bike saddle

Question
Greetings, Graeme,

8 days ago I purchased a hybrid bike with a 20 inch aluminum frame.  I had had never owned a hybrid bike or a big/tall bike like this before.  It rides like the wind, and I really love it.  It, however, was brought to my attention a few days ago that whilst riding I seem to slide myself towards the pointy end of the saddle, as opposed to sitting on the wide end of it.  The saddle is flat and level, not angled.  Is it normal for this kind of thing to happen when riding a big bike?  Or my saddle is a little too high?   I have to slide myself and my butt back onto the wider end of the saddle periodically.  

What would you recommend me to do?

Thank you in advance,

Yuzo

Answer
Yuzo,

Interesting question.  It it not normal for you to slide forward on the saddle.  However, in my experience it is normal for people new to bike saddles to take some time to find their perfect spot.  The spot may be forward or aft, but what is important is that it is comfortable.  Comfort improves bike riding immensely.

That said, there are a number of factors that could be contributing to your sliding forward.  First off is the seat angle.  You say that the seat is flat and level.  For most people flat and level to the ground is the starting point.  You should try both tilting it forward and tilting it back to find a position that is right for you.  Talking in generalities, in my spin classes, the women generally like the nose of the saddle tilted up and the men like it tilted down.  I don't know why, but that is how the majority of people behave.  I generally like a slight forward tilt so that the nose of the saddle is 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower than the tail of the saddle.  Seat angle is something that you can adjust easily with only a hex wrench and it is hard to make a mistake, so you should definitely start there.  

The other factor that comes immediately to mind is saddle shape.  Narrow shapes are less comfortable in the beginning until you get used to them.  Wide shapes are comfortable in the beginning and then can get uncomfortable over time. For logical reasons, occasional use, recreation-oriented bikes tend to come with wide-tailed seats (the manufacturers want the buyers to be comfortable on the test ride). If you have a bike that is oriented towards recreation, it is likely quite wide at the tail.  Unfortunately for some people, the wide tail is too wide for comfort and tends to force them forward onto the nose.  This may be the case with yours.  If you have a seat that is more than 6 inches wide, consider going down to your local bike shop and seeing if they have any narrower seats they will let you test-ride.  Of course, some shops do this and some shops don't.  If you can't borrow one from a shop, try a bicyclist friend.  Most frequent bicyclists have several old saddles around from their quest to find a comfortable seat and they may be able to let you borrow one to test.  My experimentation has left me with at least a half dozen seats that didn't work for me and I keep them sitting around in a box, waiting for someone to test them.

Now looking at height.  When you ride, your leg should extend at the bottom of each pedal stroke with your foot flat.  If you have to point your toes to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke or you have to tilt your pelvis, you are too high.  Adjust your seat to a height that allows your leg to extend fully without toe-pointing.

This may be a lot to figure out, but luckily the technology is not very complicated.  If you do a little tuning of the saddle angle, shape and height, you should be able to find your magic spot.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Graeme