_“But when I see a mountain bike set up with a seat that tips down I think that’s a response to a too steep seat angle and too low of a bar.”_
I believe the riders tilting the nose of their saddle down are looking for a more improved riding position and not countering the steep STA. If they had a shallower STA it would be even more drastic because of the search for a level seat while ascending. It makes sense but I’ve not found it to work well for me yet (everyone is different). As the bike tilts up hill, the saddle starts to tilt rearward, allowing the rider to slide backward while putting out hard efforts. To counter that, the upper body needs to engage again to hold the butt to the saddle, again creating extra effort, which negatively impacts efficiency. Tilting the nose down counters this, creating a solid perch to power from.
You’re right, MTB geometry is still super young and we can probably expect to see it change a bit more before settling.
March 30, 2021, 7:03 a.m. - AJ Barlas
_“But when I see a mountain bike set up with a seat that tips down I think that’s a response to a too steep seat angle and too low of a bar.”_ I believe the riders tilting the nose of their saddle down are looking for a more improved riding position and not countering the steep STA. If they had a shallower STA it would be even more drastic because of the search for a level seat while ascending. It makes sense but I’ve not found it to work well for me yet (everyone is different). As the bike tilts up hill, the saddle starts to tilt rearward, allowing the rider to slide backward while putting out hard efforts. To counter that, the upper body needs to engage again to hold the butt to the saddle, again creating extra effort, which negatively impacts efficiency. Tilting the nose down counters this, creating a solid perch to power from. You’re right, MTB geometry is still super young and we can probably expect to see it change a bit more before settling.