Originally Posted by
ofajen
I used to think similarly but I知 less sure now. I致e noticed that if my arms are angled more forward and up (more forward reach) I feel more tendency to pull myself forward on the saddle when I知 pedaling hard enough that I知 having to pull a lot on the bars to keep myself on the saddle.
It seems to help to have the shoulder to hand alignment angled down and more nearly parallel and opposed to the downward pedal push from hip to roughly the forward pedal position for those times that I知 really pedaling hard in the saddle.
It also seems to work about as well (just in terms of doing the work, not aerodynamics) to be slightly more upright on my touring bars but with arm angle similar to what I would have in the drops. This has also encouraged me to take the approach of minimizing the extension of hoods if I run drop bars by using my old non-aero levers. Again it seems to reduce the tendency to pull myself forward on the saddle.
Obviously, these things all seem to work differently for each of us, and I wouldn稚 say I知 through with experimenting on ways to optimize the riding positions for my riding style.
Otto
Very simple solution: don't do that. Don't be using your arms for anything other than steering, braking and supporting a very small amount of your torso weight. Just sit there and make your legs go around. Set up your saddle fore-and-aft so that you can briefly take your hands off the bars without sliding forward on the saddle. Use the stem to adjust reach, not the saddle.
There are several ways to train yourself to pedal smoothly. This video is what I did to get the hang of it - all the stuff she says including the rollers, though I did exactly what she's telling us to do and just found this video this evening. You're doing it right if you have almost no upper body motion. Another test is to pedal very fast, say 120 cadence without bouncing on the saddle. It did take me a few years to get it right. For one thing, this needs muscles and neuromuscular coordination which can only be developed by cycling. It's worth it though. Life is long.