Saddle positioning
 

I was just looking through the "Post your rig" thread and noticed that a lot of people have the nose of their saddles pointing up in the air. Mostly on DH type bikes. I'm asking this out of ignorance, not try to be a smart ass....is this because they don't have an angle adjustment on the seatpost or do they do this intentionally? Seems like your balls would take a beating with the seat pointed up. I've got mine pointed slightly down. Just curious...

maybe i'm wrong, but i think its' to relieve pressure on the arms and to shift the weight back.

That makes sense, I guess it would be for freeriding and jumping and such.

ITs makes it easier to grab the seat with you knees to help control the bike with your hips.

I hate putting my seat like that as all my bikes need to be pedalled too.

i changed the geometry on my bike to the more upright position so i thought i would have to compensate by tiliting the seat back a tad bit. i got a major case of sleepee-peepee

IF you are a big xc rider, you actually do want the seat pointing down slightly. for xc riders, having the seat pointed up can actually do damage to the tender nerves in your groin, and may actually even lead to impotence (and who cares how well you ride if you can't salute when needed).

i, unfortunately, do not have access to downhill courses or serious freeride trails, so i have no idea if a backward angle is desired on one of these rides. but if you are going to be sitting on the seat and pedaling for any lenght of time, and are a guy, for god's sake make sure your seat is NOT pointing up.

Word. I don't buy what was said about how pointing your seat up makes it easier to grab the seat with your knees either. The angle of the seat up or down is inconsequential if the seat is at the proper height and setback. I was just in pain looking at how some of these people have there saddles set up.

There are many seats out there that do a great job for XC riders, triatheletes, etc. Seat position is KEY for many different reasons, I don't need to go into them.

I was involved with a saddle design that my brother-in-law came up with the concept for a few years ago and during that time, I learned many things about saddle position, design, comfort, etc. We were working with Selle Italia on a few of the saddles and they were awsome (see the website www.koobi.com ). When my brother-in-law asked me to help out re-designing the seat and helping out w/ new products, I jumped at the opportunity. After a lot of R&D and riding, we finally ended up with a great saddle line.

Anyway, everyone is going to have their own way of riding and their own preference as to materials (gel, foam firmness, etc.) and the position of their saddle.

For XC riders, they tend to position the saddle with the nose pointed slightly downward and depending on the frame geometry, the seat will need to either be slid forward or backwards depending on the rider. IF YOU HAVE A SEAT THAT UTILIZES TITANIM RAILS, BE SURE TO STAY WITHIN THE SPECIFIED LIMITS OF THE SEAT FRAMERAIL (painted on the side) OR ELSE YOU MAY BE IN FOR A SUPRISE. Titanuim is great for weight, etc., but is a brittle metal as well and can shatter if not installed correctly.

Downhillers keep their seats pointed up and seatposts low because they catch air and they need the room to jump, etc. and so the seatpost doesn't lodge itself where it doesn't belong. :eek: Since they are mostly going downhill, they keep it up also to keep them on the level, not sliding on the saddle.

If you would like to know more about positioning saddles, etc., feel free to PM or email me and I can pass onto you what the guys from Selle Italia told me regarding saddle setup, etc. :D