Specialized Power saddle inclination?
 

Hello guys,

Short version of my post: For those that have the Specialized Power Saddle, are you following the typical "neutral" saddle inclination, or do you have it slightly upward or slightly downward? How does its inclination compare to other, more traditional saddles you've had before?

Long version of my post:
As you may know already, the Power saddle has a very short nose, but also has a bit of an upward lip in the back. If one were to place a flat book on the saddle so as to cover it all, having the book perfectly level would mean the short nose will be slightly upwards.

I have had the Power pro saddle (padding level 1) for maybe 9 months. After a bit of playing around with inclination and forward-backward positioning, I found a setting which I was happy with, getting rid of numbness/discomfort in the perineal area from my stock saddle (Specialized Toupe expert, I believe). But that setting of mine was admittedly with a fairly big downward inclination.

I was a bit worried at first that it wasn't "proper", but as I said it got rid of numbness/discomfort I was having, so I felt it couldn't be all that bad :) Until pretty recently, that is. Starting about a month ago, I started getting some groin pain, but for the life of me I can't think of anything that I changed in the last few months of riding (bike's the same, pants are the same, didn't put in extra weight, etc...)

To be sure, if the pain persists I will consult with a doctor! But in the meantime, I was wondering what inclination other Power saddle owners have been using, and how it has differed from other, more traditional saddles you've had before.

Thank you,

Geoff

Oh, and I'm not sure if it's relevant or not to the discussion, but in case you care to know I am 5'7", ~140lbs, and my saddle is 143mm. I ride about 100-150 miles per week, and do an 100+ mile ride maybe every 2 months or so.

Geoff

The center part of the Power is supposed to be level, so the back is kicked up and gives your butt something to push against, or at least gives you a consistent reminder of where your butt should be placed.

I can't help with the groin pain, no idea of why that's occurring.

Not that's it's relevant, but I tried a Power Saddle for two ride of about 40 miles each and it didn't work out for me. My saddle to bar drop is 10 cm. I've found that for me and with any of the saddles I've used tipping the nose up slightly is best.

I run mine with the nose slightly up, perhaps 1 degree. I've found this to be most comfortable for the Power saddle, Romin and Aliante.

Perhaps the saddle is a touch high and you are tipping the nose down to compensate. You might try re-leveling it and dropping it down a little. Remember that when you buy a new model saddle, all bets are off. The distance from the top to the rails can be more or less than on the old saddle and the compression of the saddle under your weight may be entirely different than on the old one. The whole saddle may flex more or less than the old one (rails, frame, etc.) and/or the padding may compress quite differently. In fact it would be foolish not to expect to have to find a new height for a new saddle including a new height for the seat post.

Also remember that with a shorter nose saddle the optimum forward-rearward position may be different. Should the back of the saddle, the middle of the saddle (whatever that means) or the nose of the saddle be the same distance from the bars as before?

My advice is to go back to level middle of the saddle and try to find a comfortable saddle height and set back before tilting it in either direction. Tilting the saddle more than a degree or two is a last resort that is almost never a good solution.

I tried one for a while and liked it best in the neutral/flat position. I can't do specialized saddles though because they way they are cut in the butt crease area. I ended up having the same problem in that area w/ the romin, power and toupe. GL

EDIT: Actually started to read your long post. I level my saddles w/ a book on them typically. So I guess it would have been slightly nose up.

seriously, listen to your own crotch and do what it says, only it has the right answer for you.

Thanks guys for your replies! A few follow-up comments:

Cool, thanks. Just curious, but did you get that info from somewhere in particular? I wish Specialized had a bit of documentation with their saddle, especially given that it was supposedly developed with the help of a doctor and his research. Maybe document some of this findings, and why the saddle was designed the way it was. If for nothing else, it could have made for good reading :)

All makes sense. Lowering the seat post was one of the things I did at the very beginning of my bike ownership, although with my previous saddle. It became pretty clear pretty quick that the saddle was too high at the time :) I'll definitely keep an eye on this with the Power saddle as well.

