I'm having a very difficult time finding a seatpost where I can adjust the tilt so that the nose of the saddle points more downwards than level. I've tried VO, Salsa Shaft, a vintage Specialized and a Ritchey. The nose of the saddle and the rails under the saddle are perpendicular to the floor for all of them.

Is there a seatpost that actually allows the saddle to point downwards?

I don't understand why all these seatposts allow so much titl for the saddle to point up... Surely more riders would prefer my preference if anything as to provide relief...

get the old school posts =)

I had to slide my saddle back and then I could tilt the nose down.

Yeah but old school posts don't have any setback and I can't one that is polished... If you know one I would love to know it also...

I just converted to an old school seatpost to solve a setback issue with my B17 saddle. BMX seatposts are the answer.

Try:
Redline Laid Back Seatpost (25.4)
Problem Solvers Shim (25.4 to your seatpost size e.g. 27.2)
SBS Seat Rail Clamp

Ran me about $25 using Niagara via Amazon. I had to hack off a couple inches off the bottom of the seatpost for it to work with my bike. There are expensive rail clamps that have finer angle adjustment (brompton pentaclip) if you need finer adjustment than the cheapie clamp.

For relief you want it to point slightly upward. Sounds goofy, I know, but it forces your weight back on to your butt.

This one says it goes 5 degrees down.

In my experience, Thomson are horrible for adjustability. I've had them on several bikes where I felt like I was at the very edge of adjustment just getting them level.

Some of the cheap ones, such as Kalloy, have a much better adjustment range for me. Of course, seat post angle plays a factor.

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and for the record, I've never found a saddle tilted forward to be comfortable. All it has managed to do is make me unstable and shift weight onto my hands.

Why not just go with one of the Selle SMP saddles and position the saddle correctly? I have been riding them for years. I decided to go with a Brooks B68 this spring and after like 3 rides, I was back on the Selle. The drop nose is super comfortable.

Most riders prefer flat or nose slightly up.

https://books.google.com/books?id=avp...page&q&f=false

Does not cause pressure on your nether regions?? Is riding in the drops even possible?

Saddle tilt is used to combat pain in the hands. With the saddle tilted down on a road bike, your weight is being supported by your hands, which can lead to wrist or hand pain. So you tilt the saddle up very slightly and this forces your body to keep the weight back and off your hands.

Yes, it's possible to ride in the drops with the saddle tilted up.

,
and buy one of Brompton's saddle clips for the top of the seatpost.. "Pentaclip"

a stepless friction clamp, like a dry plate clutch on a motorbike,
but still light as its primarily aluminum. .. 5 pieces ..

+1
I ride with saddles either dead level or slightly nose up. Tipping the nose down will put too much weight on your hands/wrists.

To me, the perceived need to lower the nose signals an incorrect saddle or improper overall fit on the bike.

*EDIT* Incorrectly said "raise" instead of "lower" the nose.

To the OP: click the COHO link in my signature. I rode 5000+ miles on this saddle, including dozens of centuries and a 200 miler. the saddle tilt was determined by 1000's of miles of tweaking above and below that position.

To SouthFLPix and others who believe that saddle tilt has something to do with weight on your hands: I don't believe it one bit. When pedaling, your upper body is on a fulcrum and that fulcrum is primarily your pedal spindles. On one side of the pivot is your butt and the other side is your hands. There are a zillion ways to create balance between the two sides: fore/aft saddle position, height of bars, stem length, etc. One of the ways that I believe does NOT work is saddle tilt.

Is the theory that you are somehow "levering" your torso upward by lifting the front of the saddle up? I can not imagine lifting 80lbs of torso with a 10" saddle and even if I could I would not want to lift it with that region.

That said, I do sympathize with the OP about seatposts that allow decent adjustment. the Kalloys do seem the best.

No the theory is that you can only apply a force against the saddle in the direction of contact. Your hands can apply a force to the handlebars from almost any direction to compensate. So if your saddle nose is tilted down, it starts to apply a bit of forward force in proportion to the amount of downward force it is carrying. The only place to oppose this force and keep you on your bike is at the handlebars (or torque at the pedals if you really power up)

Just imagine that instead of a saddle you had a flat and smooth bench to sit on. If that bench is flat, you only need a little bit of weight on your hands to stay seated. If that bench is tilted 45 degrees. You will have to put a lot of weight on your hands to press your butt back against that bench.

Here's Sheldon's take, which I've found to be true in my experience. Obviously, other factors (bar height in relation to saddle, saddle model, rider geometry - sit bone spacing, rider position, etc) can influence each person's own experience.

Angle

The angle of the saddle should be pretty close to horizontal. Some men prefer the front to be slightly higher than the rear; some women prefer the front slightly lower than the rear, but extreme angles should be avoided.
If the saddle is nosed up too far, it is likely to increase pressure on the soft tissues, and cause all sorts of problems.
If the saddle is tilted down in front, the rider will tend to slide forward onto the narrower part of the saddle. Women who are riding on saddles that were designed for men frequently tilt their saddles down. This will relieve some of the discomfort from the saddle itself, but creates new problems: The downward slope of the saddle causes the rider to tend to slide forward, and this can only be counteracted by pressure on the hands. Thus, poorly-angled saddles often are the cause of wrist, shoulder and neck problems, due to carrying too much of the rider's weight on the hands.
The angle and the front-back position are both adjusted by the clamp on the seatpost.

If you are saying that a forward tilted saddle will make you move forward if sitting vertically, then sure, you're right. But most riders aren't coasting all the time. they are putting pressure on their pedals which lifts them and moves them back against the saddle.

Take your bench at 45 deg.: If I just sit down on it, it moves me forward. But what if I move it backward? Then I have to stick my butt further back to make contact with it, thus tipping me backwards and taking weight off my hands.

You want your saddle location to be fixed for your optimal pedal stroke. If you are moving it forward and back to releive your wrists you will seriously mess up your pedaling and possible screw with your knees. And IF you were moving your saddle back it would put more weight on your wrists because you now have to lean further forward to reach the handlebars so your centre of gravity doesn't change much but unless your core is really rigid, you will be supporting your body more like a bridge than a cantilever.

Take a look at the final time trial from the 2010 TDF. Contador was sliding forward on his saddle & then shifting his hips back due to an improper saddle angle. This was in an aggressive time trial position, not sitting upright. For the most efficient pedaling while seated, you want your weight fully supported on the saddle not on the pedals or your hands. It is much easier approaching a cadence of 200 if you do so.

I agree. I use a carpenter's level right across the nose to tail. This appears to be slightly nose up, but it's dead center bubble. It has to do with the slight dip of the Flite Ti.

Mind if I ask why? Is it to, um, have more room for your junk? Lower back stretched too much? Curiosity is the only reason I'm asking. I had mine tilted up for a while because it was easier on my shoulders that way. I was using my arms to hold myself up against the bars, to avoid sliding forward, and tilting the saddle upward made that go away. Didn't like it, overall, though.

The 3T seatpost (carbon) that came with my Cervelo (RS) lets you point the nose downward. Mine is about 4 degrees down, but could go further. Sorry I don't have the model number.

True. I don't know about "seriously".
The Knee Over Pedal Spindle theory for fore/aft saddle position is a very general rule. there are many very strong riders who position themselves very differently though.

Ideally, your position on the bike should be that if I were able to pull your saddle out from under you you wouldn't tip back and if I were able to pull your handlebars away, you wouldn't tip forward. You'd be "in balance". True?

I can't imagine any rider coping well with either their seat or handlebars disappearing.