calbob76

how do i correctly adjust the back and forth placement of my saddle? is there any certain way or should i just do it how it feels comfy to me?

Capocaccia

Right answer: You should be fitted for your bike.

99% of the world answer: Whatever feels right to you. But If your frame is too big or small then saddle adjustment will do little to correct the real problem.

PluperfectArson

General: Place knee over pedal spindle, then go from there to your liking.

Ingleside

First try to see what feels comfortable. Too far back and you'll feel like you are on a rowing machine at the gym. Too far forward and you will just not feel comfortable with a lot of weight on your hands. A proper position will make you feel centered on the bike in a balanced position. Try to make these adjustments with a level saddle if you haven't already settled on a comfortable angle.

If all this fails try to ask a friend with some cycling experience. If that fails then get fitted.

TejanoTrackie 

I Have a Bike

That guy totally freaks me out.

TejanoTrackie 

Would you like it better if it were a talking gecko?

I Have a Bike

He sounds like my property professor.

But my property professor looks like a property professor.

Ken Cox

First, you should adjust the height of your saddle.

Lower your saddle so that when you drop your heel at the bottom pedal position, you still have a slight bend in your knee.

When it feels to you like you have your heel full down, an observer will describe your foot as level.

Secondly, adjust your saddle fore or aft so that a plumb line dropped from the head of your tibia (shin bone) passes through the spindle of your pedal when you have your crank arms level.

A friend can help you with this if you position the cranks with your feet on the pedals and hold onto something to keep from moving.

You don't need a plumb line, really: eye-balling it will do.

Just make sure to drop the imaginary plumb line from the tibia, about an inch back from the leading edge of the knee.

Thirdly, level your saddle.

Put a straight edge from the butt of your saddle to the nose of your saddle, and make the straight edge perfectly level.

Your saddle, if perfectly level, will appear slightly nose up.

Now, go back and do all three, again: height, fore and aft, and level.

For comfort on the street, you will need to find the right stem and the right handlebar height.

Generally, the flat of your handle bar should appear slightly lower than the nose of your saddle, maybe as much as an inch.

As for stem length, go to your bike shop and ask to borrow different length stems out of their used parts box, and ride with them right then and there.

You can try three or four stems in less than an hour, and you will find the right one easily.

Put your hands where you normally really ride, and ignore the drops (if you have drops).

When you find the right length stem, buy a new stem in that length from your bike store as a thank you.

europa

The tricky part about saddle tilt is the Brooks saddle. Horizontal immediately puts pressure on my hands and on my crutch as I slide forward into the hammock between the rear frame and the nose frame of the saddle. Nose up means comfortable ... which doesn't contradict what Key says because when you step back and have a good look at the Brooks, you'll find that with that nose up attitude, the rear of the saddle is horizontal and that's where you should be sitting. Most Brooks users (on all types of bike), find they need a SLIGHTLY nose up position due to the construction of the saddle.

On my Europa, the nose is too high because the seat post I have only has a coarse adjustment for tilt - the saddle is actually one position up from dead flat. Getting an infinitely adjustable seatpost is worth the money ... if you can find one in the right diameter.

Richard

Ken Cox

To build on what europa wrote, if the nose of a Brooks feels like it pushes up into your crotch, move the saddle forward; don't tilt it down.

Or, get a shorter stem, and that will move you back.

dsh

jdgesus 

^^^
probably ridden by a goat

Colannon

thanks, i've had my seat too far back, and my stem too short. i have been influenced by people emphasizing one thing over another.

SquidPuppet

Six years.