LOL... Well, I did ask it what inclination it wanted, but I got no reply, so I'm left guessing at this point :)

Geoff

Good answer! Seriously though, going for a relaxed ride and Allen keys with you and making some slight changes and really playing attention to what you feel is the key. I think we've all ignored an improper set up seat, but some rides only for experimenting with frequent stops to make adjustments can really help. I've found even going too far in an adjustment just to really feel that point, and then going gradually in increments until going too far the other way, is a good way to at least be more aware of what feels like what. I'd just say not to do multiple changes, ie angle and setback.
Good luck experimenting

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just go by the rails? Seat is basically level at that location but the rails are nose up.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=505223

Yep, that would be great. But in the end it wouldn't really matter that much since everyone seems to prefer a little different setup. But in general using the rails to level it would be kinda nice.

My issue with the Power saddle is that when it's level I feel balanced with little weight on my hands, but it tends to not help keep my hips rotated forward. If I tip the nose down just ever so slightly it helps keep my hips forward but pushes all my weight forward too and my left hand goes numb. I can't seem to find a happy medium at all. Same with the Romin for that matter.

I keep the nose of mine level. Have you tried the one with thicker padding? I'm trying to find a power pro/sworks because I feel like theres too much padding on my Power Expert.

I think I might be in the same boat. The padding on the inside edges of the cutout is uncomfortable because it's so soft.

No, I haven't tried that, well not yet anyway :) Funny enough, I purposefully splurged for the Pro version, since I had heard that too much padding can sometimes (often?) be a problem! Your and Shoota's comments here certainly are suggesting that it can be :)

Thanks to everyone else who chimed in as well!

Geoff

[THREAD RESURRECTION: GO]

[MENTION=412854]Jofu[/MENTION], I'm curious as to what your final tilt was.

This saddle is some kind of magic, but I haven't figured out the perfect method of employment yet.

I have just discovered that the tilt I've been running on my Power (Pro, "level 1" padding) is, according to the "slap a book on top of the saddle and measure the overall angle" method, was actually 8° nose-forward. I've adjusted this to only 3° nose-forward and am looking forward to my regular training route tomorrow, T-handle 5mm hex wrench in tow for mid-ride tweaks.

Old thread. But. Neutral for me out slightly pointed up. I always adjust my saddles by throwing flat pedals on my bike then making sure the saddle is comfortable with no padding.

Specialized recommends a neutral position and very slight fore and aft. I've had pain when the saddle isn't adjusted correctly.

This, I've done this. Although I found myself putting a lot of pressure on my upper body with this saddle, switched out to Aliante which seems to be better.

+1

With the nose up 1 degree it locks your tuckus in place. You don't slide around on the saddle when it is tilted in this position. I find that I can spend a lot of time in the drops with the Power saddle, comfortably.

-Shin

How do you measure the inclination when you say nose up one degree? Is it across the whole length of the saddle, or just the front half as pictured in post #11?

It seems totally arbitrary, since saddles don't really have a flat surface as a reference.

I just put a book on top of it and measure the angle of the resulting flat surface.

I'm about 1 degree up on both of my Romin Evo's. I measure from the middle third, like the photo above.

I've found the power saddle to have a wicked edge on it that catches the inner part of my thigh / lower part of butt on the edge on every pedal stroke. Needless to say I only owned mine for one ride - then I swapped it for my second Romin Evo...never looked back.

This.

-Shin

What was your resolution to this?
 

Hi Geoff,

I know this was a while ago but what was your resolution to this issue? I had been using a Power Saddle for 2 years+ and recently had all kinds of undercarriage issues. I found that it had angled up 5 degrees over time and I was destroying myself. But now I have moved it back to its original position and the perineal discomfort is better but not healed. I think it just takes a long time for that area to right itself! I also was told by a very knowledgeable friend that with 13k miles on the saddle it is time for a new one too!

But would love to know what you eventually did!

Thanks!

Bob