Saddle too low? bouncing during accelerations
04-08-15, 01:42 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Saddle too low? bouncing during accelerations
This is for road cycling. When I go into attack mode my butt either seems to bounce on the saddle, or even start floating a bit above it. I know I tend to come forward on the saddle when pedaling harder, and that shortens the butt-pedal distance, but I guess I feel like i should be able to still be seated comfortably when I do short bursts, just based on what I have seen.
Also I know at some point anyone riding hard enough is going to get on the front of the saddle or out of it. Sometimes, that's what i want to do, but other times I wish I were just still seated, but it seems hard to avoid.
So, is this normal, or does anyone think my saddle is too low? (no knee discomfort to speak of, really.)
Also I know at some point anyone riding hard enough is going to get on the front of the saddle or out of it. Sometimes, that's what i want to do, but other times I wish I were just still seated, but it seems hard to avoid.
So, is this normal, or does anyone think my saddle is too low? (no knee discomfort to speak of, really.)
04-08-15, 01:50 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Central PA
Posts: 972
Bikes: Cannondale Slate 105 and T2 tandem, 2008 Scott Addict R4, Raleigh SC drop bar tandem
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Consider working on smoothing out your pedal stroke, bouncing is usually caused by the higher cadence of the acceleration, and not the seat height.
04-08-15, 05:56 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 16,874
Bikes: 1980 Masi, 1984 Mondonico, 1984 Trek 610, 1980 Woodrup Giro, 2005 Mondonico Futura Leggera ELOS, 1967 PX10E, 1971 Peugeot UO-8
Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1856 Post(s)
Liked 664 Times
in
506 Posts
When I've bounced, raising the saddle did help. I was not only bouncing, but at bottom my foot felt a little like I was stamping it down on the pedal at bottom dead center. I raised the saddle just a bit at a time until the stamping feeling went away and found my legs spinning much more freely. I think it's worth a try.
04-09-15, 03:24 AM
#4
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Ocean Co., NJ
Posts: 44
Bikes: Musseuw MFC 01,'93 Mongoose Rockadile,'14 CAAD 10, '81 Panasonic DX4000, '91 PDG 90, Raleigh Retro Cruiser
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
Could also be that you're in too low of a gear. Try shifting into a higher gear when you start bouncing.
04-09-15, 05:53 AM
#5
Fitter of road/ironman
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: GTA, Ontario
Posts: 530
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
04-11-15, 09:26 AM
#7
Banned
IDK How you set your saddle Height ..
My Old crude measure .. heel of foot , leg straight , barely reaching the pedal , so When your foot is in the normal position,
the ball of the foot over the pedal, for me, It's good enough..
Paying someone to tell you about bike Fit is a new thing.
My Old crude measure .. heel of foot , leg straight , barely reaching the pedal , so When your foot is in the normal position,
the ball of the foot over the pedal, for me, It's good enough..
Paying someone to tell you about bike Fit is a new thing.
Last edited by fietsbob; 04-11-15 at 09:38 AM.
04-14-15, 01:54 PM
#8
Senior Member
Heel barely touches the pedal fully extended or if you're tall and have huge feet maybe 1cm off the pedal fully extended. I think it's faster to find the correct saddle height by deliberately setting the seat post too high and then going down incrementally. Doing it from low to higher makes it more likely you'll settle for a too low position.
Last edited by Clem von Jones; 04-14-15 at 01:57 PM.
