Tinkering with the saddle angle

I've had my saddle perfectly horizontal for a couple of years (as fitted in the LBS) and I am wondering whether lowering the nose ever so slightly will allow me to ride in the drops longer. From the page on saddles by Sheldon Brown: "The angle of the saddle should be pretty close to horizontal. Some men prefer the front to be slightly higher than the rear; some women prefer the front slightly lower than the rear, but extreme angles should be avoided."

I was wondering what preferences about the nose angle are among people in this forum.

I have found that no matter what position I am riding in (drops/hoods, stem angled up/down), whenever I tilt my saddle nose down, I put unwanted pressure on my shoulders, arms and hands. I have my saddle either completely horizontal, or the saddle tipped up slightly at the nose. Otherwise I am sliding forward when I ride and don't get the leg power that I need.

I ride a hybrid with a trekking bar, so I don't have drops to ride in. I like nose slightly tilted down. When it is level it feels like it is tilted up to me. That's my anatomy I guess!

If you bike is fitted right to you everywhere else... saddle dead level should be about the best in the end. Nose up, or nose down, leads to other problems.

If you wanna ride in the drops longer maybe look at what can you do with your cockpit fit. Or is your body really capable of handeling that? I.E. spine flexibility... muscular strength... etc.

Good Luck.:)

Try raising your "grip height" instead.

at least to me it does. I just recently leveled out the angle of the saddle to the bike. Prior to that it had a slight upward (in the front) angle. It caused me problems without knowing that it was. Difficult to dismount (I fell a few times because I could not get down quick enough) plus other problems, especially in the girl parts. Made it level, hopped on and was amazed at out it felt like I was being pushed forward, kinda like feeling like I was going to slide forward and off of it. I'm way used to the level seat now and was amazed that something so minor made such a huge difference.

I do need to raise the handlebars now because I am getting fatigued in my shoulders and elbows. Again, I am just amazed at how such a slight adjustment can cause so much effect in other places. Good lesson here.

The level saddle is vastly more comfortable than the tilted up angle, for me anyway. I'm sure there is personal preferance.

Thanks everyone! Interesting results and comments. I am now convinced that I need a new bike fitting so I'm already booked for a complete fit. I had a 'simpler' one done in my LBS years ago, when I had issues with neck and shoulder pain, but it has been thousands of miles since then. The fitting sessions should also help me in my quest for a new bike... By comparison, shopping for a condo was much easier. :D