question about shifting your weight

danlightbulb

How low do you guys have your seat posts that you can get your @ss over the rear wheel? I had my seat post pretty low today, no where near optimum height for my legs but still hitting saddle when trying to shift weight backwards.

Thanks

ricardo_smooth

depends on how steep the terrain is. You can ge over the saddle with the seatpost quite high if the terrain suits and if your legs are long enough!

danlikesbikes

I have my saddle quite high up but manage to get my butt over and on the tyre sometimes depends on how steep the downhill is your on.

You might want to try and practice on a nice piece of flat first as you need to get your butt up and over your saddle. Just get on a gentle roll and try to get you bum to touch the tyre, may feel weird at first but you will get used to it and it will make more sense when your going down a steep incline.

nicklouse

Adjust it as needed for the trail.

One reason these dropper posts have become so popular. Not. That it is hard to drop a normal seat post as needed.

concorde

High for uphill, low for downhill, basically.

Anonymous

You can hang off the seat whatever its height. It's just if you crash and you're a bloke things could get nasty

Mental Mickey

Experimenting with foot position (flat pedals) can also be useful in some situations.

If you are riding pretty rough or technical terrain, or over jumps and large drops, then it is usually best to have your feet well centred over the pedals to give more stability,but one way I get around the problem of not wanting to drop the saddle too far, is by having my toes in more a less a typical SPD pedal type position which gives a bit more reach.

This of course depends entirely on how technical the terrain is and how good a rider you currently are to be able to 'get away with it'.

I'm only 5'8'' and ride a medium frame, so I find this helpful on stuff that ain't too rough and I want a better saddle height for pedalling.

felix.london

Sounds like your setup could be wrong? or the frame is too big? 'cos as deadkenny says, saddle height shouldn't really make any difference to whether or not you can get your ar$e over the back wheel.

danlightbulb

felix.london wrote:

Sounds like your setup could be wrong? or the frame is too big? 'cos as deadkenny says, saddle height shouldn't really make any difference to whether or not you can get your ar$e over the back wheel.

I did struggle when buying the bike as to whether the medium or large frame was best. Had the large in the end as I have long legs, but with the seat post in the ideal seated pedaling position I definitely can't get over the back wheel, not sure why. In alot of images I see in mags, the rider is squatting well over the rear wheel but the seat is still level with the groin. Must have pretty low seat to do that.

diy

You could move the seat forward or adjust the bars to give you more reach.

nicklouse

now it sounds like the bike is the wrong size.
and you bought the large for the wrong reasons.

pics of you on the bike might help advise or more info on what the bike is...... and your size.

but from the info now available. Too big. how much can be saved by changing parts etc or even if it would be worth it is hard to say.

The Rookie

With 175mm cranks, even if your leg is fully straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke you have near 7" of clearance to the saddle when stood up with pedals level.....I run my saddle about 1-1.5" lower than 'fully extended leg' and can get right off the back when I feel confident enough (not to often then - LOL)

Simon

danlightbulb

The Beginner wrote:

With 175mm cranks, even if your leg is fully straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke you have near 7" of clearance to the saddle when stood up with pedals level.....I run my saddle about 1-1.5" lower than 'fully extended leg' and can get right off the back when I feel confident enough (not to often then - LOL)
Simon

When I move my ar$e backwards, the rear of the saddle (wide bit) hits my inside upper leg / inside thigh area. Even with the seat fairly low this seems to catch. I wonder if im trying to make the movement without level pedals.

nicklouse wrote:

pics of you on the bike might help advise or more info on what the bike is...... and your size..

Sorry for the poor quality pic, best I could get from my mobile. I actually can have the seat slightly higher than in this pic for optimum pedaling. I really struggled with the sizing in the shop tbh. But bike feels fine on the ride other than I cant get back over the saddle without it hitting my upper legs / thighs.

Anonymous

Would think that seat can go much lower and/or change the angle of it so back is easier to slip off. In that position it looks like regular flat or climb height, though I tend to like lower seats generally anyway. The height many people have them at gives me vertigo! Fine for racing snakes and roadies I guess.

