What do we mean by horizontal saddle?

RowCycle

I've a prologo nago saddle.

When the saddle rails are horizontal it looks like the saddle is pointing downwards. Hence, if I was to have the saddle what I think would be horizontal the saddle rails would be pointing upwards.

When people say 'have the saddle horizontal' do they mean the saddle rails horizontal or some part of the top of the saddle?

PhilofCas

ignore the rails, it's the top of the saddle that should be horizontal, ideally put a spirit level along the top, alternatively line it up with something that you know to be level, like a course of bricks on your house

RowCycle

Thanks

sungod

it does depend on the saddle

arione - spirit level along the top works for me

ax phoenix - if level, i slide down it, need to raise the front, then it's perfect

Monty Dog

Pointy-up saddle = increased pressure on the perineum - suggest you change the saddle if you don't want problems.

sungod

Monty Dog wrote:

Pointy-up saddle = increased pressure on the perineum - suggest you change the saddle if you don't want problems.

how long have you ridden an ax phoenix?

Monty Dog

Its not to do with the saddle, it's a well known medical problem. I know someone who went through a very painful medical procedure to remove the scar tissue in his urethra caused by riding a saddle nose up.

vision267

RowCycle wrote:

I've a prologo nago saddle.

When the saddle rails are horizontal it looks like the saddle is pointing downwards. Hence, if I was to have the saddle what I think would be horizontal the saddle rails would be pointing upwards.

When people say 'have the saddle horizontal' do they mean the saddle rails horizontal or some part of the top of the saddle?

Buy a short level they are quite cheap.Put it on top of your saddle and get it level,also make sure your bike is on level ground.I made a mistke of leveling my saddle when the bike was on a slight slope.So my saddle was slightly up,that was a big problem.I would not recommend it almost ruined my sex life. :shock:

StanwaySteve62

Brooks are an exception to this rule, nose up slightly works best (for me) as it slides you back into sweet spot

ColinJ

sungod wrote:

it does depend on the saddle

arione - spirit level along the top works for me

Whereas ... 'Arione - spirit level along the top' makes mine unbearable for me. I'm talking "So numb after riding for 5 minutes that you could castrate me without using an anaesthetic and I wouldn't know you were doing it unless I happened to look down"!

If you set up an Arione using a spirit level, then the nose and rear of the saddle are level and the bit in the middle is lower (you can see daylight under the spirit level).

I set mine so the front part is pretty much level, which means the back is slightly higher, but that tends to sag slightly anyway when you sit on it.



A lot of people say that they didn't find their Arione as comfortable as they'd been led to believe it would be. If you are disappointed with the comfort of yours, try setting it up like mine.

sungod

Monty Dog wrote:

Its not to do with the saddle, it's a well known medical problem. I know someone who went through a very painful medical procedure to remove the scar tissue in his urethra caused by riding a saddle nose up.

of course it's to do with the saddle, the correct angle depends on design and how it fits the person riding it

if this wasn't the case then there'd be no need to make saddle angle adjustable

if it were causing pressure i'd know it, it isn't

Monty Dog

Sungod, I've seen the photos of your bike set-up and don't think that they represent anything near the ideal - they might work for you but certainly shouldn't be the basis from which to make general recommendations. Despite being given two specific examples of the problems of nose-up saddles you still seem to be quite happy to argue to the contrary :roll: The general recommendation is to avoid nose-up for the reasons given, can't we just agree on that?

sungod

but i'm not suggesting nose up as a general recommendation

if you think i am then you need to look at what i posted

my two examples are illustrating that general recommendations may not always be correct, due to design differences and/or individual anatomy

fwiw with the ax i started level, but it really doesn't work that way, and it was with some misgivings that i raised it, not too far, just enough, no pressure and really comfy