# saddle all the way back ?



## George M (Sep 25, 2008)

I have my saddle back almost all the way back and I thought I may try something. I'm 70 years old and live near Houston where the wind really blows most of the year. I'm trying to get a more aero position. I have a 1" drop now and I'm thinking about flipping it, to get more drop.
If I flip it and take out some spacers to get down lower, will that be to much strain on the back to try and get use to? I think lowering the bars will help take more weight off of my hands and help fight the wind.
Do you think that would be to extreme?
I guess I could just try it and see how it feels, but I thought I would ask here as well. Thanks for any replies


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## frmrench (Apr 10, 2009)

Saddle fore-aft positioning should be based solely on getting your legs positioned for efficient pedaling, period. Once you find the optimal spot, you shouldn't mess with it. Stem height (and to some degree length, but that's also one of those positioning issues) is the primary adjustment that can be altered in finding that ideal balance between aero efficiency and comfort.


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## George M (Sep 25, 2008)

frmrench said:


> Saddle fore-aft positioning should be based solely on getting your legs positioned for efficient pedaling, period. Once you find the optimal spot, you shouldn't mess with it. Stem height (and to some degree length, but that's also one of those positioning issues) is the primary adjustment that can be altered in finding that ideal balance between aero efficiency and comfort.



I can move my saddle forward about 2 cm to have KOP. I moved it back that far for power and balance. Also for taking some weight off my hands. I thought about moving it forward, but I was afraid of the above happening.
I thought if I did move it back to where I have KOP, I would be able to lower the bars some more., but that would add the weight on my hands again. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Just try it and see. Give yourself a few days between changes to anything , to adapt to your new set up. Sometimes a change will feel wrong at first ride but after a day or two, it may show it was the right thing to change. Once you have thinks roughly where they feel right, make very small changes and only change one thing at a time... I find just a millimeter in saddle height is enough to feel "off" for me. And I also found (I am pretty old) that surprisingly, lowering my bars really relieved a persistent lower back pain I was experiencing after a few hours of riding, mainly because I was 'tucking' by bending my back with my bars up too high. When I put them lower I could ride with a straighter back and still stay out of the wind...
Keep messing around with your set up...or find a good bike fitter and consult.


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## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

Don't worry so much about KOP. It's just a rough fit technique that has been discounted for awhile now.
Also my riding buddy for the past 8 years up here in the Texas panhandle just moved to Katy. He says the wind does not blow down there!


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## George M (Sep 25, 2008)

MerlinAma said:


> Don't worry so much about KOP. It's just a rough fit technique that has been discounted for awhile now.
> Also my riding buddy for the past 8 years up here in the Texas panhandle just moved to Katy. He says the wind does not blow down there!



Man if blows more up there, I don't want to ride there then. 
Thanks for the tips guys. I did flip it and been riding it that way for a week now and it does feels better.


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## tidi (Jan 11, 2008)

i did a similar experiment a while ago. i thought increasing set-back, lowering saddle and stem i'd get more aero and power.
well my neck worked harder than it should have and i felt i was using my quads more and my glutes less. i changed stem length to accomodate the saddle set-back but in the end felt like i didn't have enough support to stay in this position for any length of time.
i now have changed crank length to 185mm, vitually zero set-back and adjusted saddle height with crank length and have found this to be the best thing i've ever done for fit.
my inseam is 887mm and i'm 178.5cm overall.


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