willydstyle

I just picked up my first road bike, a '79 Fuji America with a 58 cm frame

https://www.classicfuji.com/1979_14_S...ions1_Page.htm

I'm 6 feet tall with a 32" inseam.

My problem is that when I ride with my hands on the top of the bars I feel like my seat is sloped too far forward.

When I ride in the drops, my balls get squished back and forth while I'm peddling.

Any tips or tricks?

Edit: the saddle is a Serfas Rx similar to this one

jyl

Set the saddle height correctly. Wear whatever shoes you will wear cycling, stand the bike by a wall, get on it, use the wall to support yourself, put your heels on the pedals, and pedal backwards, keeping your hips level. When the pedal is as far as it can be from the saddle, your leg should be straight and your heel barely touching the pedal. Adjust seatpost as necessary.

Adjust saddle tilt. Make the saddle level, meaning a large book or ruler placed over the nose and tail of the saddle is horizontal.

Adjust saddle position. Adjust the saddle in the seatpost clamp so that the seatpost is roughly at the center of the saddle.

Set handlebar height. Since you are just starting with a drop bar road bike, adjust stem so that the top of your handlebar is roughly the same lever as the top surface of your saddle. That is a neutral sort of position where most people are comfortable.

Wear cycling shorts, or at least tight underwear that holds your private parts. This is not a time for boxer shorts.

See how that works.

willydstyle

The height is already slightly too low, and the saddle is ever so slightly tilted forward. By default I adjust saddles to level, but found that when level the ball-pressure in the drops was too severe. I'm going to try raising the bar height, as I'm guessing that may alleviate a lot of my problem, as the bar is currently quite a bit lower than the seat.

AnthonyG

Getting the saddle height at the right height and level is a to of it. I just want to add that those soft gel saddles don't work well on road bikes with drop bars. They really only work properly at all with a single, upright riding position and they are NOT good for spending a lot of time in the saddle. As you have found they are too squishy and place too much pressure on places they shouldn't.

For better or worse you are going to have to get used to a hardish saddle in order to be comfortable on a road bike.

Anthony

willydstyle

Yeah, I don't like the saddle much, it's just what came with the bike. From what I see a lot of the C&V riders use saddles that don't have grooves in the middle at all. I'll probably swap it with the WTB Speed V I have on my old bike.

obed7

I am lucky in that I can ride most any saddle, none of them bother me much...
are you wearing riding shorts? If not, get some... and then get rid of that sofa of a seat.