Wogster

I think I have finally figured out a problem, it's the saddle. The problem is that I put too much weight on my arms, and it's bothering my one wrist, if the saddle were back another cm or so, it would be perfect, except the saddle seems to be as far back as it can go already. Okay, so I'll just tilt it back a couple of mm, except there doesn't seem to be a tilt setting. I'll take another look at it, in better light, and see, but it looks like the piece at the top of the seat post is a solid piece.

Anyone else have this problem, and figure a solution?

fatandfast

I had a lot of strain in my arms when I first started riding. The solution is definitely saddle position...but I also had the handle bar raised (extra spacer when having new fork cut). Also, make sure you are not sliding forward on your seat. If you are, tilt the nose of the seat upward until you find a good angle.

fatandfast

No tilt setting?...maybe a new seat post is in order.

chipcom 

The saddle may not be the answer. The saddle fore-aft should be set to give you the proper positioning in relation to the pedal spindle. Once that is adjusted, as well as the proper saddle height and tilt, if you have a problem with the reach to your bars, you need to either adjust/replace the stem or the frame itself may be just be too big for you. I don't recommend adjusting the fore-aft to compensate for reach...you may fix one problem and cause another.

I just bought a new seatpoost to replace the OEM on my old Bianchi...it's a Truvativ XR double clamp. It uses two bolts...you loosen one and tighten the other (or visa versa) to dial in your tilt to a knat's butt...it's freakin sweet.

Velo Dog

I'm with chipcom most of the way...I think there's a fairly small chance the saddle is the only cause of your problems.
I've NEVER seen a seatpost without a tilt adjustment, so either you're missing something or you need a new one. But tilt isn't going to solve your problem if the saddle's flat (or nearly so) now. You'll just get pressure on your butt and add one set of problems to another. I don't think many experts adhere strictly to the old knee-over-pedal-spindle rule anymore, but the fore-aft movement of the saddle shouldn't be used to adjust the reach to the bars--it's to fix your position relative to the pedals. Also look at the height of the bars relative to the saddle. If they're more than about an inch lower (mine are level or a little above on all my bikes), you may need to flop the stem or get a new one to raise them (seatposts and stems can be had relatively cheaply; you don't have to spend more than about $20 apiece if you shop around). You need to get advice from somebody who knows about fit, or at least google "bike fit" to see what you can come up with.

chipcom 

I forgot to post this link: https://www.sbraweb.org/setup.htm

Halthane

I used the method on peter white's home page https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm and he uses the fore aft position to adjust to a position that is comfortable for pedal reach but also to find leaning forward position that doesn't put to much weight on the arms, and then sort of move the bars up into the hands. More or less. Took several rides to get it really dialed in, but i find it very comfortable now.

Paul

foehn

Are you sure that when you sit on the saddle and place your hands in position on the handlebar that your wrists are not bent?.

I was doing this when I first started riding again, flat bars, mountain style bike, and when I stopped into a bike shop and mentioned it, the owner got a screwdriver and moved my brake/shift levers so that when I used them with my hands on the grips, my forearm, wrist and hand were in a straight line with little to no bend at the wrist.

I had a problem with the flat bars on my impulse-buy bike: the grips were way out there and made me lean forward too far, which always made me carry more weight on my hands. I helped to partially solve the problem by getting a double-screw seat post (very adjustable tilt), a zero-setback seatpost and a shorter, adjustable rise stem. This helped out quite a bit, but I finally got funky looking cruiser, sweep-back handlebars and an even shorter stem, and the bike feels very good now, scads and loads better than when I first bought it.

And are you sure your handle bars are not too low?

Wogster

I think the bent wrist might be part of it, I'll shift the brake levers down some, and see if that helps. I was thinking about the saddle, because if I scoot my butt back, it takes some pressure off, but with no tilt, it's hard to stay there. Bars could be a little low, but it's threadless, so that will need to wait for now, as there is no way to raise the bars without replacing the steerer, and I don't want to replace the steerer, until I replace the suspension fork with a fixed fork, probably next year. Might look at trying to change the seatpost for one that will tilt, then tilt the saddle back a couple of mm. Do they make stems that will raise the bars a little, seems like it would be a popular item for cases such as this.

foehn

They do make adjustable rise stems; you should check them out.

Are you sure you're not too stretched out on the bike? that could be part of your problem.

Wogster

Okay, so an update is in order.

I rotated the brake levers so they are further down, that helped, no bend at the wrist. The bars are straight but with a curved in section in the middle, typical MTB bars, so I now rotated the whole thing so that the ends of the bars are further back, if this works, I will look for a shorter stem, which puts the bars further back still.

None of this was a big issue when I was riding dirt trails, but it is when road riding further distances, I have a 25K ride planned for tomorrow, so I will know after that whether rotating the bars helped. Changing the stem will not be hard though, thanks to the way threadless stems are made. It's whether they make short ones, or not.

None of it was an issue in 1978 when I rode a road bike either

Wogster

Okay another update, rotating the bars, and moving the brake levers worked, no more numb hands

foehn

Congratulations!