Saddle relative to bars

[PinkBike]

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]

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!

[radacrider]

...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.

good luck with re-tweaking. I'm always doing something that seems to cause me to lose my settings, so I starting measuring and recording things like top of seat to BB, stem height. Just so I can reset things, cuz it does take so much to get things just right.

[PinkBike]

thanx, i shoulda done it sooner but i will totally do it now - when i get it right

[arielmoon]

My bars are about 2/2.5 inches lower than my saddle.

[Cataboo]

good luck with re-tweaking. I'm always doing something that seems to cause me to lose my settings, so I starting measuring and recording things like top of seat to BB, stem height. Just so I can reset things, cuz it does take so much to get things just right.

I sometimes end up marking my spot with marker or a piece of tape or something on the seatpost.

[kenyonchris]

My bars are about 2/2.5 inches lower than my saddle.

Me too, on my road bike. On my mountain bike, my seat is about even with the bars (I have long legs and ride aggressively). On my patrol bike, about 2 inches higher.

[yetigooch]

distance between saddle and handlebar is not an isolated relationship. proper fit is dependent upon rider size and flexibility. Proper fitting should involve flexibility tests and taking specific body measurements. This provides a guide as to what frame geometry will work for you. measurements while on a bike is then done to determine proper length for cranks, stem, bar width, etc. however, if you are looking for a quick fit, the two most important measurements to get right are: 1) saddle height 2) saddle-to- bar(hands on hoods).

[zia]

however, if you are looking for a quick fit, the two most important measurements to get right are: ... 2) saddle-to- bar(hands on hoods).

Along those lines, I just read in "Bicycling for Women" that 1) a plum line dropped from the nose should bisect the stem (true for me) 2) with exceptions for rake, you shouldn't be able to see your front axle (I can; my Terry rake appears to have more of an angle than my husband's Allez, though).

My saddle is about 2" above my bars. I tried dropping my bars lower on Monday, but my shoulder blades entered a world of pain...