebars.

frenchyge said:

Yep. For me I'd probably rather stay on the rivet as it removes one item (the nose of the saddle) trying to occupy that very small gap between the legs and torso.

Personally, with a big ol' San Marco Regal saddle, I much prefered it when I went from a 76 degree seat angle to a 82 degree seat angle and had the saddle where it was supposed to be. Being able to sit properly on a saddle really does help over 25 miles....

... now if your last name is Hoy and you pedal like crazy for 1000m then I guess you could dispense with the saddle and just sit on the seat post! :eek:

:p