supermatt9

Hey everyone, I'm 6' 1" and currently weight 286 pounds. I'm down from a little over 340 in the last year and am making awesome progress.

One of the benefits of having a smaller belly is that I can finally ride with my hands down in the drops. I'm not great at it, but I'm getting better.

Anyway, I find that in order to be completely comfortable with my hands in the drops, my saddle needs to be tilted forward ever so slightly. But with the saddle in this position, when I sit up I feel like I'm tilted a little too far forward. But if I tilt my saddle back slightly so that I'm comfortable in my upright position, I get uncomfortable very quickly when I go down into the drops.

Any solutions on how to solve this? I'm new to riding in the more aero position so I'll take any additional advice you might be able to share as well.

Thanks!!

Bmach

Level the saddle. The way are losing weight it won’t be long till you will reach the drops again.

mstateglfr 

Keep the saddle level.

Pointed up, the nose digs into you in ways nothing ever should.
Pointed down, you are continually fighting gravity by having to push your hips up and back. It also forces more weight and pressure on your hands than is otherwise needed.

Level it out to a neutral position. Comfort in the drops comes from flexibility and core strength. You are on the right path as both improve as weight is dropped.

brawlo

You can tilt the saddle however you want. Tilt it down enough so that you can stay seated on it properly when upright. Different saddles fit differently and some may need to be pointed down slightly. Or the saddle may even just be the wrong saddle for you.

Finally, make sure you are sitting correctly when in the drops. Don’t pivot from the hips, but round your back out and switch on your lower abs kind of like when you thrust your pelvis forward

rumrunn6

a cpl thoughts on saddle angle

lots of trial & error before you get the angle just right. yesterday I tweaked my saddle angle after thinking it was just fine for quite some time. I hope it didn't move since I last adjusted it, cuz I got a new seat post w/ 2 bolts. after my ride yesterday I torqued the bolts again, but afraid to break them. time will tell

try to arch your back like you're sticking your butt out. don't worry, you won't be able to, but the benefit is you'll straighten your back & hinge at the hip better

if the saddle nose is pushing on your privates, move them to one side of the nose.

you might also try another saddle, I am much happier after settling on what I have now

Barry2 

I got back into cycling recently. Had to set a 4degree nose down on my saddle.
As I’ve been toughening up (unspeakable places) I have been able to reduce the tilt.

The saddle clamp was never intended to be a precision adjustable device. Making changes can be hit and miss.

Place a ruler flat on top of the saddle and use a angle measuring app on your phone on top of the ruler before and during your adjustments.
This way you can change as little as 1 degree over time and you won’t notice.

All the best

Barry

rumrunn6

yikes! really? that’s like the opposite of what I’ve read

Oneder

You are probably better off to raise the bars instead of using drops if you are doing this for exercise and not long distance touring or something. You'll be a lot more comfortable and no 'break the saddle in for 100 miles' nonense. You will also get used to a 2x4 with a nail in it in 100 miles but if you have your bars high enough and can sit upright in a decent seat you will never get sore in the first place even on 30+ mile rides or have to do anything special to be comfortable. Now some people do care about speed but if you are just exercising, or if you are riding in an area with many cars it's going to be a lot easier and safer to ride upright.

brawlo

So so wrong. Arching your back that way puts all sorts of wrong pressure on the wrong parts, male and female. Moving your bits to one side shoul not even be a consideration Riding a bike doesn’t mean you have to torture your body. Even if you’re an upright rider you should pull the gut in and curve your back a bit. This helps your body absorb the impacts of the road better rather than shooting it straight up your spine

cyclist2000

I say to leave the saddle alone for a while to see if you get used to riding on the drops. After riding this way for a while see if you feel more comfortable on the drops. I don't spend too much time on the drops except when I for going into the wind, so I want to be most comfortable on the hoods or the top of the bars.

rumrunn6

maybe my words don't match what I mean but I'm referring to this position seen below. are you? a straight back is ideal. my saying "arch" didn't mean to actually arch. a lot of riders don't have a straight back, they're humped over, so I was saying to internally try to arch which can't be done. not by me anyway. but taking that action, helps me reach a more ideal position, as pictured here. & yes, of course, use you core
,


regarding positioning nuts, you do what works for you & I'll do what works for me

Toadmeister

Damn family jewels are always in the way on drops or aero bars for me. Its like God is punishing me...

brawlo

Yup, words definitely didn't match but I agree with what you are trying to explain. What you want to do is have your position when up on the tops, and then when you go to the drops, you bend through your lower back rather than through the hips. Theoretically your hips are in almost the same position when up top as down below. If you want to get even lower, then your hips do need to rotate forward and that position has a different set of needs, especially in the saddle department.

If you're having to reposition your junk on a regular basis, definitely consider that you might be better off with a different saddle. I had a long time love affair with Selle SMP saddles, but during a period where I was getting faster, I found myself wanting to move around the saddle, especially forwards when the speed went up and the SMPs aren't a good fit for that style of riding. So I then went to the ISM snub nose saddles. I already had one on my track bike as the saddle to bars drop is quite large. They let your bits sit out in front of the saddle, uncrunched There's a few other brands with similar design in mind, but I've stuck with the ISMs for a number of years now and have them right across my bikes of all disciplines - road, mountain and track

ArchEtech

First of all, all tips and tricks and general rules are a place to start. There is no universal fit. Everyone’s body is different. Every bone length, every sit bone, every proportion. Don’t force yourself into a google diagram of seat position, bar height, pedal position.......set things up so they are comfortable for you. That takes trial and error.

Im not a doctor. If you have pain or issues, consult one. Try some custom fitting maybe. For me my goal is to ride pain free. I don’t rely on google to tell me what size frame to ride or if tilting my seat forward is a food idea. I’ve always ridden with my seat tilted slightly forward as I like to sit back in a slightly wider saddle and take as much pressure off my perineum as I can. I have very short lower legs, and short legs to torso ratio and prefer more endurance geometry about a size down from recommended in frames. Try a few things just don’t force yourself not to do something Because it goes against conventional wisdom. Just be smart about it and listen to your body.

tallbikeman

Keep working on that angle. If the nose goes too far up you can get prostatitis which is bleeding when urinating but worse is that pain and the ability to urinate become an overwhelming issue. I switched to noseless saddles because of a prostatitis episode caused by a saddle pointing up just slightly too much. The first question out of the Urologist Doctors mouth was "Do you ride a bicycle." Finding the magic spot for a saddle can be a one time fit up or a years long process of adjustments. I now ride with my legs fully extended, without locking the knees, and the saddles forward. I seem to go faster in this position and my drop bar bike is the most comfortable bike I own because of the saddle forward position. I just try different things and look for better results. Good luck with finding the just right angle for your seat.