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I keep my seat exactly flat.
Only when I am going down a decline and the route to my office is such that the trip both onward and return are climbs followed by declines.

So when the decline starts, I put a bit of weight on my legs and raise my butt just an inch above the seat.
It lets me relax a bit and keep the, what do you call it "taint" dry. :)

Well there was never an argument whether the seat should be straight or not. What I was trying with a slightly angled seat was to distribute the stress evenly over all of the legs instead of it being concentrated at the knee - which happens when your top torso is not directly being stressed while paddling.

There are only 2 sit-'bones' we have :) They should be supporting / taking most of your weight when you sit on the saddle. None of the softer tissues should be taking any weight. Again, most saddles are designed so that the sit bones can be ideal support points. For a moment dont think about cushioning etc.

This, unless any individual sit-bones are 'wide' in which case they need those specific wider saddles.

Again, recommended is flat. I have not seen the saddles on these bikes wont be able to provide specific comments on either.

May be, if your earlier setup was improper and is now corrected.
Angle definitely plays a role (making sure you are comfortable enough not to worry about your position/pain - helps you focus more on pedaling) but You get to exert far more and proper power with correct seat height and distance from handle bar.


Base that decision on not by the type of bike / saddle but on the terrain that you ride on. If you are jumping around or on trails, sure you are meant to stand - for proper control and to have your legs act as 'suspensions' for the body. On regular tarmac (except speed breakers / potholes), you've got to be seated - whatever the type of bike / saddle.

As long as it is just natural muscle 'pain' or normal skin irritation (and not NUMBNESS), bear the pain for a few days. Part of it. It will get better (reduce) with more rides. If it is Numbness you are experiencing - that is a bigger problem (and this generally happens when your weight is more on the softer tissues of the 'perineum' and not the sit bones).

Padded shorts help a lot here than soft saddles or gel covers.

HTH

Sorry, why would you say that? As it is MTBs usually have wider saddles than road bike saddles, and we sit on road bike saddles for hours without an issue.

Road bike saddles are between 130mm to 150mm wide usually.

Spec has a *** o meter, but you can do the same at home by sitting on a sack of flour, and measuring the width between the sit bone indentation.

Jigbarai is right on all counts too. Saddles have to be completely flat. Use a spirit level to get it level first, and then maybe some minor tweaks, and certainly not just pushing it up or down.

Some saddles like Brooks etc are usually put nose up.

Nope, that is wrong, and it is pedaling, not paddling.

Again, for serious cycling, being erect is the worst that you can do for your back. You are meant to be arched, so that shock absorption is best. Erect and your back takes all the shocks.

To protect your knees the answer is good [high] cadence.

You dont really need to do that bblost. Just drop by drop, from the inside of the chain. One drop on each roller, spin backwards for 20-30 revolutions and wipe off excess.

Like Phamilyman pointed out, it's much better to use specific lube. Dry/wet depending on the season.


Best cleaning is off the bike with diesel/kerosene or on the bike with a chain scrubber. Much cheaper than WD40 too. You get removable links, with which you can get the chain off the bike easily.

Now that you said the above (in the previous post). On the way back from office. I tried shifting my weight around to try and see whether I can get those sit bones aligned to the broader part of the seat. And hey it worked. I was either sitting too forward or the seat angle I was trying wasn't right. I made it flat again. Or how much of it I could.

I didn't see any difference in effort applied but it didnt feel uncomfortable either. I am going to try this position for a while and report. Thanks for the tip.

Looks like my rear is standard size. So I am good with what saddle I have.

The below are the pictures of the saddle on my bike - RR 5.2 2011



This is with the Gelltech Cover. Recommended by Decathalon.



I find the Gel thing more comfortable. Though I really don't have an issue with just the saddle.

Yes. This is what I am trying to sort out as best as possible. Any experiment other then the recommended is for a very short period to see why it either works or does not.

Presently its commute to office. But not really the best of roads. On the HAL Road to Marathahalli, I end up riding off the road due to the morons on motorized transport. So I am hardly on the seat.

It was numbness on and off. So my experiments on the height and back position. I understood numbness is a concern as blood flow is being impacted. Not a good thing.

Where do I get these? Any link?

