Saddle relative to bars

**uforgot** · 10-10-2009, 02:48 PM

Okay, I've spent about 3 years trying to figure out fit on my own. Yeah, I should just get a professional fit, but I want to know where everyone has their saddle relative to their bars. My bars are about 2 cm higher than my saddle. I'm not racing, just riding for fun. So....if you are riding for fun, or to tour, and you have drop bars, where are your bars relative to your seat? Below, above, or even? Thanks!

**redrhodie** · 10-10-2009, 02:54 PM

My saddles are 2.5 inches above my bars (measured from bar tops).

edit, I ride for fun, commuting, and sanity (it's debatable if that part's working), and yes, they're drop bars.

**uforgot** · 10-10-2009, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by redrhodie

My saddles are 2.5 inches above my bars (measured from bar tops).

edit, I ride for fun, commuting, and sanity (it's debatable if that part's working), and yes, they're drop bars.

You know, I just went out and made my saddle even with my bars. I swear, if this has been my problem all along...

I have been through so many stems it isn't even funny. I may try even lower, since hearing from you. Thanks for the input!

**Eden** · 10-10-2009, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by uforgot

You know, I just went out and made my saddle even with my bars. I swear, if this has been my problem all along...

I have been through so many stems it isn't even funny. I may try even lower, since hearing from you. Thanks for the input!

You lowered your saddle? - That will cause problems with your legs/knees if you have your saddle too low... or did you have the lee way to raise your bars? From what you've said it sounds like you've lowered your saddle - That's kind of the important part - you want your leg to be fully extended with just a tiny bend when the pedal is all of the way down (fully extended if you put your heel on the pedal). Only differently sized cranks would change where your saddle height is.

Bar height doesn't really have one "right" place - it totally depends on your personal flexibility, desires, riding style. Different people, even if they happen to be the same size could be comfortable with widely varying amounts of drop on a bicycle that was otherwise pretty much the same size.

**uforgot** · 10-10-2009, 11:49 PM

No, I said that wrong, I lowered the bars. Fortunately, I have a long fork, so I just stacked some spacers on top of my stem. I know better than to lower my saddle. Or to move it fore or aft. I seem to be more evenly distributed now.

As for a fitting, I'd have to drive a couple of hours for one, but I may make the time. I just wanted a reasonable estimate of where I should try, and to verify that it wasn't unusual for the bars to be lower than the saddle for comfort. I particularly wanted the female point of view, since I'm working with crazy long legs compared to a stubby body and arms. Seems like I just need to experiment since everyone is different. I was looking (drooling?) at the Luna website and noticed that a lot of the bars in the gallery were lower (relative to the seat) than mine were. Somehow I was thinking higher bars, more comfortable, but it seems like all my weight was over my saddle. I'd also read the Rivendell articles about how most people like their bars higher. That's why I asked. Now I know that higher isn't the norm, although it's right for some. I also think maybe I could just save those pennies and go custom, since I really want to stick with steel!

Thanks for all of the input! I always learn so much here.

**PinkBike** · 10-11-2009, 11:23 AM

i got a high dollar professional fitting, and have pretty much altered everything since then. the biggest was shortening my stem and increasing the rise. It's still about 2" lower than the saddle.

What I learned was: I thought i had found THE PERFECT SEAT. Everything fit so gooooooooooood, it was an absolute joy to ride. Then I took the bike in for a minor tuneup and found it wasn't the saddle but the fit. They must have moved the seatpost to fit it in the stand, because I have tweaked and tweaked and just cannot find the sweet spot again. But it was so good I'm going to keep tweeking a silly mm at a time til I get it back.

**Kathi** · 10-11-2009, 11:36 AM

This spring I was having some lower back problems so my fitter raised my bars on my custom frame. I hated them higher, made my back feel worse and had to go back to the original setup. He also put on a new saddle, apparently I need a T shaped saddle rather than a Y or pear shaped saddle.

About a month ago I bought the mtn bike version of my road saddle for my mtn bike and had the shop put it on for me. I didn't like the shops methods of putting the saddle on and it didn't feel right. The bike had been fitted 5 yrs ago so I thought it a good idea to have the fit checked. I went to my fitter and he readjusted the saddle and decided to raise my handlebars since the theory on mtn bike fit from 5 years ago has changed.

