Are you leveling with me?

Uh huh.

i have to replace my saddle. I'm not looking forward to the trial and error adjustments until I get it just right.

This will be a helpful thread.

You're welcome.

This and the pothole thread are your greatest triumphs.

My saddle isn't flat, so I don't see any point to it being "level"

We need to scientifically analyze this. Unfortunately I don't know how to determine its present angle. Maybe later I'll measure the drop from back to front.

The saddle is supposed to fit your *butt*, not a carpenter's tool.
My saddles are typically 1cm lower in front.
Who came up with this goofy idea anyway???:twitchy:

I got mine as close to level, with the use of a level, as possible. That's what's worked best for me so using a level takes out any guesss work for me.

Good luck!

This level idea is nonsense. On one bike (a) I have a level saddle. On the other bike (b) I have it sloping down.

a) is not particularly comfortable when i sit on it to start with but then I can sit on it for hours and hours without any discomfort.
b) feels like my ass is being massaged and is very comfortable as soon as i sit on it, but after a few hours, my perineum hurts.

My saddle is level. I can tell because my balls don't roll around :lol:

Bwahahaha!! FTW!!

Honestly, to each his own. If you don't know then leveling it is a good start. Then adjust as needed.

I used the markings on my Thomson seatpost to set the tilt to the complement of the seat tube angle. It's close enough to make the Fizik Arione comfortable.

Ugh, my first saddle which was a stock bontrager on my trek 1.2 was pointed nose down. Right now and after I bought a SMP selle plus, it kills more than it helps.. It is "squashing" more than before, even when you point it down there is a curve that keeps hitting your legs each time you pedal.

Level Toupe. Level ground, book or flat piece of wood on saddle, level on top. Evenly torque Thomson seat post bolts to 5nm.

Brooks saddles feel better if the nose of the saddle is tilted up. So both my Brooks saddles are not level.

And it is not something that can be measured ... it just feels right when the nose it tilted up just right.

I tried that and liked it, except that modern cycling shorts manufacturers generally put too much padding in the testicle area. I had to tip the saddle back down to be comfortable. I still can't figure out why shorts have padding anywhere other than under the sitbones.

I started level and tweaked it both ways and months later...it's level. Saddle is a Fizik Antares which imo, wants to be level. GL

I measured and the front is 1.5 inches lower than the back. That seems like a lot. I'm going to adjust it and see if there's an improvement.

Buy shorts with less padding. A lot of Brooks riders don't use padded shorts at all.

And I agree ... I don't understand why shorts have padding anywhere other than under the sitbones. And what I really can't figure out is why some shorts I've tried have padding running up the middle, but not wide enough to accommodate the sitbones at all. The sitbones either sit right on the seam or off the edges of the padding all together.

Nose tilted down, not level.

Try and find a photo of a bike saddle and discern a 1 degree slope from level. When people are talking about nose up or down they don't mean by an inch or two, they are talking one or two degrees at most. That is such a subtle change that no one's eyeball can see it in person let alone in a photo.

I use the clinometer app on my bikes. My MTB was nose down by 2 degrees and my road bike was nose down by 0.5 degrees. That was measured by sitting the iPod on a board on the saddle which itself has numerous slopes depending on where you look. The back of the saddle slopes towards the middle. The nose slope upward then finally leveling out.

Here is an example to give you an idea of how the slope of the saddle changes from front to back.

http://gallery.roadbikereview.com/da...okschop-sm.jpg

Probably the same people who came up with bike fitting based on plumb bobs, measuring tape, and lasers. Looks high tech and fancy but bike fit along with saddle fit has so many variables that using levels, plumb bobs, rulers and lasers along with mathematical formulas is actually an oversimplification. Fit has as much to do with mathematical formulas as your fitness level and muscle build.

Example: I ride the exact same bike I did two years ago. I was out of riding for an extended period of time due to an injury. the bike was set up for my previous level of fitness and the fit was dialed in perfectly. I have been riding for the past two weeks and cannot get comfortable. What was perfect two years ago is quite imperfect now. Same bike, same geometry, same saddle, same person, same weight..... different fitness level.

No mathematical formula or plumb bob can adequately determine the right fit. It may get you in the ball park and may be a good starting point, but it isn't the be all end all.

I use a iPhone with a level app thing. It's probably not accurate.

Actually, I just started eyeballing it. I level it, then tilt it back just a little bit.

I use a taint to measure saddle position.

Cushioning is a secondary function. It's meant primarily to wick sweat, not to pad your arse.

It's also to avoid seams. If the chamois was just under your sitbones, then you would have a seam somewhere around your taint or your junk. Also, and especially for guys, it's nice to have a little bit in front to obscure any obvious outlines...

Agreed, but whatever the reason, too much padding anywhere other than under the sitbones is only taking up the very space that the saddle manufacturers create by putting a cutout down the middle of the seat. A very thin pad under the crotch could "wick sweat," without filling up space and creating pressure. It's like the often-repeated caution to new cyclists looking for a more comfortable saddle. We all warn them that too much padding in the saddle causes pressure in soft areas of the body. And yet, the shorts manufacturers do the very same thing.

The problem is just the thickness of the padding, not necessarily the location. The padding in the locations that aren't being compressed aren't doing anything good or bad, but different people are going to hit the pads in different places. Anyway, the chamois in my shorts comes up the front a bit but they aren't really padded there per se.

Thank you! I thought I was the only one annoyed by that. I've noticed the same thing about my sitbones outside the padded area, and my sitbones aren't that wide (skinny guy with slim hips). It's enough to make me want to start my own shorts manufacturing company.

Now that I'm used to my Brooks, I may have to try the little or no padding idea too. Just a thin shammy is probably all I need.