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Newbie Cyclist Question
I hope someone from this excellent group can answer this question for
me. I'm new to cycling, having just taken it up 2 months ago. Bought a new Diamondback (Raleigh) Session Mountain Bike on sale. It was about $700 with the odds and ends. I don't know what the frame size is, but I bought it at a reputable bike shop in the greater Toronto Area and the salesman seemed to know what he was doing. He said the bike came in several sizes and that I would need a "large". I'm 5' 10 1/2" and weigh in at about 180 lbs. The saddle is a WTB SpeedV and I normally ride in biking shorts. Anyway, I find that I'm constantly having to pull myself forward on the seat. When I ride I slowly slip further and further back on the seat until every 5 or 10 rotations of the crank I have to pull myself forward again. I've tried moving the seat back as far as it will go, but it doesn't seem to help. Currently riding about 150 kms / week and really enjoying it. Any ideas why I keep sliding back in the seat? Frame too small? Shorts too slippery? Thanks for all repliies. Peter H |
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#2
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Newbie Cyclist Question
In article ,
Peter H writes: I hope someone from this excellent group can answer this question for me. I'm new to cycling, having just taken it up 2 months ago. Bought a new Diamondback (Raleigh) Session Mountain Bike on sale. It was about $700 with the odds and ends. I don't know what the frame size is, but I ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You can get an approximate idea by measuring from the centre of the bottom bracket (the bit the crank spindle goes into) to the top of the seat tube. bought it at a reputable bike shop in the greater Toronto Area and the salesman seemed to know what he was doing. He said the bike came in several sizes and that I would need a "large". I'm 5' 10 1/2" and weigh in at about 180 lbs. The saddle is a WTB SpeedV and I normally ride in biking shorts. Anyway, I find that I'm constantly having to pull myself forward on the seat. When I ride I slowly slip further and further back on the seat until every 5 or 10 rotations of the crank I have to pull myself forward again. I've tried moving the seat back as far as it will go, but it doesn't seem to help. Currently riding about 150 kms / week and really enjoying it. Any ideas why I keep sliding back in the seat? I've an hunch your MTB is equipped with a so-called "riser" (upswept) handlebar. You may have also set your saddle height too low. Too much drop from saddle height to handlebar height will tend to pull you foward (and put a lot of weight on your hands & wrists too much rise from saddle height to handlebar height will tend to push you back. In general, both handlebar and saddle should be at approximately the same height, and the saddle should be fairly level, although its tilt would probably have to be micro-adjusted to suit you. And of course the saddle should be high enough that with a pedal at the six o'clock position, the respective leg has maximum extension at the point just before the knee locks. A little bit of drop can give you a competitive/technical advantage at some expense of comfort; a little bit of rise can give you added comfort at some expense of aerodynamics, weighting the front wheel just enough on uphills, and the ease to hop or wheelie. Too much of either drop or rise is not a good thing. If you've got a riser handlebar, I suggest trying a flatter one. N.B: there's good reason why the J-bar-equipped Stingrays of the mid-'60s came equipped w/ those long "banana" saddles. cheers, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#3
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Newbie Cyclist Question
On Jun 1, 6:36*pm, Peter H wrote:
snip Any ideas why I keep sliding back in the seat? Frame too small? Shorts too slippery? For starters, roughing it in the classic way isn't half bad: center the saddle on the rails, get the saddle dead level with a carpenters level or eyeball it, then set the seat height by pedaling with maximum leg extension with your heels while wearing your cycling shoes, but without rocking your hips. This will get you close. Ride around the block after doing this and see how it feels, then read one of the more sensible articles on fit on the web: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm It's probably just an issue of saddle height and it not being dead level. |
#4
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Newbie Cyclist Question
Peter H wrote:
I hope someone from this excellent group can answer this question for me. I'm new to cycling, having just taken it up 2 months ago. Bought a new Diamondback (Raleigh) Session Mountain Bike on sale. It was about $700 with the odds and ends. I don't know what the frame size is, but I bought it at a reputable bike shop in the greater Toronto Area and the salesman seemed to know what he was doing. He said the bike came in several sizes and that I would need a "large". I'm 5' 10 1/2" and weigh in at about 180 lbs. The saddle is a WTB SpeedV and I normally ride in biking shorts. Anyway, I find that I'm constantly having to pull myself forward on the seat. When I ride I slowly slip further and further back on the seat until every 5 or 10 rotations of the crank I have to pull myself forward again. I've tried moving the seat back as far as it will go, but it doesn't seem to help. Currently riding about 150 kms / week and really enjoying it. Any ideas why I keep sliding back in the seat? Frame too small? Shorts too slippery? Thanks for all repliies. Peter H Most seatposts will let you tilt the saddle as well as well as sliding it fore and aft. Play around with this as well as experimenting with saddle height before you spend any money. HTH, mark |
#5
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Newbie Cyclist Question
On Jun 5, 1:50*am, mark wrote:
Peter H wrote: I hope someone from this excellent group can answer this question for me. I'm new to cycling, having just taken it up 2 months ago. Bought a new Diamondback (Raleigh) Session Mountain Bike on sale. It was about $700 with the odds and ends. I don't know what the frame size is, but I bought it at a reputable bike shop in the greater Toronto Area and the salesman seemed to know what he was doing. He said the bike came in several sizes and that I would need a "large". I'm 5' 10 1/2" and weigh in at about 180 lbs. The saddle is a WTB SpeedV and I normally ride in biking shorts. Anyway, I find that I'm constantly having to pull myself forward on the seat. When I ride I slowly slip further and further back on the seat until every 5 or 10 rotations of the crank I have to pull myself forward again. I've *tried moving the seat back as far as it will go, but it doesn't seem to help. Currently riding about 150 kms / week and really enjoying it. Any ideas why I keep sliding back in the seat? Frame too small? Shorts too slippery? Thanks for all repliies. Peter H Most seatposts will let you tilt the saddle as well as well as sliding it fore and aft. Play around with this as well as experimenting with saddle height before you spend any money. HTH, mark- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Thanks for all who replied. My handlebars are pretty much straight and about the same height as the seat. I had the saddle height about right, but it was tilted upward at the front. This seat has only one bolt on it and I didn't realize that you can move it around on the rails, but also tilt it when this bolt is slackened off. I took it into the shop where I bought it and the technician adjusted it for me. He was kind enough not to give me the, "are you a complete idiot" look. I guess they are used to this stuff. Anyway it's all good. I'm back on the bike and it feels much better. Thanks again. Peter H |
#6
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Newbie Cyclist Question
On Jun 14, 6:46 pm, Peter H wrote:
This seat has only one bolt on it and I didn't realize that you can move it around on the rails, but also tilt it when this bolt is slackened off. I took it into the shop where I bought it and the technician adjusted it for me.... You might want to look through your local library's catalog (they're all online these days) and see what bike books are in the collection. Check a few out, read the basics: tune ups, flat fixes, maintenance... Once you understand what adjusts and why, you can go to the web for specifics on your bike's equipment. All the manufacturers have data sheets, spec sheets, adjustment tips, etc. And bike bloggers also document a lot of their equipment experience. Create a browser folder that covers your bike's components. But first... Google "adjust bike seat". :-) |
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