Posted by: RAHrider
I don't follow the Lance reference. Trek used a 73 deg sta back then. I also don't understand the idea that steeper sta allows you to spin more. I also don't understand the idea that steeper sta relieves pressure from the sensitive bits.
Slacker sta with a levelish saddle allows you to predominantly weight your Iliac bones. Steeper sta's actually move your weight forwards onto the perineum. Roadies have been spinning for decades with slack sta's.
As has been said many times here, to each their own. I have more difficulty with numb hands than anything else. I'm sure there are lots of people who have different experiences with the same geometry. I do get a little frustrated with people saying that the new geo is the be all and end all. Some may find it doesn't actually suit them. It's good to have a few different approaches to the same problem.
If all I wanted was to go up turn around and come down at as high a speed as possible, modern geo would be the thing. Thing is I want to play on the way down and a shorter reach is actually better for that. Lovin my old geo.
I find it easier to spin higher cadences if I shift forward and easier to grind if I shift backward on the seat. Shifting the seat forward is just an extension of this
Lance comment was just for context - I started grinding because of Indurain, I started spinning because of (post cancer) Lance. I started shifting my position forward on the MTB when I started connecting the dots with my back pain. Edit: I started shifting my cleats back a bit, and got a bit fussier about “KOPS” at the same time, probably complicating any analysis...
I deal with numb hands as well, but in my case, it’s something that pinches in my upper back so having the back all lined up is what fixes it. I like weight on the front end for aggressive riding, both mountain and road, but I think if your seat angle is tipping you forward enough that you’re always shifting back or it’s affecting the pressure on the handlebars you’ve taken it too far.
I don’t have a lot of pressure on my saddle in my high-performance bikes (pedaling hard, standing up, throwing the bike around, etc) so saddle position for me is mostly about getting the hips and knees in the right spot. doesn’t matter too much what saddle I’m running as long as it’s out of the way so I use Flites. It’s a different story for touring and city bikes - I tend to set those up so I have very little pressure on the hands and my taint etc are all comfy sitting for a long time. No idea how seat tube angles play into the taint comfort part of the equation as there seem to be a lot of - ahem - moving parts in that department.
Man I like nerding out on this stuff too! I’ve figured a few things out over the years with my setup having these conversations trying to understand other people’s setups.
