The saddle is where you sit on the bike. It can be a lazy couch, your office chair or a seat in the confessional. Making sure that it’s fitted correctly to your seatpost and angled to suit your needs is essential. Here’s how.
Our guide below shows you what we believe is the best method to fit a saddle. We’ve included a list of the tools and materials that you will need to complete the job and in some cases where you can buy them. If there are others that you prefer then feel free to let everybody know in the comments.
Tools & Materials
Saddle angle adjustment
5 thoughts on “How to fit and set up your saddle – get your position right”
I’ve read in a couple of
I’ve read in a couple of fitting books that the “majority of riders would benefit from a typical saddle to be pointed (nose) downwards by upto 5 degrees from flat”. It tips the pelvis very slightly forward; reduces back pressure slightly; and giving the rider something more to push against. As a result I tend to set my seats pointing nose downwards by about 3 degrees from horizontal. Everyone is different, so this may not work for you, but wanted to suggest that for anyone wanting to try something different to just buying another seat.
Other things the above article could mention which would be helpful for some people (i) UCI regs on seat angle and particularly where/how you measure a seat angle if the seat is curved like many are (e.g. Fizik Aliante) (ii) How to set up an SMP – the curved shape makes it a lot more tricky (iii) If you are buying carbon rails then in what direction the ovality is to help people understand if their seat post is viable or not
macrophotofly wrote:
Too many people making fun of SMP saddles on the road.cc readership I’m afraid.
Seriously, though, I’d agree. I have a Selle SMP Hell. Fitting it to my seatpost was pretty strange, particularly because when you attempt to set it level, the rails are actually angled upward when viewed from the side.
I run mine around 2 degrees down from horizontal. This gives me good clearance for my man-junk when in an aero position, and provides a firm base for my glutes to push against while on seated climbs riding on the bar tops.
My Canyon Ultimate has the
My Canyon Ultimate has the most complicated seat post arrangement I’ve ever seen.
Something like this http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MovistarCanyon2016-9.jpg
The whole fitting assembly is on rails on top of the seat post which can be adjusted fore/aft and this then attaches to the rails which are also fore/aft adjustable as well as angle adjustment. Basically if you loosen any one of the bolts the whole thing very quickly becomes floppy, so making adjustments is a very careful game.
Take my advice
Take my advice
No matter the setup your saddle was, if its not suit your “riding style”
Its ruined your ass for entirely of life . . .
Choose saddle base on your riding style and you will find heaven, your ass will thanks you for that as well
Me too, been setting saddle for 3 months with Astute Skyline VT Taca saddle, I can’t sit on it comfortable, my riding style is aero specifically, elbow 90 degrees bented, sphinx position, flatted back with extreme pelvic tilted forward
I just can’t get it right forever so I give up, I go to LBS and found Fizik Arione “clone” (its copycat saddle that looks like Fizik Arione shape but its not Fizik own product, AKA, copy and paste product sell in other name and brand) named “S” saddle, I find its so cheap and saddle shape looks interesting, I also heard “Fizik Arione” design is suit my riding style from what I do a research so I bought one and test it out
Know what? I got jaw dropped how performance gains by just swapping saddle to the correct one that suit my style, I can pelvic tilted so that my back level to the ground like I do Time Trial without pains and numbass
My cadence also increases significantly, its so smooth and I can keep 100 RPM without tiring, I know its sounds irrelevant but let’s me explain why . . .
With Astute Skyline VT Taca, since I can’t get it comforts right, its end up pains on my soft tissue even its have cut out at the center of saddle, its not help me at all . . when I do 90-100 cadence, I could spin for 1-2 mins and STOP for a bit then continue spin, its been like this whole 3 months while I try to setup saddle which I fails at it
As I mentioned above, I swapped to “Fizik Arione” copycat saddle name “S” saddle, I could do 100 cadence forever til I getting tires, that’s . . . . amazing! I never felt great like this, things I can’t do with Astute before, I could do it easily without problems!
I LEARNED this HARD WAY
BUY THE ONE THAT SUIT YOUR STYLE! now I planned to buy a real Fizik Arione soon!
NOTE: I didn’t say Astute Skyline VT Taca is bad but its just not for me, I think its for upright position preferred rider, I am aero TT style rider with elbow, pelvic and back 90 leveled to the ground and Fizik Arione shape is my answer
Sorry for resurrecting, but
Sorry for resurrecting, but this seems an appropriate place to post.
My bike (Mongoose hybrid) has a single bolt for the saddle clamp: I’ve been trying to get the saddle a bit more nose up (ideally level, but y’know…). So I undo the bolt, adjust the saddle, then tighten the bolt again. Except as I tighten the bolt, I can actually see the nose of the saddle move down again.
Is there something blindingly obvious that I’m missing here?