My fitter is 45 mins from me but his work puts a smile on my face when I ride my bikes and I learn a little more about myself in relation to my bikes.

One thing to remember if you do see a fitter is to give your body time to adapt to the changes. Your body has adapted to your bike, a fitter will adapt the bike to your body. My first fit took about a month of riding before my body adapted. I could feel my body fighting the changes then slowly fewer things bothered me and one day it was ahhh, this feels so good!

**Yelsel** · 10-10-2009, 03:22 PM

My drops are even right now with the saddle for my road bike, but the drops are very deep. The headset needs to be greased, so I'll likely lower them about an inch when I do that (threaded!). She's going on the trainer soon, so I'll have lots of time to tune in the fit.

I have a drop of a bit over an inch for my commuter right now -- I'll have a better measurement when I switch saddles because I've been using the softer stock saddle, ick. I spend a lot of time in the mid-drops for one commuting route while fighting the wind, and in the deep drops on another route where there is a long stretch of downhill. I like climbing most of the way seated, so I don't really want to drop the bars more.

It is pretty easy to get a similar fit to a "fit kit" $50 measurement. Search on the web, or it is easy to walk someone through it. This type of a fit is going to give a pretty generic reach / cockpit length suggestion, and doesn't really address relative saddle / bar drop.

**malkin** · 10-10-2009, 03:29 PM

About even.

**SadieKate** · 10-10-2009, 03:52 PM

Boy, so much of bar to saddle drop/rise has to do with the frame geometry as well as personal body geomety that this question is far too broad and generic to really get useful info.

Example: a Rivendell road bike is not meant to be set up with the same drop as a Cervelo, but both are fine road bikes that can be set up for "not racing." The same person fitted on both bikes will find that a different drop on each provides the best fit specific to each bike.

**Kathi** · 10-10-2009, 03:53 PM

Almost even for my road bike, it's custom with a longer head tube than my stock bikes. Mtn bike and other road bike are stock and my saddles are lower than the bars.

BTW, all bikes have been fitted by a certified fitter.

**Cataboo** · 10-10-2009, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by uforgot

Okay, I've spent about 3 years trying to figure out fit on my own. Yeah, I should just get a professional fit, but I want to know where everyone has their saddle relative to their bars. My bars are about 2 cm higher than my saddle. I'm not racing, just riding for fun. So....if you are riding for fun, or to tour, and you have drop bars, where are your bars relative to your seat? Below, above, or even? Thanks!

mine are about even and I ride for fun.

What problems do you have?

**xanesdoc** · 10-10-2009, 05:38 PM

My bars are around 2 - 2.5 inches lower than my saddle. I was fitted by a professional when I bought my bike and have been having very comfortable rides. I ride for fun/exercise about 20 miles a time.

**Miranda** · 10-10-2009, 05:44 PM

Mine are 1.5" below my saddle. I do not race. Though I try my best to hang onto the last wheel of my clubs faster group. Love distance riding. Am very flexible considering I have degenerative disc disease in my back.

The only change my bici could use is maybe a stem about 1cm shorter. Otherwise how I know exactly to the measurement is from my fitter / lbs owner who sold me the current *correct* fitting sized ride.

Omg, GF... I know

you don't want to get a sermon

about go to someone awesome for fit... but it is SO worth it

. There is no feeling in the world like when your bike / saddle disappears underneath you. I think it's literally a piece of cycling heaven

.

After...
MANY saddles,
tons of reading on here & the net,
one wrong sized over $1k bici,
three local idiot shops that claimed to fit peeps,
one paid guy sworn by all locally who could at least measure me correctly,
much searching for the closet ideal geometry in a brand,
5 hours round trip travel a few times to a lbs that had that brand....
and another $3k for a fitting bici...
plus some doctor bills etc. for things bleeding, various other pains...
I have a bike I love...
AND THAT FITS!

A place with a mirrored room where you pedal in a trainer to watch yourself is VERY enlightening... and some will video tape for a fee also. Riding the parking lot serveral times while the fitter with the patience of a saint swaps out stem after stem is a help as well lol.

Good Luck!

**ny biker** · 10-10-2009, 06:27 PM

Mine are about even. The handlebars were a bit lower than the saddle earlier this summer, but I switched the stem to bring them up and in. Helped greatly with back and neck pain.

I ride long distances, don't race, never tried touring.

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