That saddle rotation is a byproduct of a steep seat tube angle. A steep STA rotates your entire body around the bottom bracket like a clock hand. To sit at that orientation, the saddle has to tilt downward (along with your feet on the pedals) or your knees won't line up with your pedaling force. You're effectively optimizing your seated position for traveling uphill. This isn't great for flat ground (your hands bear more weight from your torso when you're not cranking hard enough to offset it), but doesn't affect downhills because you're never in the saddle anyway.
The forward position of the saddle is because the STA on this bike isn't steep enough to keep the seated reach in check for this rider. (The stem can't get much shorter and there's only so steep the STA can be with that shock mount. Super-steep STAs limit how much you can tweak the suspension's leverage curve.)
Dec. 20, 2018, 10:46 a.m. - Alex D
That saddle rotation is a byproduct of a steep seat tube angle. A steep STA rotates your entire body around the bottom bracket like a clock hand. To sit at that orientation, the saddle has to tilt downward (along with your feet on the pedals) or your knees won't line up with your pedaling force. You're effectively optimizing your seated position for traveling uphill. This isn't great for flat ground (your hands bear more weight from your torso when you're not cranking hard enough to offset it), but doesn't affect downhills because you're never in the saddle anyway. The forward position of the saddle is because the STA on this bike isn't steep enough to keep the seated reach in check for this rider. (The stem can't get much shorter and there's only so steep the STA can be with that shock mount. Super-steep STAs limit how much you can tweak the suspension's leverage curve.)