How to install bike seat clamp

Clamping side aligns with ST slot. Always. It goes where the slot goes – because reasons.

To achieve a neutral weight balance between your saddle and hands, your saddle should be installed anywhere from level to 1-2 degrees nose up. This gets you sitting on the wider rear-part of the saddle and puts your upper body weight on your butt and not on your arms and shoulders.

Your saddle supports your sit bones – the ends of your pelvic bones that protrude when you sit down. If your bicycle saddle is too narrow then your sit bone or ischial tuberosity will extend over the side of the saddle, placing your weight on the soft tissue of your genitals.

Your handlebars should be at least as high as your seat, or even above it, so you can ride upright. If your handlebars are lower than your seat you’ll be pushed into your handlebars, and you’ll place more stress on your wrists, arms, neck, and back.

Improper fit on your bike could be the main reason for your saddle discomfort. If your saddle is too high, too low, too far forward, too far back, not level, or if you are reaching too far to your handlebars, you could be experiencing pain as a result.

Emollient/Chamois Cream:

You apply chamois cream directly to the pad in your shorts and to your perineum before riding and, although it might initially feel a little strange and squishy, its effectiveness in preventing saddle soreness is almost miraculous. It reduces friction, hydrates the skin and prevents breaking.

Wider is more comfy.

Certainly, sleek racing saddles don’t look comfortable but wider seats create more friction and chafing when you’re doing lots of pedalling (say on the road, or in a race). In general, the more you ride and pedal, the thinner and less obtrusive a saddle should be.

Most cases of saddle-related discomfort arise because the load is carried on the soft tissues between the sit bones. Rather than going for a softer saddle, you’ll first want to check that your bike is set up correctly, distributing your weight across the saddle and handlebars in a comfortable way.

Many suggest adding about 20mm, as signified by the Road Bike Bros above, which would then land you on the ideal saddle. For example, if your sit bones measured 130mm, you add 20mm and voila, a 150mm saddle width will fit perfectly!

The optimal saddle width guarantees that the sit bones lie completely flat on the saddle. This is the only way in which pressure is relieved on the sensitive area in men and on the pubic arch in women and ensures more efficiency. A saddle should fit like a pair of shoes!

Saddle shape

Wider saddles tend to be more comfortable so are good for long rides or leisurely riders where extra weight from more materials isn’t an issue. Thinner saddles tend to be better for short efforts – such as racing – where comfort isn’t dispensed with entirely but is compromised in favour of other factors.

The bike saddle is vital to how comfortable the rider will feel. If a person’s saddle is too narrow, then his or her sit bones will stick out over the sides, and the soft tissues will uncomfortably carry your weight. If the saddle is too wide, it can create chafing on a person’s inner thigh.

When a saddle is too wide in the front, it can sink down over the withers. This takes the saddle out of balance by making the pommel lower than the cantle, which in turn carries more pressure over the front of the tree (at the withers/shoulders) than a saddle with a properly sized tree.