Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Seat Adjustment

06.17.2013 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

I had been bothered after a ride of any length lately. I’ve always had trouble being comfortable in the saddle after an hour or so, but now I was getting low back pain. It cleared up quickly once I stopped riding, but if I was going to continue to enjoy being on the bike, I would have to take some action.

The obvious culprit was the saddle. I had been fitted to the bike way back in 2009, and the most unexpected finding there was that my seat had been too far back. The fitter moved it forward, and I enjoyed the feeling of riding in a slightly upright position, with the bars a tad closer to me than they had been.

But in the intervening years, I’ve been experimenting — making tiny adjustments in the saddle position. Over time, those tiny adjustments became substantial changes. I guessed the problem must be that the saddle needed to move forward again, because at this time, it was as far back as possible. I had even considered getting one of those seat posts with the additional back offset. But I decided first that I would try to get the bike back to the original settings the fitter had come up with.

I didn’t have a sheet with my measurements, but I did have my garage window. On the window sash, I had written in pencil that the distance from the nose of the saddle to the headset was exactly 16 inches. Now, it was about 16 1/2 inches.

I made the adjustment. We’re told not to change things drastically — more than, say an eighth of an inch — so this was a drastic change. I rationalized it by reminding myself that I’d ridden in this position before.

On my first ride with the new position, I noticed the effect of the forward saddle right away. My arms bent naturally at the elbows. There was less pressure on my hands. I did a club ride of about 30 miles, and felt fine after it was all over.

Last week, I did a few short rides in the neighborhood before work, a longer ride with hills on Saturday, and a 37-mile club ride Sunday. No lower back pain.

It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close. And I have a hunch that any further adjustment I make will be on the saddle height rather than fore and aft — remembering that raising the saddle has the effect of moving it back, and lowering it has the effect of moving it forward.

By all means, tweak your riding position for the most comfort — but be sure you have a record of your original settings. You might need them.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Bike fit Tags // saddle

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 259 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d