Originally Posted by
metropical
thanks for all the feedback. very welcome.
I did try lowering the seat a bit coz I think I jacked it up too much from where it was with the OEM saddle.
I have to go for some PT anyway for the hand in an unrelated issue .... although it maybe related now.
I'll try a tiny nose up on the saddle. I have always ridden flat.
Was sliding forward with the 1st saddle. It was 175mm, the one I have now is 165mm and that has helped the sliding a lot.
I'll have to look into stem options. LBS around here have dried up for the $5000 plus type bikes. My CAAD is supermarket to their one offs.
Canari Vortex Gel Shorts, about 10 yo. But have very little time in them as I took a few years off with bum knee.
As far as the angle, you're right, very aggressive I noticed today. I tweaked a bit, the saddle was way above the bar stem. Even now it's about 2".
But I can't take the seat much lower.
The bar stem seems to be 120mm. Dunno how or where to measure the angle.
My gloves are padded. I def need new tape.
aging blows. it's for much younger men then me.
Aging definitely blows. And I'm only 37.
I would recommend against lowering the seat - you want it to be low enough that your hips aren't rocking and so you're able to drop your heel at the bottom of the stroke, but much lower than that and you're asking for knee trouble. Keep the saddle height constant, and tweak the angle of the saddle.
165mm still seems like a fairly wide saddle - have you tried narrower? My three saddles are 142-147mm, and I'm pretty sure that's generally on the wider end of what's available for a road saddle.
From your pictures, it definitely looks like a low, almost flat stem. Most of those are 7-degrees these days, but it could definitely be anything under about 10-degrees. A 30-degree rise, maybe a smidge shorter, would result in a more relaxed fit for your upper back, shoulders, and eventually, wrists and palms. You'll definitely be putting more weight on your lower back and pelvis though, so look out for that.
Is it possible that your shorts are too slippery against that particular saddle? I've definitely had that happen before, and needed to use my arms to keep myself in place.