8. Adjusting the bike to the rider
8. Correcting the fore-to-aft position
and horizontal tilt of the saddle
The inclination of your upper body and hence
your riding comfort and pedalling power are
also influenced by the distance between the
handlebar grips and the saddle. This dis-
tance can be altered slightly by changing the
position of the saddle rails in the seat post
clamp.
However, this also influences your pedalling.
Depending on whether the saddle is posi-
tioned more to the front or more rearwards,
your legs will reach the pedals to a greater or
lesser extent from behind.
The saddle needs to be horizontal in order to
pedal in a relaxed manner.
If it is tilted, you will constantly have to lean
against the handlebars to prevent yourself
from slipping off the saddle.
8.. Adjusting saddle position and tilt
With so-called patent seat posts, one bolt
fixes the clamping mechanism, which ensures
the tilt and the horizontal position of the sad-
dle.
Some seat posts have two bolts for finer
adjustment of tilt. Another version is the so-
called saddle clamp which usually has two
nuts seated on a single through bolt.
Release one or both bolts at the top of the seat
post. Turn the bolt two to three turns counter-
clockwise at the most, otherwise the whole
assembly can come apart.
Make sure the seat of the saddle remains
horizontal as you tighten the bolt. Tighten the
bolts to the prescribed torques.
After fastening the saddle, check whether it
resists tilting by bringing your weight on it
once with your hands on the tip and once at
the rear end.
Keep to the prescribed torques, because
too loose or overtightened bolts can
lead to a failure of the seat post!
The setting range of the saddle is very
small. Replacing the stem allows you
to make far larger changes to the fore-to-
aft position, because stems come in dif-
ferent lengths. In most cases, the length of
the cables must be adjusted. Make sure the
saddle is not positioned in the bends of the
saddle rails, the latter might get damaged.
If your bike is equipped with a seat
post made of carbon, make sure to
read the instructions given in chapter 28.5
“Carbon seat post“
before doing any
adjustment or mounting.
Move the saddle forward or backward as
desired. You may have to give it a light blow
to move it.
