Road Cycling - Bike fit Question

I know there are probably all kinds of bike fit threads but I have a specific question. I seem to be riding to far forward in the saddle. Because of this I'm not gettiong proper leg extension. When I sit further back in the saddle I feel more comfortable in my stroke. However I have to keep pushing on the handlebars to stay that far back in the saddle. Is my seat too low? Is my seat too far forward? Is it something else I'm not thinking of?

Any help is much appreciated :)

Your saddle has three adjustments…

First you adjust the seat post height.
With your heal down your leg should be completely extended at the bottom of the peddle stroke.

Second you adjust the rails…
Move the saddle so you feel stretched but not uncomfortable in the drops elbows slightly bent.

Third you adjust angle.
Start with a yardstick set on the saddle, it should be horizontal to the ground. If you are still sliding forwards tilt the nose up at 1/16 degree increments until you stop sliding.

Now you have a rough saddle adjustment.
Start at step one again and make very small adjustments until you can spin at a fast cadence for you and not rock your hips and don’t have to reposition yourself constently.

Thanks for the tips I'll try that

G'day,

the only thing i would add to the previous advice is that once you have a reasonable 'set up'.....take the measurements &/or mark them, so that any further 'tinkering' won't have you 'feeling' worse off. there is nothing worse than having a 'good' set up with your saddle, which you then change in the never ending pursuit of 'comfort utopia'...only to decide the grass wasn't 'that much greener' after all....but you just can't seem to get that sucker back where you started!.....I've marked seatposts for height,measured tip of saddle to back of stem, bottom of saddle to top tube, top of saddle to middle of crank axel etc etc

cheers,

hitchy

I know there are probably all kinds of bike fit threads but I have a specific question. I seem to be riding to far forward in the saddle. Because of this I'm not gettiong proper leg extension. When I sit further back in the saddle I feel more comfortable in my stroke. However I have to keep pushing on the handlebars to stay that far back in the saddle. Is my seat too low? Is my seat too far forward? Is it something else I'm not thinking of?

Any help is much appreciated :)

Since everyone here has been so helpful to me on fitting advice, Ill pass on what Ive learned.

I'm curious why you feel your prob is being too forward? There is a disputed rule of thumb that says the bony potrusion on the front of your knee should be aligned with your pedal axle when that pedal is fully forward. Although a debated rule, almost every rider on a conventional bike will be somewhere in that neighborhood. Now, if you scoot far back enough on your seat to get your knee behind the pedal, your pedal stroke would logically push you back, not forward.

If you keep moving forward, another thing could be the seat angled down/forward. Some people, especially with uncomfy saddles, point their saddle nose down to relieve pressure on the boys. I like my saddle level, though, because with nose down I slide forward, forcing my arms to support more weight.

I'm also curious why you believe you're not getting proper leg extension, or what you precisely mean by that phrase. Like Worldwind said, with your heal down your leg should be completely extended at the bottom of the peddle stroke. Personally, I find that rule can be a hair too high for me, and makes my pedal stroke choppy (non-circular), which you can test by pedaling one-legged while clipped into your pedals (or with straps).

Finally, sitting back is more comfortable for riders who tend to want to muscle thru their pedal stroke (mash pedals), rather than spin.

Quite often it's a matter of flexibility. I see many riders who have poor core stability and back flexibility ( ie: Me ) and as a result they slide forward on the seat just so they can properly reach the hoods. I don't know if this is the case for you, but it's certainly something to consider.

When I got back into the road thing in July, I knew in theory my bars/saddle were in the right place, but I didn't have the flexibility to be comfortable with the reach for any length of time. 3000kms later, things are starting to fall into place nicely.

When I sit further back in the saddle I feel more comfortable in my stroke. However I have to keep pushing on the handlebars to stay that far back in the saddle. Is my seat too low? Is my seat too far forward? Is it something else I'm not thinking of?

Any help is much appreciated :)

The bold statement above tells me that your saddle is too far forward. Moving your saddle back will reduce the load on your arms & hands.

Try standing with your heels against a wall and lean forward; you can’t remain balanced without holding on to something with your hands. Now move your heels six inches from the wall and lean forward; it’s much easier to balance, isn’t it? It’s the same on your bike, having your saddle too far forward requires more load on your arms to remain in balance.

See this article: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

-murray