Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Found my sit-bones today!

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Found my sit-bones today!

Old 08-13-21, 12:54 PM
  #1  
pgjackson
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
pgjackson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL
Posts: 4,128

Bikes: Rossetti Vertigo

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Liked 119 Times in 70 Posts
Found my sit-bones today!

After years and years of riding with a perfectly level saddle I decided to drop the nose a couple of mm just to see what would happen...and man what a difference! Before, my taint would take a beating and I just figured that was normal. Dropping the nose just the slightest bit raised the wide back of the saddle just enough to greet my sit-bones comfortably. Not a bit of discomfort on today's ride. Finally felt like I was sitting on a seat. FYI, if you, too, are feeling the pain in your taint, try dropping the nose just a tiny bit and see if it works.
pgjackson is offline  
Likes For pgjackson:
Old 08-13-21, 03:56 PM
  #2  
Voodoo76
Blast from the Past
 
Voodoo76's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Schertz TX
Posts: 3,209

Bikes: Felt FR1, Ridley Excal, CAAD10, Trek 5500, Cannondale Slice

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 222 Post(s)
Liked 66 Times in 43 Posts
I'm very sensitive to seat angle. Once you find the angle that works an inexpensive digital level is an easy way to get a very repeatable setup.
Voodoo76 is offline  
Old 08-13-21, 05:12 PM
  #3  
Bald Paul
Senior Member
 
Bald Paul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Upstate SC
Posts: 1,681
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 806 Post(s)
Liked 1,614 Times in 765 Posts
Originally Posted by Voodoo76
I'm very sensitive to seat angle. Once you find the angle that works an inexpensive digital level is an easy way to get a very repeatable setup.
There are apps available for your smartphone that will make it work like a digital level. You can read in degrees or percentage.
Bald Paul is offline  
Old 08-14-21, 07:11 AM
  #4  
ofajen
Cheerfully low end
 
ofajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,965
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 642 Post(s)
Liked 1,040 Times in 663 Posts
Originally Posted by Voodoo76
I'm very sensitive to seat angle. Once you find the angle that works an inexpensive digital level is an easy way to get a very repeatable setup.
Yes. Just make sure you have a two-bolt seatpost that is continuously adjustable.

Otto
ofajen is offline  
Likes For ofajen:
Old 08-14-21, 07:14 AM
  #5  
freeranger
Senior Member
 
freeranger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 2,579

Bikes: 06 Lemond Reno, 98 GT Timberline mtn.bike

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 421 Post(s)
Liked 690 Times in 430 Posts
And the most comfortable position for the saddle can change over the years. Have a saddle on my road bike that became uncomfortable, after riding on it for a few years. Changed the tilt, and that was all that was needed. Wonder how many have given up on a saddle, when a simple adjustment may have been all that was necessary.
freeranger is offline  
Old 08-14-21, 07:19 AM
  #6  
pgjackson
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
pgjackson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL
Posts: 4,128

Bikes: Rossetti Vertigo

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Liked 119 Times in 70 Posts
Originally Posted by freeranger
And the most comfortable position for the saddle can change over the years. Have a saddle on my road bike that became uncomfortable, after riding on it for a few years. Changed the tilt, and that was all that was needed. Wonder how many have given up on a saddle, when a simple adjustment may have been all that was necessary.
Good point. I also wonder how many are out there torturing themselves on an improperly positioned saddle.
pgjackson is offline  
Old 08-14-21, 09:05 AM
  #7  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,613

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by Bald Paul
There are apps available for your smartphone that will make it work like a digital level. You can read in degrees or percentage.
Since a smartphone won't be long enough to lay across the full length of a saddle, you'd have to be careful where exactly you're resting it I presume. Also to point out the potentially not obvious, also check the level of the floor on which your bike is standing if you're not always going to be setting up your saddle with your bike in the same place. Alternatively, figure out the ideal angle difference between saddle angle and eg. your top tube (if your top tube is not curved) as a means to calibrate.
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 08-14-21, 10:35 AM
  #8  
jrobe
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,501
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 42 Times in 22 Posts
Originally Posted by pgjackson
Before, my taint would take a beating and I just figured that was normal.
There is no doubt that a saddle adjustment can make a difference in comfort. The biggest factor though is still the shape and configuration of the saddle which is highly individualized for every rider. It took me trials and errors with about 6 different saddles before I stumbled on the perfect saddle for me that I could now ride almost all day comfortably. Minor level adjustments for my perfect saddle wouldn't even make that much difference.

If someone is just living with butt pain, it is worth experimenting with different saddles. Unfortunately, it is trial and error (I used eBay). From my experience, it has very little to do with the cost or the brand name of the saddle.
jrobe is offline  
Likes For jrobe:
Old 08-14-21, 11:49 AM
  #9  
pgjackson
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
pgjackson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL
Posts: 4,128

Bikes: Rossetti Vertigo

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Liked 119 Times in 70 Posts
Originally Posted by jrobe
There is no doubt that a saddle adjustment can make a difference in comfort. The biggest factor though is still the shape and configuration of the saddle which is highly individualized for every rider. It took me trials and errors with about 6 different saddles before I stumbled on the perfect saddle for me that I could now ride almost all day comfortably. Minor level adjustments for my perfect saddle wouldn't even make that much difference.

If someone is just living with butt pain, it is worth experimenting with different saddles. Unfortunately, it is trial and error (I used eBay). From my experience, it has very little to do with the cost or the brand name of the saddle.
Good point. If you are in pain then something needs to be changed. The most comfortable seat I ever had was a Brooks B17. But as a weight weenie, that big, leather, comfy saddle just wasn't to be on my current bike.

Last edited by pgjackson; 08-15-21 at 04:43 AM.
pgjackson is offline  
Old 08-14-21, 11:41 PM
  #10  
Badger6
Obsessed with Eddington
 
Badger6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brussels (BE) 🇧🇪
Posts: 1,330

Bikes: '16 Spesh Diverge, '14 Spesh Fatboy, '18 Spesh Epic, '18 Spesh SL6, '21 Spesh SL7, '21 Spesh Diverge...and maybe n+1?

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 532 Post(s)
Liked 621 Times in 368 Posts
Originally Posted by ofajen
Yes. Just make sure you have a two-bolt seatpost that is continuously adjustable.

Otto
Or, make sure it is a single bolt seat post that is continuously adjustable with out the hassle of getting two bolts properly torqued.
Badger6 is offline  
Old 08-15-21, 06:46 AM
  #11  
ofajen
Cheerfully low end
 
ofajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,965
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 642 Post(s)
Liked 1,040 Times in 663 Posts
Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Since a smartphone won't be long enough to lay across the full length of a saddle, you'd have to be careful where exactly you're resting it I presume.
I put a wide ruler along the top of the saddle touching the highest points front and rear and then use the phone on top of that to get a reproducible reading.

Otto
ofajen is offline  
Likes For ofajen:
Old 08-16-21, 11:27 AM
  #12  
Larry Lem 1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 22
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Gee, now I'll have to experiment.
Larry Lem 1 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.