Saddle Setback - Waht's Yours?

[threebikesmcginty]

Jimbo's quoting his own posts now ... quite clearly a nutter

 

[Aperitif]

Go for a ride in the nude and make a note of whereabouts your anus leaves a stain on the saddle. That is more applicable than the distance between saddle nose and handlebars.

That's a cr*p way to take a measurement Jimbo - MacB will be looking at log tables next...

 

[GrasB]

AND... I can guarantee to everybody that on a 50 mile ride, you WILL without realising, shift your position on the saddle more than 5mm back and forth.
You will sit differently when climbing and you will shift back on the saddle when freewheeling.

Jimbo, you seem to be stuck on the fact you move around the saddle a lot & not actually registering that small position changes the centre point that you're moving around is the key here. If you move the saddle to far forwards by 5mm while you may be able to find a comfortable position when cruising you may well find that come to a hill you're rubbing the back of your legs on the saddle & thus you end up in the wrong position.

 

[ColinJ]

Can't believe you've got Col to fall for your wicked ways Mac,always thought he had more sense than that 

I haven't actually done any measuring, I just looked at my saddle and noticed it was further forward than I remembered! It was then that I recalled thinking it was about time I started sitting on my sit bones rather than effectively on my perineum - ouch!   

 

[potsy]

I haven't actually done any measuring, I just looked at my saddle and noticed it was further forward than I remembered! It was then that I recalled thinking it was about time I started sitting on my sit bones rather than effectively on my perineum - ouch!

Not yet you haven't,wait til Mac starts quoting more facts and figures,you can run but you can't hide

 

[threebikesmcginty]

It must be Jimbo's skidding on bikes that has made MacB abandon his own thread which is a shame after I did some homework and extra reading.

I've a related question too - has anyone ever had a professional bike-fit, did you benefit from it and was it worth the money? I'm thinking about it, It's expensive but long term might be for the good and interesting too. I've had a look around and there's one that I've seen some good reviews of called 'Bike Dynamics', not too far from me either.

 

[Aperitif]

It must be Jimbo's skidding on bikes that has made MacB abandon his own thread which is a shame after I did some homework and extra reading.

I've a related question too - has anyone ever had a professional bike-fit, did you benefit from it and was it worth the money? I'm thinking about it, It's expensive but long term might be for the good and interesting too. I've had a look around and there's one that I've seen some good reviews of called 'Bike Dynamics', not too far from me either.

Luke -redjedi had one (at Specialized I think) and has since fallen off his bike twice... He'll be along to verify in a mo'

 

[MacB]

Not abandoned just shellshocked by the extraordinarily helfulness of Jimbos latest reply, but I'm still not convinced. For some reason I prefer the idea of taking precise measurements to assist with future saddle/seatpost/frame changes rather than always relying on skidmarks.

Mooching around the web, as you do, I've come across a fair view threads/posts that go along the lines of - couldn't get comfy on X bike despite saddle being same hegiht, and distance from bars, as my comfy bike. Then found that saddle was Y forward/backward of saddle position on comfy bike. Moved that and then adjusted bars to match reach and all is ok now.

I found the Comptitive Fit website gave some reasonable numbers, or ranges to work within:-

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO&INTRO_LINK=NOREDIR

as with any of these things taking your measurements is tricky and you've also got to decide which of the 3 fits most closely match your needs. I like this as it give the alternatives, rather than just a race fit, and you can see what changes for which fit and how they link together.

Nothing wrong with Jimbos ride and tweak until feels right approach, but also nothing wrong with then taking detailed measurements. Equally nothing wrong with using those measurements as starting points for other setups or trying to understand the impact that any changes make via geometry, handling and comfort.

Teef will remember well nursing me through my first century and, when my right knee was giving out, sorting out moving my, ridiculously far back, saddle forward. The knee pain didn't kick in until about 60 miles and, without riding that sort of distance, I could have used the saddle in this position for quite a while. The danger being that the knee problem build up gradually into something far more serious and long lasting. This would never have happened had I understood saddle fore/aft and what sort of range was operational for me.

On a final, sad, note, I believe that Potsy's stirring has hardened Colin against me and turned him away from the light

 

[Aperitif]

Teef will remember well nursing me through my first century and, when my right knee was giving out, sorting out moving my, ridiculously far back, saddle forward.

Forgot all about that actually - but I do remember the speed for the last 1/2km and the grin on your face as we hit the City!

Seems like only yesterday...

 

[woohoo]

It must be Jimbo's skidding on bikes that has made MacB abandon his own thread which is a shame after I did some homework and extra reading.

I've a related question too - has anyone ever had a professional bike-fit, did you benefit from it and was it worth the money? I'm thinking about it, It's expensive but long term might be for the good and interesting too. I've had a look around and there's one that I've seen some good reviews of called 'Bike Dynamics', not too far from me either.

I did (see post #6), but IME, it provides a good starting point and not the "perfect" solution. In my case after raiding the parts bin and swapping bars, stems and saddles from other bikes, I found that I preferred to be further back on the bike and preferred the slightly quicker steering with a shorter stem.

So, in future (I might get a new frame), I would check the TT and head tube lengths, have a look at the angles to make sure they're not too extreme then buy it, ride it and forget about the "perfect" fit (actually that last bit isn't true; I'm sure I would still tinker around with it.)

 

[MacB]

Forgot all about that actually - but I do remember the speed for the last 1/2km and the grin on your face as we hit the City!

Seems like only yesterday...

That hurts mate, a momentous event for me forever etched in my memory, though I appreciate you popped in a little sugar coated pill at the end there

 

[Aperitif]

What I mean Al is that you're an old pro...and tempus fugit etc...