pakossa

During my frequent tinkering with my bike fit, I could never figure out how some days I could pass the "hands-off" test with the tip-of-saddle, say, 8.5 cm behind BB, yet, other days, I'd need it 10 or 11 cm back! (NOTE: I'm using a women's Terry saddle -- the men's is too narrow for me -- which is only 26 cm long, so a guy's saddle would have 1-2 cm less setback.) Think I figured it out: apparently -- at least for me -- the saddle HEIGHT has much to do with this. If I raise the saddle 5 mm from my current height, I need to increase the setback 15 mm in order to pass the test. Lowering it 5 mm, I need it 10 mm back. So, does this mean I finally found the correct height/fore-aft combo? Or, does it sound like my fit is completely screwed up? On the plus side, this combo allows me to get the bar a couple cm lower, and several cm further away before reaching the point of losing power/speed. But it seems, despite being able to pass the HO test, there is quite a bit of pressure on my hands. (Thought I read on Steve Hogg's site something about a high saddle interfering with the HO test, but don't remember anything about a low saddle affecting it.)

Loose Chain

I believe that your saddle height should be a function of your true cycling inseam and should have nothing to do with your ability to ride hands off the bars. Some bikes are stable like my Cross Check and I can ride for miles, even turn completely handoff (sooner or later I am going to bust my rear). Other bikes like my old Pinarello or my Bridgestone MB4, uh, just no.

J