Thanks for your posts. Very helpful.

I saw a hybrid bike - a Btwin. It had a wider saddle then my MTB. I am not sure about the road bikes. Never had one. Used to ride a friends Mach 1 when in school. But cant recall the saddle then.

LOL!! Ok will try that. I can then use the flour for rotis right?

My wife wont really like the sight of me first sitting on her atta bag and then measuring the indentation. But heck I will give it a try.

I always wanted to use that spirit level app on my phone. It has two way measurements. Now I can. :D

Thanks for correcting. I mostly depend on the correction tool to help me out. But I surely meant the former.

Hmm... When we do take the bad shocks don't we get on our feet instead?

I wouldn't be sitting on the saddle and going over a speedbreaker right?

The erect position is for smooth clear roads. Are you saying all imperfections can be bad? small and big. If yes would be a full suspension bike be a better option for people with dodgy backs?

Can you explain in more layman terms. I understand its the number of revolutions.

How does number of revolutions affect the pressure on the knees. Ofcourse the higher it is more we are stressing out the knees agreed. But my idea was instead of the knees taking the burnt can the whole leg be utilized better?

Very upright postures need wider saddles, especially if the bar is level with the saddle. If the fit is aggressive you need narrower saddles.

No full suspension is ever required for Indian roads. In fact even the front suspension is not worth having unless you go off road.

Good posture [slightly arched with not weight only on saddle but some shock absorbing with arms too], and better bike materials like steel and carbon are what makes your ride comfortable.

Higher the cadence [rpm] the LESS is the stress on the knees. It's obvious - less is the work done per revolution at the same bike speed.

Gel seat covers are crap and best avoided. Like the previous poster said, get cycling shorts. Available online at all the UK retailers at reasonable prices, or cheap at Decathalon [both in quality and price unfortunately].

No underwear of course.

^^
Agree with Kumar2007.
Just for clarity - cadence is simply put 'pedaling rpm'.

Having the Right bike fit / adjusted, being in the right posture, driving in the correct gear at good cadence - negates all possibilities of back problems or fried knees.

As for the padded shorts - you get two types.
The tight lycra ones (however Not everyone is as comfortable in public in tight lycra) hence another option is to have good padded inners with regular shorts or 3/4ths.

In local (Decathlon) - this is one option to look at
SHORTBIKE 5 REINFORCED Cycling Shorts - Decathlon India

Don't go for the other baggy cycling short of Decathlon. The padding is them very thin.

If you are okay ordering online, there are several good / professional grade options which have been tried and tested.

Check these out ..
Evans Cycles | Men's Clothing | Cycling Shorts | Undershorts | Online Bike Shop

or some of the other options on that site.

You can also look at LOVE2PEDAL Bicycle Shorts and Cycling Jerseys from Primal, Falconi,

the gel cover should be in the dustbin by now, I hope.

anyways, reg cadence:
Training at low cadence and knee pain [Archive] - Bike Forums
Perfect Pedaling Technique [BIKE/SPLIT]

higher is better.

Do we need these special shorts if the non-stop distance is less than 30-40 kms?

Let's just say that when it comes to the private parts, I'd much rather err on the side of caution. I use it on all rides except a grocery run :)

Bibs, never shorts BTW, and no underwear.

Only time I would do a 20-30km ride or more without cycling shorts [bibs like I said], was if I were on my Sherpa with a Brooks Flyer leather saddle. On a leather saddle, I have done even a 100km in jeans and that is the ultimate compliment for a saddle.

Maybe after a really long ride, I would change my opinion. But my daily non-stop is just around 11-12 kms. That is 2 times a day.

There is no numbness, soreness, rashes or anything like that.
Also no loss in functionality (:)) so I think as when I start covering greater distance, I will consider them.

Thanks guys. The Gelltech stuff is off. I thought the Decathalon guys were more helpful.

Going this weekend to check on the shorts. If I don't feel good enough, will get them shipped from abroad.

On Tuesday saw a dude on a RR 5.2 on HAL Airport road. He was riding on the footpath and gestured me to join him. I refused. He rode off. Anyone from here? Dude if you are reading this please only ride on the road. Footpaths are for pedestrians.

11-12 km is a warm up, not a ride ;-)