[Closed] Saddle position, dropper posts and pedaling efficiancy.

keep in mind that seat angles have steepend in the last few years, could be that too...

The reason for inline is a layback will put a lot of stress on the post, what with all the extra leverage from even the slenderest of booties, so they don't risk it...

Intended rider position is part of the geometry design of a bike. Cotic added a bit to the length when droppers became common (‘optimised in-line geometry’, mk4 Soul onward as the earlier geo had assumed use of a layback post.

Your 05 Spesh probably assumes a layback. Your OH’s bike probably doesn’t.  By all means play with setup but be aware you may actually be placing weight further back than the designer intended and subsequently lightening the front.

Clips or flats? Where do you put your feet relative to the axle?

So, do people just get used to the pedals feeling further back? Or do most people not find  this a problem?

Onzadog. Flats. Axle usually somewhere between the ball and arch of my foot.

May feel different but you won't be losing any power of saddle height is correct.

You'd soon get used to it for pedaling.

Agree, I think you’re simply trying to adjust out fifteen years of changes in ideas on MTB geo.

So long as the saddle is high enough undropped and the bike is not too short/is in general height range per mfr recs, I’d just ride and tweak saddle fore/aft to taste over a couple of rides.

It's the reason I haven't got a dropper post. Nothing available with some layback and 27.2mm.

Both my bikes have Thomson layback posts. I've tried straight posts with the aim of fine tuning the seated pedalling position, but both feel that the pedals are too far back. 25 miles on my gravel thing and my knees were playing up.

If I was really serious about wanting a dropper then I'd have to go down the custom frame route to get the geometry I'd want.

I was asking as it felt odd when I went from spd to flats and started putting the axle under the mid foot.

As it happens, that then works well with switching to a zero offset (dropper) post.

It’s the reason I haven’t got a dropper post. Nothing available with some layback and 27.2mm.

KS Eten - 27.2 post with layback. No need to thank me 😉

Gravity Dropper ibeam too. Quite hard to find though because ibeam is shit

I suppose people are different.

I always hated the feeling of being behind the pedals, and would seek out an inline post back int the day when almost everything was layback.  I'd then slam the saddle forward on the rails.

To me, it has always felt more efficient to have bodyweight over the pedals pushing down, rather than pushing yourself back.  Keeping the front down is an added bonus.

I like modern geo with my 75 - 76 degree seat angles.

13 year old geometry will be part of the issue here

If you’d been on a recumbent bike for many years then you’d think a normal bike had an inefficient pedalling position - it doesn’t, it’s just your body will take time to adapt.

Also, the fit ‘rules’ you referred to don’t work as soon as the bike is pointing uphill.

Luckily, after many decades of road bikes with nobby tyres, we have reached a point where mountain bikes are designed for mountain biking.

A nice road bike position (as all the old mtbs have) is great for comfy efficient pedalling on flat or gentle (by off road standards) gradients.

The only times you should be seated on a 'trail bike' like your OH's marin is climbing not very technical terrain (ie no steps, no need for wight shifts) and traversing (ie flattish fire roads or riding on the road). Modern trail and enduro bikes have optimised for the former, at the slight expense of the latter. I guess because most users will either do this rarely, or not care about the compromise when they do, instead preferring the climbing benefit on steeper stuff.

For the most extreme exmple, look at Pole bikes, and the opinions and writings of their owner. he wants to do 2 things and only 2 things, climb fireroads efficiently, and ride challenging downhills at high speed. The bike(s) are optimised for just this, to the point where his personal bike has the saddle tilted forwards so it is level when climbing.

However, luckily, we live in an era of choice. If what I've described above sounds not like what you want at all, and you spend a lot of your rides wanting efficient pedalling for speed on easy terrain, while still enjoying some singletrack or technical sections, a bike more like a genesis longitude, or pretty much anything by salsa or surly might be more your thing, and will (more or less) retain the road-style position.

another thought - the modern style requires a longer reach to work with the steeper effective seat tube. If you are riding your OH's bike and she is shorter than you (which statistically, she will be) then the bike is too short, even if the reach or top tube measurements are the same/similar to your old stumpy.

Tranzx seatpost is also available.

Good explanation ayjaydoubleyou. Yes, I appreciate all the benefits that modern geometry brings. Particularly on the descents. Off road descents that I used to find exhilarating and on the edge of my ability now seem a bit too easy on the Marin. But that's a good thing cos it means I can take them faster. I guess I'll persevere for a while with the inline seat and see if I can get used to it. Where we ride, we usually do have a few lengthy road sections and climbs between off road bits and I do prefer my bike for the road riding.

Size wise, we are pretty well matched. Both tall, and she is about an inch shorter that me but has a longer back so pretty well matched reach wise. Apart from a little saddle height adjustement we can swap bikes no problem.

I was really just wondering if anyone else found it hard to get used to or found it caused problems like bigblackshed said. OH has been suffering recently and I did wonder if it had anything to do with it. She has been used to riding my other bike with similar set up to the Stumpy prior to getting the Marin. She said that she found the pedalling position fine on the Marin for the first few shorter rides that we did but I had noticed that at the bottom of the pedal stroke her feet were pointing to the ground which seemed a bit odd to me and I thought it was a consequence of the forward seating position. Anyway about six weeks ago we did a thirty mile off roader and the next day she had a pretty bad pain behind her left knee which didn't abate over the next few days. She thought she had pulled a hamstring and also thought that she might have had the saddle too high. After a couple of weeks with no less pain she went to the doc who told her he thought it was bursitis and to rest it for a least six weeks. So, I don't know.... Anyway, while she has been out of action it has given me the oportunity to take the stumpy off the road and give it a rebuild and ride her Marin.

chiefgrooveguru - Also, the fit ‘rules’ you referred to don’t work as soon as the bike is pointing uphill.

Have you ever tried using a plumb line while riding uphill? 🙂

The relationship between backside, knees and pedals stays the same no matter what the angle of the bike apart from when you shift forward for the really steep bits.