Sliding forward on saddle - need advice

[hilldweller]

Hi there
Did a flat ride today and noticed I'm constantly sliding forward on the saddle. Not exactly painful, but definitely uncomfortable and it was difficult to concentrate on pedalling nice round circles because I was constantly sliding forward and then pushing myself back on the saddle. So I've had a look and the saddle has a definite downward tilt to it - about 7 or 8 mm. Is that how it's supposed to be or does it need adjusting?

There's a curved thingy coming out of the top of the seatpost and it looks as if that would be where adjusting rather than the rails of the saddle itself. Is that right? I don't want to do something silly and make it worse, or unsafe :(

[lph]

As long as you tighten your saddle snugly after adjusting it you can't do anything unsafe. Yes, the curvy thing has ridges (probably) on it so that you can adjust the tilt of your saddle. Loosen the bolt that holds your saddle to your seatpost until you can wiggle the saddle around a little, settle it horisontally and tighten the bolt again. Testride and redo if necessary :)

As you're loosening the bolt check if it goes through a nut on the other side, you might have to hold onto this nut to get it tightened again.

If you find yourself pushing yourself back on the saddle anyway, to get further back "behind the pedals", you might want to try moving the saddle back a little as well. Loosen the bolt, slide saddle back a bit along the rails, re-tighten.

If you have trouble, post a picture and we can help!

[Biciclista]

tilt the front of the saddle up a little bit. that might help.

[tab123]

Don't know if this will help but here it is.

I had the same issue when I tried a seatpost that looked great but had more setback than what I needed. Now that I switched back to a seatpost with less setback I do not have the issue.

[fidlfreek]

Yes, tilt the saddle so it seems flat. If you can't fine tune the tilt due to little ridges in the adjuster thingy on the post you can always use a small piece of aluminum can cut to fit on top of the ridges....

[Ana]

I slid forward on while I was riding on the terrible stock saddle. I moved forward because the back was too wide for my sit bones and all my weight was being supported on my soft tissue unless I slid up until my sit bones supported the rest of my weight :)

[Jiffer]

If you've never had a professional bike fit, I would do that. It will fix your saddle issues without guess work, and may fix a lot of other things you may not be aware of. If not now, think about getting one in the future from a reputable bike fit professional.

[hilldweller]

... for the advice. I've adjusted it so that it's pointing just fractionally downwards and will try that out at the weekend. Just a couple of those little grooves makes a big difference in the angle!

[TrekTheKaty]

If you decide to make adjustments yourself, start small!

I also advise getting fit at your LBS. Tilting the saddle too far up it the most painful thing I have ever done.

I've also had other factors. I switched to a Brooks leather saddle. When my core gets lazy, I slide on the saddle. It keeps me honest, and reminds me to use my whole body to stay in position. I learned from spinning class that my core needed more work.

You also might want to take a look at the saddle itself.