# Saddle position and hill climbing....



## MCF (Oct 12, 2006)

What saddle position (if any) would assist with climbing (if there is any correlation)? I mean, would a saddle that is a little too far forward or a little too far back on the rails help with climbing and/or would a saddle height that is a little too high or a little too low help with climbing? My LBS told me that a slightly lower saddle would provide more power...I have my saddle height set to where I can barely rest my heals on the pedals when the cranks are in line with the seat tube. This gives me about a 30 degree bend in knee at top of stroke.


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## dookie (Oct 1, 2007)

imho, you fit the bike to the body not the course.

sure, there are very subtle adjustments to help power, or spin, or aero, or whatever it is you're looking for...but unless you're a pro with dedicated bikes and significant data gathering to really dial it in objectively, well, i think your time would be best spent in the saddle and not tweaking the bike. any improvements would be too subtle to notice unless you're in events decided by tenths anyway.

but that's just me.


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## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

Test: Move your saddle down 2cm (I assume you have a near-acceptable saddle height to start with). Keep moving the saddle up .5cm and go climb a hill and repeat. When you feel that you are losing power at the bottom of the pedal stroke, go back down .5cm, write down the saddle height, and never lose this.


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

FWIW, I believe I am more efficient climbing hills when my shoe cleats are slightly to the _rear_ of shoe (ie, foot more forward on pedal), and when my saddle is slightly _rear_ of the "Knee Over Pedal Spindle" setting.

BTW, I am more a "spinner", not "masher", on hill climbs.

However, it is difficult to _convincingly_ deconvolute this from all the other variables.

I'd suggest, make changes in small increments (eg, 0.5 cm for saddle), and time yourself on the same hills a few times, before deciding to change.


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## cyclust (Sep 8, 2004)

moving tha saddle higher should give you a little more power. Selle San Marco made a saddle many years ago, and I think they still may produce it in a newer version, called the Concor. It had a slightly raised tail section that was a favorite of climbers because if you slid back and up onto this section, it would raise you up a bit, making climbing easier. I found that it worked as advertised, and was quite comfortable to boot! The Concor was one of the all time great saddles, in fact I beleive the Concor Light was what Lance used for many years.


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*opinion...*

Perhaps you meant to say the 30 degree bend at the bottom of the stroke, not the top. That's the common recommendation. I use a ballpark setting where my foot is approximately horizontal with my leg fully extended at the bottom of the stroke as a starting point. That requires a 2-3cm rise of the heel to produce that 30 degree bend while pedaling. The final height would depend upon how much heel rise you have, normally. 

If I was going to experiment, I'd try a little higher and further back. Every year, I play with saddle height, trying a little higher, but usually feel like it reduces my comfortable cadence and eventually end up dropping it back down most, or all of what I raised it.


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## MCF (Oct 12, 2006)

Yeah..I meant the 30 degree bend at bottom. I may raise it maybe 0.5cm and see how it goes. Raising it is easy for me since I have the clamp for my tail light on the seatpost pushed down against seatpost clamp..so if I raise and don't like I just drop post back to where light clamp is pressed against seatpost clamp...


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## wookie84 (Dec 12, 2008)

As far as climbing goes, I think it should be position on saddle, not saddle position. Have yourself fitted to your bike properly and move your body to accommodate changes in terrain, for what my opinions worth.


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