Originally Posted by Dirt Road

Hi, finch. I found the following video pretty interesting. It shows how hip rotation/seat position interacts with handlebar position. The takeaway points to me is that getting the sit bones slightly off the saddle rolls you slightly forward and lets you stretch out some to breath. I have an aerodynamic feature (my beer gut) that is interfering with this notion, but I've been working on it on the trainer. Boy, do I ever have a sore neck from looking up while seeing how far I could go. This is probably old hat stuff for most BF members, but for me it was a bit of a revelation. Maybe you'll find it helpful, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-V...yer_detailpage

Originally Posted by Road Fan

Finch204, I want to talk to you about adjusting and changing saddles.

I would suggest that from this point forward, don't make big changes at one time, and mark your changes or record them so you can reverse a change that does not help you.

This is especially if you are going to raise the saddle. In 50 years I've given myself big changes and small ones, and I have far fewer aches and pains if I make small changes. There are several ways to set a baseline or starting point saddle position. The simplest one is to sit on the bike with your riding shoes on whatever they might be and place a foot on a pedal when it is at bottom. Position your foot so the heel is on the pedal and let your other foot dangle. This foot dangle makes sure your pelvis is level.

This position means you can't hold up the bike with your feet, so you have to be next to a wall so you can lean against it without tilting the bike.

With your heel on pedal, your leg should be straight and relaxed, touching the pedal without reaching it down. The knee should be in the locked position but not forced into that position. You set your saddle height to achieve this condition, which may take a few tries. When you get it right, check it on the other foot.

Once you get it, go ride a lot. You should find that while riding your feet want to hit the pedal near the ball of the foot, the knee is a bit bent at full extension, it is easy to spin (pedal relatively fast, faster than one turn per second), yet you can really drive the pedal when you need to. This position isn't best for everyone and many of us have deviated away from it, but it's at least a repeatable starting point. If it's wrong, you can always go back to your original position which you marked and recorded, right? Or you can follow these simple rules (and see if they work for you): pain in the front of your knee reveals a saddle too low, and pain in the back of the knee reveals a saddle too high. Adjustments should be done in small steps at one time, 1/8" or less.

If you get a road saddle or any other saddle, you'll need to repeat this process to reset the position. The reason you can't just use your old position is that "comfort" seats like yours compress a lot when you sit on it. Road saddles do not. The position that your butt ends up at should be about the same for both types of saddle, but for a road saddle its easier to directly measure. This need to re-fit is also driven by that fact that saddle design geometries are not identical.

This is a lot to wade through, but my main point is to inform you about changing saddles. I think you're on a good path with adjusting your lean. One thing: many adult riders keep their handlebar tops or grips level with the saddle, with no particular need to go lower. But at that height it is possible to need a narrower saddle, sized for road touring. One good but $ solution is a Brooks B17 saddle. Many road saddles are a lot narrower than a B-17, and can be too narrow, without the bars placed considerably lower.