I know that ultimately the angle of the seat is going to vary according to personal preferences - still, what "most" people do can serve as a good starting point in the process.

So, on a road bike, do you try to have your saddle exactly parallel to the ground or titled up or down to some degree? I'm still trying different things with mine. I found that a slight tilt up didn't seem to work for me. I just got a new saddle and that could make a difference, I guess, but I haven't had time to check.

Level with the ground. Pointed up hurts the boys, down makes me slide forward and puts too much pressure on my hands.

Depends on the saddle. Both of my Brooks saddles have their nose tilted up. I use a Brooks B17 standard on my MTB and a B17 narrow on my road bike. The saddle on my MTB is tilted more than the one on the road bike, because of the more upright position. I've found that even a "level" setting makes me slide forward and put too much pressure on my hands. Most Brooks saddles I see are tilted the same way.

I just had a new saddle put on about 4 days ago. Did a few rides and while it seemed better than my old, original equipment saddle, I had hoped for more improvement. So I checked the saddle and found it slightly up-tilted. I put a level on it and got it even and it was much better today. Hopefully that will be the norm now.

If i tilt mine up, the pain is truly unbearable in the nether regions--even with cycling shorts on.

heh, you guys and your tilted saddles. I keep envisioning a saddle with the nose pointed straight up.

Level

You should try it. You develop a quite intimate rappoir with your bike that way. Become one with the bike, grasshopper!

Level as it should be. I put a level on it so its level,level as in level,you know,level.

Well it depends on the seat. The one i have now requires that the nose be pointed up a very small amount. Its not really noticable at first sight with the eye, but i notice it if its level, i feel like im sliding off.

Then its not level.

I'm curious - are you folks actually using a level to check position (I note some say they do) or just eyeballing it?

It seems to me that eyeballing it could result in thinking you have it set one way, when it really isn't. Not only would there be the basic question of how accurately you can judge the angle under ideal conditions, but you have the additional problem of optical illusions created by other angles - the bottom of the seat is not straight, the top bar of the bike may be slanted, etc. Heck, even the seat top has some curve to it.

If lining the seat up with some straight line on a wall, all that may be minimized, but if not, well, I couldn't get it as accurate as I'd like.

I am one week and 250 miles into being a roadie. I have a Brooks B17 on my road bike. I keep getting pressure on the "nether region" when i am in the drops. I think it seems logical that if you handlebars are much below your saddle than the nose might need to be tipped down a wee bit. I have ridden thousands of miles on these saddles on my MTB's and never had this issue.

Leads me to believe that an aero position on the road bike with handlebars below the saddle probably requires a nosed down saddle. I will expirement. Again, my saddle is fine when i am on the hoods and tops but in the drops there is a slight pressure.

A level,a level,doesnt everyone own a level?

Are you on the level?

I'm fairly sure he's doing his level best

I like my saddle slightly down in the front, although not too much. I do have a 4 inch drop on the handlebars so that is part of the issue. It all depends on what gives you the highest power output per comfort...

how is the 'output per comfort' ratio measured?

Most people like their saddle level, but I prefer mine to horizontal when riding on level ground.