Drops vs. Hoods

[Triskeliongirl]

Lisa, which saddle were you riding before and which are you riding now, that has a 1.5" difference in saddle position. That is HUGE. While I love my Brooks Finesse saddle, I really struggle to get it far back enough. I solved it with a very laid back seatpost, but I am curious how it would feel to go back even further.

[DebW]

Moving the saddle back means that your legs and core can hold your upper body weight when you bend over. If your legs are directly under your saddle, then only your arms are holding you up. It's like if you are standing up and bend at the waist - your butt has to moves back or you'd fall on your face. Then it depends on the placement of the bars (height, drop, reach) as to whether your comfy spot is in the drops or the hoods or elsewhere. But you want to be comfortable enough on both to use the hoods on a climb and the drops on a descent.

[sarahkonamojo]

I have been attempting to ride in the drops for awhile with no luck. My arms are short. Reaching the brakes from the drops means my face too close to the handle bars. Bars are already pretty high because of short arms.

I'll have to try the seat slide back. Hmmm.

sarah

[li10up]

Moving the saddle back means that your legs and core can hold your upper body weight when you bend over. If your legs are directly under your saddle, then only your arms are holding you up. It's like if you are standing up and bend at the waist - your butt has to moves back or you'd fall on your face. Then it depends on the placement of the bars (height, drop, reach) as to whether your comfy spot is in the drops or the hoods or elsewhere. But you want to be comfortable enough on both to use the hoods on a climb and the drops on a descent.

That is EXACTLY what the bike fit guy said! I had always thought that moving the seat backwards would put more weight on your hands. But after he explained it (what you said) it made perfect sense.

I think I'm going to try moving my seat back. Maybe that will put me in a more comfortable position while in the drops.

Carbon seatpost and no torque wrench...I hate having to take my bike to the LBS for every little adjustmnet...but I'm scared to death that I'll over-tighten and break the seatpost. Guess it's time to invest in a torque wrench. I bought a Richey Torqkey that is preset for the handlebars but it won't work on the seatpost.

[Grog]

In the not-so-distant past, I could ride in the drops on downhills without a problem, but on the flats it was really not very pleasant. I could do it for an effort for a short time, but really I didn't like it.

I was fitted on my bike and it was confirmed that my cockpit (handlebars/stem) was just too big and too far. I now have new handlebars (38 instead of 41cm!!!) and they have a very short reach to the hoods and shallow drops. The drops are now a very comfy place to be in, I don't mind staying in there for as long as necessary.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, which saddle were you riding before and which are you riding now, that has a 1.5" difference in saddle position. That is HUGE. While I love my Brooks Finesse saddle, I really struggle to get it far back enough. I solved it with a very laid back seatpost, but I am curious how it would feel to go back even further.

Tri,
I talked about the two different saddles and their rail lengths in this thread:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=12921
I had the "S" model which has shorter nose and shorter rails, "for women".
Now I have a non-women's Brooks, which has WAY longer rails (and longer nose).
Yes, I really DID get a 1 1/2" shove back amount- and I love it!

[Triskeliongirl]

Tri,
I talked about the two different saddles and their rail lengths in this thread:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=12921
I had the "S" model which has shorter nose and shorter rails, "for women".
Now I have a non-women's Brooks, which has WAY longer rails (and longer nose).
Yes, I really DID get a 1 1/2" shove back amount- and I love it!

I read this thread w great interst. Can you take a picture of the B68. I am trying to understand how it might compare to my finesse since I also don't have a B17s to compare it to. Perhaps a close up of side view so we can see how far the rails go relative to where the saddle curves.

[velogirl]

remember, if you move your saddle back, you need to lower your seatpost as well. moving your saddle back will increase your leg extension (the distance from your hip to the pedal), so to counter that and still have the proper leg extension you'll need to drop your saddle as well.

did I just say the same thing in two different sentences? sorry!

[Derf]

This is really interesting as I don't really ride in the drops, but would like to.

[mimitabby]

I read this thread w great interst. Can you take a picture of the B68. I am trying to understand how it might compare to my finesse since I also don't have a B17s to compare it to. Perhaps a close up of side view so we can see how far the rails go relative to where the saddle curves.

http://www.wallbike.com/b68.html

[mimitabby]

http://www.wallbike.com/B17.html

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi, note that is the picture of the B17 NARROW, not the regular B17.
The link you posted does show the different types of B17's though.
Sorry, can't find pix of the undersides of the various Brooks.

[Triskeliongirl]

Thanks, mimi, but what I am trying to see are the undersides, where the usable part of the rails end relative to the back of the saddle. Maybe its easier to just take that measurement. I checked all the brooks online stuff and they don't show the undersides. Don't worry Lisa, if its too much trouble I can ask the guys at wall bikes to measure it for me. I am just intrigued now about the B68, but it is soooo muuch heaver than my finesse so I want to know if it will really make a difference.