Originally Posted by
SoSmellyAir
I should have been more specific. What I had meant above was that the saddle fore/aft position relative to the saddle rail clamp of the seat post should be set for balance, whereas the seat post offset should be used to adjust reach.
For example, if the saddle rails are clamped toward the rear of their useable range, then a rider sitting on the middle of the saddle would tend fall forward and put too much weight on his/her hands (as you had described). It may be better to get a zero offset seat post and clamp the saddle rails at (or slightly forward of) the middle of their useable range to adjust the balance while maintaining the saddle fore/aft position relative to the bike frame.
I haven't found this to be the case, and since I have short femurs for the length of my legs, most of my saddles are clamped toward the rear. I set the saddle angle on all of them as close to exactly the same and whether clamped at the rear or toward the middle they all feel the same at the same height and offset (relative to BB center). Perhaps my saddles just have less flexy rails, or I don't sit in the middle? The back of my preferred saddle has a distinct "stop", which I can feel though it's not visible on the saddles themselves, and that's where I tend to settle myself.