With the seat lower, should be just lower the centre of your body, arms stretching out in front as if you're trying to duck something, ar$e in theory shifts off the back so there's more of a straight line between it and the arms. Heels down, I think? Never sure about that bit.

Should emphasise that I'm not an expert in this and don't really know what I'm doing, but that's kind of the thing I try when I remember to do so. Too often I'm lazy and stay seated, especially on the full sus.

Oh, and maybe a narrower seat could help?

The Rookie

I think your trying to go back without your pedals being level, I'd say that saddle height was about right, knee's are bent and your heel is an inch or so below the pedal axle.

What saddle, some are not so forgiving on letting you get off the back, others are helpful!

Simon

rudedog

Agree with deadkenny - drop your saddle and you'll find it much easier! I always struggled to get off the back of the saddle at full height - full height for normal riding and drop a few inches for when it gets technical.

Some people seem to get on fine keeping their saddle at full height all the time but it just gets in the way with me.

IBISMojoHDamon

No real helpful advice.... But you need to lose those reflectors and add a dropper seatpost!.... ;0)

Blind Danny Johnson

A shorter stem may help, yours looks pretty long.

Having said that 'shorter stem' is my answer to everything;

'Do you want a cup of tea?'
'Umm... A shorter stem please'

'How was your holiday?
'A shorter stem...'

You see.

bennett_346

felix.london wrote:

Sounds like your setup could be wrong? or the frame is too big? 'cos as deadkenny says, saddle height shouldn't really make any difference to whether or not you can get your ar$e over the back wheel.

Hmm, the lower the saddle is, surely the lower you can place your centre of mass when leaning back over the bike? Don't know how much of an effect this has but i notice a difference when i do this!

Rushmore

low looks pimp.
High looks gimp.

but on a serious note... drop the seat when your going down the steep stuff...

and keep your pedals level... If thats your "low saddle position" then it looks like the normal high position..

Mental Mickey

Rigid fork and V brakes, in theory you will turn into a great rider by the time you upgrade.

Daz555

I am too tight for a dropper post so I have simply marked 3 small dots with a permanent marker on my seatpost - normal riding, downhill a bit, and downhill a lot.

danlightbulb

Mental Mickey wrote:

Rigid fork and V brakes, in theory you will turn into a great rider by the time you upgrade.

Its not a rigid fork but its entry level, I couldn't afford much above £200 and only just got into MTB, but already wish I'd spent more and ive only been over Cannock chase 4 times!!

Guess Im just going to have to get used to stopping alot more often on the trail to raise and lower my seatpost.

To answer an earlier question, if I try to ride with it even slightly too low i get leg ache, much prefer a high saddle so can stretch my legs out.

andrewjoseph

perhaps the saddle is too wide. try a narrower saddle. with pedals level (3 and 9 o'clock), when you stand up straight you should have a few inches between you and the saddle.

On the flat, with pedals level, saddle at normal height, glide along and try pushing yourself back and off the saddle, you may need to open up your legs a bit for this.

if you can't because your thighs are hitting the saddle, you need a different saddle.

is the one you have a big fat, heavily padded 'comfort' saddle? try a narrow, thinly padded saddle.

d00m

Make sure your in the right position, particularly with having your pedals level. Stick your arse back and down toward the wheel, and bring your upper body lower, toward the bars. Nothing too exaggerated though.

Pic for clarity...

danlightbulb

That pic on the right, saddle is well low, only knee level. I didn't realise it had to be that low. Even one on left is not far off knee level

andrewjoseph

danlightbulb wrote:

That pic on the right, saddle is well low, only knee level. I didn't realise it had to be that low. Even one on left is not far off knee level

the one on the right is a downhill bike, where the rider is not going to be pedalling for long periods. the one on the left probably hasn't put his saddle down for that section.

with my saddle at normal riding height I can get off the back and put my abdomen on the saddle (not that I do this often).

When riding something really steep, i put the saddle down a bit, but grip it with my thighs so i have more control. Having the saddle too low can mean less control.

do a search, this place may be usefull: http://www.mtbtechniques.co.uk/