fthomas

I pulled the stock saddle off my Jamis Aurora Elite and picked up a Forte Pro XFR. It was (still is) on sale.

Initially, I was fortunate and it seemed like it was almost dialed in except it was grabbing my mtb shorts. It ended up slightly nose down. I tried to level it The stock seatpost is a one bolt design so trying to only make one adjustment never fails to impact fore / aft along with angle. Wish I could afford a Nitto two screw seatpost! I am going to figure out a marking system with either electrical tape, sharpie lines, ???? Any suggestions. Fore / Aft is no problem. Angle is.

What are your thoughts and experience with fore / aft position along with tilt and how much it impacts placing more weight on your hands. Again, initially the weight balance between seat and bars was pretty comfortable. I'm not so concerned about KNOP. Comfortable in this case is not about rear end pain, but about proper weight balance.

Dave Cutter

So first it was saddle discomfort?

Sometimes... those saddle adjustments need disassembled and scrubbed clean with soap, water, and a stiff brush. Get it clean and it will position more easily.

Fore and aft or sliding the saddle forward or rearwards affects the position on your feet/legs on the pedals. But should have little affect on your hands.

I would guess.... JUST a guess and ONLY MHO... your a little out of shape and you could improve comfort by practicing better positioning (perching) on the bicycle. As the season rolls on and the miles add up... these problems may resolve themselves.

Then again.... sometimes it's better to enlist the help of a cycling friend (or video camera) and review your entire fit/setup. Starting with the feet on the pedals..... and working up.

Brian25

After experiencing thumb problems and not using them for a long time, my hands are now really sensitive to hand pressure. One serious consideration is that as you have a more serious (aggressive) position the nose of the saddle needs to be pointed down more.. I have heard of as much as 6mm. personally I can not tolerate more than 5mm and am leaning more towards 4mm. On an all out road bike with the handlebars three inches lower than the seat. The bottom line should be to find out what works best for you.

fthomas

You made some excellent points. Particularly with regards to conditioning and more time in the saddle. I was putting on the miles up until September when I injured my left foot and ended up in a cast and on crutches until December. Also, had plastic surgery in late November that kept me off the bike and limited exercise for six weeks. I don't look a bit better for it, but they did raise my left eyebrow giving me that extinguished PopEye look. LOL! So I definitely need to build back up conditioning and endurance.

The tilt of the saddle really impacted the feeling of sliding forward and thus pushing back on the bars to stay seated. It's a touring bike with the saddle and bars pretty close to level.

Thanks for your input @Dave Cutter. Great food for thought.

Carbonfiberboy 

The Forte seatpost is inexpensive and its adjustments are continuous, no notches. It's a setback post. Works great.

fthomas

You must have read my mind. The Ritchey Comp 1 Bolt stock seatpost is 25mm setback. I have been researching changing out the seatpost for a 2 Bolt with less setback. Nitto S83 is 20mm setback and two bolt. Expensive for sure. Also the Thompson Elite, which is 0 setback, may be another consideration.

NOTE: After a considerable amount of searching and reading the seatpost is a non-issue. I would prefer the two bolt Nitto, but a 0 setback is not a good idea.

Fine tuning the fit by decreasing setback even by 5mm (1/4 inch) in addition to getting the seat properly adjusted may be to my liking. I'm happier with a little more upright riding position. It seems to me that getting the best possible seat adjustment can be impacted by setback along with possibly swapping out the stem for a 90mm vs the 100mm that is on it. Jamis used the NVO ATS Stem System. Someone sent me the 90mm stem and I might just swap it out to test the difference it makes in the bike fit and seat adjustment.