Originally Posted by
ericm979
I will disagre with KidSisko about rotating your pelvis back. That makes you hunch your back which puts you in a face down position, so you have to crane your neck to see. If you rotate your pelvis forward your back is straighter and you don't have to angle your neck quite as much.
Your saddle should be back far enough that your knee is over the pedal spindle or behind it 0-2cm (search for KOPS). If the saddle is too far forward you will have more weight on the bars, which makes everything get tired.
Hi Eric. Just so you know, the center of gravity/pelvis issue was brought to my attention during a professional fitting at my LBS in Woodland hills. What specifically intrigued me most about it was how that position relieves the tension in the neck and shoulders. After the fitting, I made a conscious effort to adapt that position just to see what I'd notice. Despite not having the most flexible hamstrings to be able to easily fold over at the hips the way the pros do, I did find that it does ease the tension in the shoulders and neck. So now I adopt that position when needed, and in general ride more consciously about keeping the arms flexed.
The forward neck craning issue was one of the reasons why I rarely rode in the drops for so long. With time though, I've built up the neck muscles and can now comfortably ride in the drops on the flats or while descending.
The saddle position re KOPS was also a key adjustment during my fitting, and it very much is crucial to the issue of center of gravity and weight over the bars, as you pointed out.