mule said:I've noticed from my rides with friends, from pictures from magazines and from various websites
that a lot of people (mainly men, I think) have their saddle noses pointed upwards.
The only reason I can think that anyone would want to do this is that it could be good for DH?
(Which is why I don't understand my friend because we ride uphill, downhill, flat...)
Does anyone else do this and what does it do for you? I've tried it but find it very
uncomfortable.
For years I rode my bikes with flat bars, flattish stems, and saddles as high as possible with nose
pointed down. I believed that pedaling power was compromised if the saddle wasn't pretty much as
high as I could stand it.
In the last several years, I've been riding with and doing business with a very helpful LBS. The
first advice I got was that I was running my saddle too high, and pedaling with my toes down. Also
that my back was not straight, and I appeared to have lots of weight on my hands ("do your hands and
wrists hurt Tom? how about your back?"😉
Better quality bikes come set up with aggressive bar placement, because that's the way the pros want
them. When I say that, I mean that the bar is low relative to the saddle. So if you get a decent
X/C-oriented bike, it probably comes spec'd with a low bar relative to the saddle (even if it's
spec'd with a riser). If that bar stays low, one of two things will happen: either you'll tip the
saddle forward, or Mr Happy will go to sleep on every ride. If you're like most of us, you'll either
tip that saddle down or sell the bike on eBay.
I resisted taking measures to raise my bar. I was CONVINCED, that if my bar was any higher I'd lose
the ability to do aggressive climbing. My chums were always waiting for me after technical descents,
but I figured I made up for it on the climbs (where they only waited briefly 😉
Finally one day, after my back made me ready to quit riding too early, I relented. I went to my shop
and started talking about how they would recommend tweaking my setup. I started with a little risier
stem (already had about an inch of spacers on the steerer under the stem clamp). I lowered my
saddle, and flattened it. Somewhat. (I really wanted to protect Mr Happy)
It helped. And my climbing hardly suffered; in fact I felt so much better on the bike, my endurance
seemed enhanced. So after a few more weeks, I got a low riser. And lowered my saddle a little more.
And tipped it back to pretty much level.
Back pain almost eliminated. Climbing ENHANCED due to comfort (bend your elbows if you need to get
your weight forward). Descending? Woo Hoo! I can ride stuff now without hesitation that I walked for
YEARS. Wrist pain? A distant memory.
I now ride my saddle nearly TWO INCHES LOWER than I used to. My bars are now roughly the same height
as the saddle, perhaps a bit lower, used to be near 3 INCHES HIGHER than the bar.
I am faster, happier, more comfortable, ride more and farther, smile more, Mr Happy is happy...
--
Tom "raise your bars, lower your saddle, and smile" Purvis
