# butt bouncing in the saddle at >=105+rpm cadence?



## acid_rider (Nov 23, 2004)

hello everyone

My butt starts bouncing in the saddle from about >=105rpm and up. At 90-98 rpm everything is more or less smooth.

What does it mean? Saddle too high? too low? All is normal? How much should I lower/raise it?

thanks!


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

"What does it mean? Saddle too high? too low? All is normal? How much should I lower/raise it?"
.
Yes.....about this much.
.
Try lowering it 2 or 3 mm. 
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I used to bounce too. Practice helps raise your "bounce rpm" ( mine is now in the 140's )


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## magnolialover (Jun 2, 2004)

*Bounce..*



MR_GRUMPY said:


> "What does it mean? Saddle too high? too low? All is normal? How much should I lower/raise it?"
> .
> Yes.....about this much.
> .
> ...


Bounce baby bounce.

Nah, it could also be the bounce is coming from the lack of smoothness in your pedal stroke, or as Mr. Grumpy said before, might be a little too high of a saddle, but I'd lean towards smooth pedaling. Try smoothing out the pedal stroke before moving the saddle up or down. I've found that lowering or raising the saddle is the hardest adjustment to make to the bike and will affect you the most.


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## TurboTurtle (Feb 4, 2004)

acid_rider said:


> hello everyone
> 
> My butt starts bouncing in the saddle from about >=105rpm and up. At 90-98 rpm everything is more or less smooth.
> 
> ...


You have to teach your muscle nerves to fire and stop firing that fast. What is happening is that, at the bottom of the pedal stroke, your nerve endings are still telling the muscle to contract. Since you are at the bottom and the pedal cannot go down any further, the only thing left is for you to go up. Practice riding at just under the cadence where you start bouncing. A good drill is to do 10 seconds at a fast cadence, 10 seconds at a really fast cadence and 10 seconds at the cadence just before you start bouncing. Rest 1-2 minutes and do it again. Reapeat at least 3 times working your way up to doing the 3 reapeats twice with a longer time between the two. Do these at least 3x per week. - TF


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## arthurmcw (Jun 9, 2004)

you are not pulling up on your pedal stroke.


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## shokhead (Dec 17, 2002)

Your a$$ is to fat and your cadence is to high. or its most likly your saddle height,one way or the other. Bet its to high. Nerver heard of teaching your nerves and pedaling in the same sentence.


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## BikeWNC (Sep 9, 2004)

I do high cadence drills throughout the year, but it seems that at this time of year I need to relearn how to spin. What works for me is to push over the top and relax on the bottom. I have a tendency to curl my toes at the bottom of the stroke when pedalling at high cadence so I need to make sure my foot is relaxed.


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## arthurmcw (Jun 9, 2004)

shokhead said:


> Your a$$ is to fat and your cadence is to high. or its most likly your saddle height,one way or the other. Bet its to high. Nerver heard of teaching your nerves and pedaling in the same sentence.


I have seen riders with no ass bounce. That has nothing to do with it. Pedaling technique i #1. Most riders don't pull up on their pedals and this will cause you to bounce. I would also bet that the saddle is too high.


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## Sprocket - Matt (Sep 13, 2005)

BikeWNC said:


> I do high cadence drills throughout the year, but it seems that at this time of year I need to relearn how to spin. What works for me is to push over the top and relax on the bottom. I have a tendency to curl my toes at the bottom of the stroke when pedalling at high cadence so I need to make sure my foot is relaxed.


I hadn't really made note of this in relation to saddle height, but I end up with the same issue... And if I don't make a conscious attempt to relax my feet I end up with cramps in the toes and sometimes into the bottom of the foot during long rides.... 

But then again I also have fallen arches and have had to deal with that since I was about 7 yrs old. Strange part is that if I wear corrective arches while riding it hurts really bad... but if I go running without the arches... I can't last for even 10 minutes.


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## acid_rider (Nov 23, 2004)

*mostly wrong*



arthurmcw said:


> I have seen riders with no ass bounce. That has nothing to do with it. Pedaling technique i #1. Most riders don't pull up on their pedals and this will cause you to bounce. I would also bet that the saddle is too high.


Feedback, in case it helps someone in future....

I actually *raised* my saddle ~4 mm and I can now spin with no bounce until 115rpm+. So some of your bets of my saddle too high were "exactly wrong". Could be either.

Re earlier post and my "big ass".... I am not from USA. Ha, ha. 

I am 5' 8.5" (173-174cm) short and I weigh ~145lbs (65kg-66kg) so the big ass bet is completely wrong. But gee, thanks anyway. I am about same height and weight at Davitamon-Lotto pro rider Cadel Evans, I just wish I was a quarter as good a rider as he is.

I think it is now mainly my pedalling technique that is causing the bounce at high rpm.


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## Christoff (Jun 14, 2005)

shokhead said:


> Your a$$ is to fat and your cadence is to high. or its most likly your saddle height,one way or the other. Bet its to high. Nerver heard of teaching your nerves and pedaling in the same sentence.


I thought butt bouncing was a saddle too low?


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## BikeWNC (Sep 9, 2004)

acid_rider said:


> I think it is now mainly my pedalling technique that is causing the bounce at high rpm.


With practice that will get better. One or two days a week add fast pedal high cadence intervals to your ride. Resistance should be low but cadence high. On the flat use an easy gear. Try to aim for 120+ rpm. Do 2 minutes on 2 minutes easy off, start with 3 reps then work up from there.


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