starjag

On the back of the plastic that holds the Specialized saddles... "to ensure your saddle is et up correctly - middle third is level." Is it only me that finds this recommendation rather impractical to follow?

What spirit level fits the middle third of the different saddles that Specialized offers? Why not use the nose and tail of the saddle to provide the recommendation?

Just curious about the reasoning behind this official recommendation.

Commodus

Spirit level? You're overthinking this. Just eyeball it and ride the thing. If you get it wrong your arse will tell you.

jmX

Look at their saddles and you'll see the reasoning is obvious. Every specialized saddle I have flairs up a bit in the back, and noses down a bit at the tip. If you were to level it based on those 2 end points you'd be doing it wrong.

You want the middle 1/3rd level, and that seems pretty simple to me.

If you're going to be a stickler for it, they certainly sell small bubble levels, or you could put a something like a rubics cube on the middle 1/3rd of the saddle to give you some height offset from the back of the saddle, then use your giant bubble level on the top of the rubics cube.

WhyFi

Uh, just about any line level should do it.

Gump

I opted for the eyeball it and then tweek as needed method but if you really want to use a level, if you level the rails the mid section of the saddle will be level. you may need to mark the rails with a marker above where the seat clamps on.

SmellTheSmug

I put an app with a level on my iPhone. Works great. I tend to place my saddles 0.5 to 0.75 degree nose down and the accuracy of the phone works great for small adjustments and repeating setups.

starjag

The Rubik's cube idea is genius! I do keep a cube in my office for entertainment... now I need one at home as well.

Looigi

Perhaps they didn't take calculus and learn the mean value theorem.

Shimagnolo

Setting the saddle level is a *starting* point, not the ultimate goal.
See "Fitting Instructions" section on this page: https://www.sellesmp.com/smp4bike/en/...-adjust-saddle

starjag

Absolutely! Instructions like this from the manufacturer make more sense than saying "to ensure your saddle is et up correctly - middle third is level."