Corsaire

My saddle is bubble level with the nose raised only 1 or 2 degrees.

But how about being level ACROSS, that is looking at the saddle from behind, standing right behind the rear tire ?

Looking at it from the back, my saddle is not level, it declines to the right (where the right butock rests)
by at least 5 degrees!

Is this bad ? Should it be level across too?

Corsaire

boze

i ride my brooks team pro nose up.

my guess would be yes - a tilt from your left to right butt cheek height would be bad.

biker7

My guess is your right nut is a bit bigger.

George

foehn

If that is your guess, my guess is that if the seat is 4-5º lower on the right side, it must be more than a bit bigger!

Are you right legged Corsaire? Maybe you tend to peddle/pull harder with your right leg.

Corsaire

It has nothing to do with either I'm left or right legged, I think the saddle rails might not be truly paralleled, haven't had the time to dismount it and place it on a table to check why is it that
the it about 5 degrees off down, then again it could be the seatpost clamp that is crooked ?

Regardless, my question was more if this could keep injuring my lower back more than already is, like causing a pedaling/motion misalignment by not having a level platform (saddle) to sit on?


Corsaire

garysol1 

I would have to think yes.......With your pelvis tilted right to compensate you must be putting your lower back in an un-natural position.

cooker

Ideally it should be level, except if it happens to suit you to have it tilted. Nobody has a perfectly symmetrical body, so a slight left or right tilt might work out ok. I commute with a pannier loaded on one side of my bike, and I ride on streets that usually slope slightly to the side, so it's possible that I ride wth my bike slightly tilted to one side without even realizing it. Maybe I'd be more comfortable if my saddle tilted to one side...who knows?
Does it feel uncomfortable?

meme

My current saddle is a bit higher on the left side than the right side. I didn't even notice this until my left butt start hurting. To compensate, I tilted the nose down a bit, which force me to sit more toward the noise than the wings.

puddin' legs

Saddles do fatigue, and yes, they do need to be replaced. You'll be amazed at the difference even if you replace it with the same model. Brooks B-17 is different. Anything that heavy should last a lifetime.

Another theory is that most of us have one leg shorter than the other. Over time, you've compensated toward your short side. The saddle rails have 'accomodated' your shift... Just a theory mind you.

biker7

Technically...Corsaire is afflicted with RND...know in medical circles as...right nut dominant.
This many times causes a rider to put more weight on his RHS thereby deforming the saddle by a few degrees as described.
Wanted to provide some insight.
George
P.S...another little known medical fact is the best professional baseball hitters and golfers are cross-eye dominant, i.e. their dominant eye is opposite their handedness. This has no relevance to Corsaire's unusual condition however

Corsaire

My saddle is the Forte Pro SLX, rather new, bought it at the start of the season, upon close inspection, looks like the amount of padding on the right side of the saddle is about 1/8 to 1/4 less than the left side.
Like I said I have yet to dismount it to check if the rails are paralleled to each other, as well as the seat post clamp, that could be crooked too, who knows.

I wonder if an over a $ 100 dollar saddle would've made a difference, 'cause a paid $ 39.00 for the Forte, a real bargain, but now I doubt the workmanship was top-notch.

Corsaire

SDRider

Just curious, how are you measuring the side to side angle? Is your bike perfectly perpendicular to the floor?

Is the bike comfortable for you when you ride it? How many miles do you put on it each week? That would be what I would concern myself with.

roadfix

You may simply have a defective saddle. I've had a couple of crooked saddles over the years.

DXchulo

I'm no expert for sure, but you'd think it should be level or your position would be all wrong and susceptible to injuries. At the very least you might look kind of weird like Mancebo.

Are your legs the same length?

Corsaire

[QUOTE=SDRider]Just curious, how are you measuring the side to side angle? Is your bike perfectly perpendicular to the floor?
(QUOTE]

The bike placed on a trainer perfectly level, profile wise. After that, I placed the bubble level on top of the saddle across the wider part of it, eyeing it from behind the rear wheel.

Corsaire

puddin' legs

Just an anecdote, but a few years ago I was thinking my buggy was just getting worn out. A great friend owns my favorite shop in the world, so when I started mentioning frames to him, he told me to get a new saddle as the old one had a ton of miles in it. He told me if it didn't make a difference, he'd take the saddle back, then we'd talk about frames. Man, it was like having a new bike. The original and the replacement were the same, Flite Ti's at about $75 at the time.

zhmontana

Are you sure the bike is exactly level side to side (ie perpendicular to the floor). Do your handlbars have the same tilt?
If you have that correct then sounds like you need a new seat.

carlson5200

That might explain my vicious slice.

When I ride my right leg slightly brushes against the frame while pedaling. I try shifting my weight, checked the alignment of my saddle, even checked that my cleates were even on each foot. As yet I can't explain my off centered riding. Years ago when I had my old Huffy, I learned to ride no hands and had to tilt the bike to my left and cock my upper body to the right to balance - not much just a few degrees. Never could figure that out either, maybe I'm just off balance on a bike.

Savas

Level cross-ways is important for the skeletal structure to work uninhibited.

Corsaire

You may be right. Finally, I dismounted the saddle, plcaed it on a perfectly level surface and confirmed that it's in fact the saddle, looks like the rails are paralleled to each other but the padding where the right
seat bone should rest is off by no more than 1/8" (lower than the left padding).
Now, I suffered from lower back flare-ups every once in awhile, specially after a hard, long hilly ride, add this to the fact that this year is been when I've done about 4 centuries and many long rides, this 1/8" could be the difference between a aligned or misaligned back.

What do you guys think ? Would you buy another saddle? perhaps same Forte Pro or switch to a more expensive one, where the craftmanship is supposed to be superior ? I've been looking at the Selle San Marco Aspide Arrowhead which pretty much has the same features as the Forte Pro.

Feedbacks?

Corsaire

pigmode

This is borderline ********. Just grab the damn thing with both hands and tweak it. If that doesn't work, buy a new saddle.

biker7

Not if you are right nut dominant. Worse case an 1/8" foam deformation can cause paralysis. Not to be taken lightly...especially if making a lot of RH turns.
George

pigmode

The political adminstrators of ancient Persia would not be affected by this medical anamoly. Niether would Lance A.

Corsaire

PIG mode (you must really are)
Serious and sober answers please. If you have nothing to positively contribute to my concern then just ignore my thread...I have a recurring lower back problem that I'm trying to address here.

So cut your bull s..t !

Corsaire

biker7

Good point...the former had quite luxurious hair as did the concubines of ancient China by coincidence.

And Corsaire...we are adding...or trying to add some levity to your post. There is no such thing as symmetric loading of pedals or a perfectly symmetric riding position. Some top riders deliberately rotate their saddles out of preference for example.
Good Luck with resolving your issue but in the grand scheme it is of little consequence.
George