DaveSSS 

I always measure from the saddle nose in a straight line, diagonally, not horizontal. That way, the saddle to bar drop comes into play. A hoizontal measurement is a lot more work.

From that measurement, your cockpit is a lot shorter than mine, even though your torso is longer. Our heights are close, but my saddle height is 4.5cm higher. That's not unusual, since few people have my leg length to height ratio. Some tall riders do have even longer legs for their height, but then there's that one guy who's 6' tall with my leg length.

Whenever I experiment with saddle fore/aft, I will only make a 5-7mm move without increasing the stem length to restore the reach. As I noted, I'd need a 140-150mm stem, even with my short torso, if I moved my saddle forward 4cm, otherwise, I'd have major knee to arm overlap. I'd really catch some brutal remarks with a 140 stem on a 51cm frame.

IIRC, Hogg mentioned that he sometimes raises the bars when the back angle gets too sharp. He'd rather try that than move the saddle forward. I've only used that 11cm drop the last two seasons. Prior to that is was about 9cm for many years. I only changed it to see if I could and whether I got any negative results.

robncircus

Thanks for the pic. Nice bike BTW. Interesting the sizes you ride... I'm 5'4 and can ride a 49 as well. Funny how that works.

Anyway, if you were having hand pain it may have been due to your saddle being pointed down (or at least that's how it looks in the pic). You may notice the only one making any critique of fit based on pics in this thread is you. So, you can dish it but can't take it I guess. I suppose you are right that the average person would want some set-back. However, the avg. man isn't 5'4 all torso so I guess a few of us may prefer the straighter seatposts.

Good luck with your riding.

Cheers

Rob

DaveSSS 

Mine's a 51cm. Being able to tolerate a drop that's at least 8cm helps. It's 11cm in that picture.

Soloist Assassin

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I saw this pic of Thor's bike and felt it relevant to this thread. His seat is pushed almost all the way forward it seems in the standard Cervelo post with setback, and he has a huge stem. I looked it up on the Test Team site, it is a 140mm stem. What are your thoughts on that Dave?

DaveSSS 

I'd have to know how far the saddle nose is behind the BB to comment - that's what counts. I don't see any picture. Sprinters are also one-trick ponies, not all around riders. Their setup is aimed at a successful sprint. If you ride crits and sprint for the win, your setup is likely to be somewhat different than other riders.

Also never mentioned in this lengthy thread is how much different people may sit on the same saddle. I've noticed riders with their butt hanging off the back a bit while others may have 2-3cm of saddle showing. Makes a big difference. I would expect a larger rider to have a wider sitbone spacing and sit further back, but you never know.

Here's Thor's setup of the same frame I ride. Plenty of setback and a very long stem.

https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/...e_look_hushovd


Here's Boonen's bike. Another long stem, but that's no straight-up post and the saddle looks plenty far back.

https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/...roubaix_sl2_09

Here's another dandy. Long stem and a HUGE setback.

https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/...trong_madone09


What do you think of this? That's a 45mm setback post.

https://autobus.cyclingnews.com/photo...cntdf05-scott1

Soloist Assassin

Sorry forgot to post the pic.

umd

Re: where you sit on the saddle, I was thinking about that but didn't want to bring the thread back. I suspect the saddle in use also makes a difference. One thing I like about the arione is that it has a lot of usable length. I like to sit more on the back of it for casual riding, and more towards the middle for spirited riding and on the front if I am really thrashing myself. Part of the reason I moved my saddle forward was so that I could make more use if the back. I could probably still use a setback post and have my saddle in the same position, but I prefer the clamp to be more centered on the rails. I could probably even center the rails on a setback post but I would just end up sitting more on the nose of the saddle.

DaveSSS 

With his saddle height and the 73 degree STA on that frame, I'll bet the saddle nose is 8-9cm behind the center of the BB. Compared to his former LOOK frames, the STA alone moves the seat rail clamp back about 10mm. That's probably why the saddle is more forward than back. If you're trying to post a forward positioned pro, that's not a great example.

Soloist Assassin

I am not trying to do anything, but get your opinion on it. I just saw the pic on another forum, and it reminded me of this thread when I saw how far forward his saddle was mounted in the clamp.

DaveSSS 

OK - mostly explained by the STA on that frame. It would be most of the way back if the STA was a little steeper, like LOOK currently uses.

xuxumatu

i made my own bike fit database based bikeradar.com pro bike fits you can input your height on white cell and get your probikefit

it measures
saddle height from bb
saddle height from pedal
reach
drop
crank length


https://sites.google.com/site/inconc...s/45probikefit