Sliding Forward on Saddle

[Crankin]

I tilt my saddle up slightly, or else I am in excruciating pain. It's slight, but without it, no saddle feels good.

[OakLeaf]

Could be tilt (adjust directly, and if you don't have a micro-adjustable seatpost, you can shim with a little piece of metal cut out of a can with snips). Could be reach to the handlebars (shorter stem and/or steeper rise). Could be saddle shape - too wedge-shaped forcing you forward as you pedal.

My bet is on trying a shorter or steeper stem, since it's worse when you sit more upright. The other two are likely to be worse when you're in a deeper tuck, the opposite of what you're experiencing.

[Owlie]

If you keep feeling like you need to scoot back, move the saddle forward.
Or try tilting the nose up.

Get a bike fitting. The other thing to look at is a different saddle. If I ride a saddle that's too wedge-shaped (very gradual transition between the nose and the back of the saddle), I end up sliding forward.

[Jordyne]

I'm trying to ask myself exactly how it felt, and I'm having a hard time communicating that. Hah! I think I'll ride it in the morning and report back. But, if this makes sense- it feels like I want my knees to be less over the pedal, and more back towards the back wheel. Because of that, I keep wanting to scoot back, but as I ride, my butt slides forward. I don't think it's the reach because the reach feels good and I'm relaxed but well stretched.

I haven't had a fit but will as soon as I can afford it (several months away). Several of you mentioned moving the saddle forward, when I thought I needed a seatpost with a further setback! Ahh- this is why I need y'all

I'm thinking I might play with saddle tilt. Since it's a new saddle, it could be that as well. Then again, I've only ridden it twice, so it may just be that I'm not used to it- I used to riding incorrectly on a small bike, so maybe I need to get used to this?

Question- when people say to keep the saddle level, does that mean the nose of the saddle should be level, or the center? Since the back is higher, not sure how to make it level.Here's a picture of the saddle. http://www.landrys.com/product/speci...e-155310-1.htm

Thank you all!

[Jordyne]

Great idea- I'll try that. And the cleat placement was the same it was on my old bike. I bought the shoes used and the person had them already installed. How do I ensure proper placement?

[LovelyGirl]

EXACT same thing happened to me when I first got my Rivendell mixte. I'll save you the trouble and give you the solution I was falling forward on the saddle and thought I must need to slide the seat closer to the bars, but even after that, I kept having the same issue. Could not understand it. I tilted the nose of my Brooks up more, which only resulted in more discomfort and STILL sliding forward. I then blamed my posture. Figured I'd have to train myself to hold my body back on the seat. Them I came across something Grant Petersen (of Rivendell) said. He said most folks he knew slammed their saddle all the way BACK and that was the key to comfort. It was counterintuitive, but I finally tried it. Bingo! Perfect comfort. Seat is right under those sit bones, no unpleasant friction in any special spots, and NO MORE FALLING FORWARD. Try it, you'll see!

[Sky King]

Just want to point out a few things about putting the saddle all the way back. As Grant would also point out, Brooks tend to have shorter rails than several other saddles. Sliding my Rivet all the way back is totally different (and I ride a Rivendell) I would be to far behind my pedals and end up to stretched out - also type of bike and bike geometry will come into play (ie) Mixte vs. Touring geometry in my case.

Once again proving that we all have many different solutions for the same challenge

[ny biker]

Great idea- I'll try that. And the cleat placement was the same it was on my old bike. I bought the shoes used and the person had them already installed. How do I ensure proper placement?

Find the widest part of your foot. Put some masking tape on the side of each shoe, on the big-toe side of the shoe. With your feet in the shoes, draw a vertical line on the masking tape at the widest part of each foot. The center of the cleat should line up with the line you drew on the tape.

[Jordyne]

NY biker- thanks so much! And thank you all. I'm going to play around with it all. Now that I'm out of school, I hope to have more time to ride!
Can I ask a silly vain question? Do y'all take off the sticker which has the size of the bike? Mine's on the seat tube. How about the barcode sticker underneath the down tube?

[Owlie]

Good luck! It took a shorter stem and a new saddle for me to stop sliding around so much (and it still happens, though that's a combo of a still-too-wedge-shaped saddle and slippery shorts).

I left the stickers on there. I'm lazy. (The ones on the roadie are inconspicuous. The one on the CX is in a really obvious place. I'm contemplating moving that one down an inch to protect the paint from the bike rack.)

[Sky King]

agree with starting with the tilt. Everyone is different. My saddle has a visible upward tilt and to the naked eye one might think it to tilted but super comfy for me.

Should also add the when I wear my cycling tights I find myself sliding forward but in my shorts or regular clothes I am fine so also consider what you have been wearing when riding