Seat Angle At Older Age - Rant
 

At the age of 68 I have had to adjust all my bicycles seat angle down in the nose very slightly. About 3° tilt down in the nose. I have been using a level seat more than 55 years and I am really wondering if this is normal for geezerdom. Certainly my personal equipment down there is not getting any bigger so why is extra clearance needed... Ha

I guess it just goes along with all the other changes I have made over the years. Like having to lower my seat about a centimeter and raising my bars at least two. I also don't even think about using the drops anymore.

I slug along on my safe, no traffic, short local routes and sometimes I see riders older than me blasting by at full speed smiling... Bravo Youse Guys!

Interesting. I'm 69 and haven't felt the need to change my seat angle at all; the nose is still tilted slightly upward and has been for many years.

Mine Stayed The Same
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f571eceda1.jpg

Yeah I'm not even near your age and I'd say I'm starting to realize some of the things most all the things you mention in your OP. <grin>

I did recently have to drop the nose of my saddle a tad, but I think it's just that when I increased the saddle height an inch that it just needed that or I might not have kept the same angle it was at prior. I do use my drops and I'm using them more and more. Being more aero just saves so much more energy on longer rides and it's evident to me.

I've been fighting all the other old age stuff though and doing some exercises more regularly. Push ups, sit ups and leg stretches like a ballerina on that bar. Even using those spring thingy's to strengthen my grip. Which has actually gotten rid of the numb feeling I just started getting by hour two of a ride. Haven't found out yet if it's just moved that to hour three!

Bravo on You, for riding at Your pace, on Your chosen route, on a bike adjusted for You.
Riding at full speed (or maximum efficiency or some other "performance" or fitness metric) is not the be-all/end-all of cycling, despite what some compulsive types might think is necessary for a "real' ride. Don't let the smiling fool you, there are plenty of videos of smiling jackasses doing all sorts of stuff on YouTube

67 next week, riding for 33 years, saddles are all set level. Im not seeing any need to change.

I am 69 and have ridden a level saddle for a long time. I have not changed that, but I have had a need to lower the seat posts and shorten or change degrees, or both, to all my bikes. I am shorter than I used to be, and not as flexible. I am talking about relatively small changes. I have done that twice in the past 4 or 5 years. This spring, the fit seems to still fit. Last year was a change year. No rant here. If it keeps me comfortable, I am good with it.

Since few or none seem to be reporting a similar need to angle their saddle noses down, my guess is that your saddle has not yet been lowered sufficiently. At 70, I've had to lower my saddles a couple of times over the last several years, but once at the right height, they're level and comfortable.

I dropped the nose on my saddle years ago, just dong like stuff in my junk. Tilting the saddle has little to do with performance and more about comfort. True old geezers would ride gel seat about the size of family pizzas, I do admit though that at +70 I'm not as fit or as fast as most of the crowd but I'm still having fun..

Do what ever it takes to keep the boys happy. In my 40s developed prostatitis and have tried various angles, set-backs and seats with cutouts. Unfortunately the seats with the best cutouts which keep all the male bits the happiest don’t necessarily work the best for my sit bones which makes for an uncomfortable ride after 35 miles. Life is always a series of compromises at this age, so I will take some greater comfort doing my passion and some discomfort with bathroom urgency.

If the seat is higher than the handlebars my posture is going to put more pressure on my genitals and even with a cut-out style saddle I end up with a downward tilt of 3-4 degrees for maximum comfort. Part of the problem is less robust butt muscles and this was a problem when I first started doing 100 mile rides until they got in condition. If my seat is too far back by even a half an inch it also results in more of my weight on the front of the saddle.

At 64, I haven't lowered my saddles or tilted then nose down, but I have replaced some of my longer stems with 1 cm shorter versions, and I've gone from older handlebars with 85-90mm reach and 140mm drop to ones with 75mm reach and 120mm drop. They're still at the same height as before, though, and I find I can use the drops comfortably for longer.

Took your advice and lowered my seat post just 5mm. That did it!

Such a small increment has made such a big change. My seat is back to level again. Thanks...

Nose down at least - 5 degrees to avoid lower back pain on harder efforts. If make saddle level or slightly nose up, I get lower back pain sometimes on harder efforts.

75 and still riding a level saddle.

70.
Still on racy type roadies, mostly. Couple of tourers.
Lowered seatposts. ~~1cm, quite a few years ago, actually.
Saddles: Newer styles basically flat, vintage leather generally tilted slightly and many w/ cutouts.
Handlebars: Narrower = 38s on almost all now, short & shallow on last Calfee modification build. Still in the drops regularly.
Cranks: Shorter, if being changed or 'upgraded' with newer.

Cycling shorts: Paddier!

76. I haven't really changed my bike's fit in 25 years. My saddle angle is the same it's always been, though I've been through maybe 20 different saddles in that time. I'm very particular about saddle fit and as my body changes with age, so does my saddle. Maybe 10 saddles out of that count are saddles I stuck with for more than a few weeks.

I'm 66 and still have a level saddle and at the same height.
I did change to a Spesh Power saddle nearly 2 years ago and much prefer the shorter nose. The cutout works very well and the width of the back is near perfect.
I've slowed down a bit since I was a senior 3, in the uscf days, but I can still drop fit people 30 years younger on climbs...did it Sunday on our 50 miler...it felt great.
If your not comfortable makes changes that restore comfort...along with the comfort comes a degree of better performance and efficiency because your body and mind are not trying to find a comfortable position.
Ride On to all us old mf'ers...

I'll be the English teacher who says "upright bicycles have saddles, recumbents have seats." With that out of the way, my recumbent seats are set at around 22 degrees from horizontal. My lone upright's saddle is slightly nose-up. I'm 66.

Still riding a level saddle, but I have lowered it around 1cm recently. I also now have compact bars on all bikes and only about a 2cm drop from saddle to bars. Since around age 50 it seems I have to make small adjustments every three or four years.

Do what you need to do to keep riding. I'll be 61 soon and I've been riding my old roadie with the exact same seat and handlebar position since the day I bought it in 1986. And I have no problems (yet) riding the drops.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6e039c13dc.jpg

Yes, keep the boys comfortable, but there's more to it. Dropping the nose tends to let gravity pull you down the now-sloped saddle, so you have to press forward with your hands to stop that slide. If you like being pulled forward, OK, but I don't.

I sure don’t either, besides it hurts my shoulders when that happens.

71 y.o. here. About a year ago or so, at the beginning of "cycling season", my saddle adjustment on my road bike just didn't feel right, after riding it the same way for several years. Lowered the nose just the smallest bit, and that's all it took. I also ride off-road, and the saddle on my mtn bike (diff brand saddle) is slightly up and did not need changing. Maybe because the mtn.bike has a more upright rider position? Wouldn't it be nice if our bodies remained the same as we age. BUT-ain't gonna be that way!!