Saddle Angle: Have We Been Getting It All Wrong?

Saddle tilt has more of an impact on power, efficiency and cycling speed than you may realise. A flat saddle has long been considered the correct bike fit set-up, but with pros such as Tadej Pogačar now tilting their saddle forwards, have we actually been getting it wrong this whole time? Conor looks into the science and speaks to Bryan from @thebikethebody to find out!

00:00 Intro
00:32 Understanding saddle angle
02:14 Pro cycling’s saddle trend
02:50 Tilted saddle = more power?
05:08 Comfort & aerodynamics
05:38 UCI rules
06:16 Saddle shape
07:09 Why are pros tilting their saddles?
08:20 Should everyone do it?
09:28 Positives vs negatives
10:32 Biomechanics of saddle tilt
11:49 Measuring saddle angle
13:02 Potential drawbacks
14:09 Injury risk
15:24 Conclusions

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Have you tried changing your saddle angle? 📐 Let us know in the comments below! 💬

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[gcn]

Have you tried changing your saddle angle? 📐

[richardtoepfer]

I'm a fairly new rider and had my saddle pointed down ever so slightly and noticed that I had absolutely no discomfort riding but following advice of other riders I leveled it out. Instantly noticed a difference started having discomfort. So I think pointing a saddle down slightly is beneficial for me at least.

[ktube]

I'm finding the trend of snub nose saddles makes it LOOK like the saddle is tilting down but the part you actually contact, is about level. The tail of the saddles have a sweep and it makes level tougher to find.

[JSC]

Ive always rode with a 2-4% negative saddle drop never had any issues great content Content Conor.

[Rudyjosephjr]

Had mine adjusted million times to get the best position that suits my style. Its always slightly nose up. This reduces burdens on my palm and butt. Less fidgeting around the saddle too as its comfortable enough for long ride.

[twotowns]

When I installed aero bars (2-3 years ago), I started changing the saddle angle after looking at Mark Beaumont's saddle. I have since found the sweet spot for comfort and even when I'm not using the bars, I feel like there is less pressure on my crotch with a slight angle. Definitely worth trying!

[ChrisCapoccia]

normally "flat" is measured across the middle part of the saddle where you actually sit that is supposed to be flat and not across the entire saddle the way the UCI is measuring. Many saddles have rear support going up or nose tip pointing down. If you measure across the entire saddle, it will seem to point "down" even when the middle part is actually "flat". Anyway, "flat" across the middle of the saddle is a good place to start and slightly "down" from there is fine if it works for you

[erlendursmari]

I've had my saddles tilted 6° downwards for many years (short nose saddles, measured by placing a piece of wood on top of the saddle so it rested front and back), as a result of explicit testing in bikefits on multiple bikes.

[shoff]

Good video, it’s nice that the bike fitter addressed the angle of different saddle shapes, in particular the SMP.
I’ve use SMP’s for a long time and through trial and error came to the same conclusions as the bike fitter.

[starlitshadows]

I'm at around 1.5 degrees down myself. Even minute changes of 0.1-0.2 degrees I notice a difference. As of right now this seems to be a happy medium for me. If I tilt lower I slide towards the nose causing perennial pressure, more hand pressure, pain in the traps, knees. Tilt back I sit further back on the saddle. I do get a bit less hand pressure but can't rotate hips so I get lower back pain, chafing from the wider part of the saddle and also more perennial pressure. In either direction I'm slower as well. Though since the tilt changes where I sit on the saddle then maybe changes in saddle height and fore/after to compensate might be worth experimenting more with. Less hand pressure with similar power and no lower back pain would be ideal.

[mileslong]

Interesting information. Thanks!! I may experiment with tilt just a bit. HOWEVER, I should pass this on. I had been having problems with a sore butt even after a 40 mile ride. I was about to start buying new saddles to find one that would give me a better ride, but then I had the idea to try moving my existing saddle back a bit (maybe 1/4 inch). I noticed a big difference. I slid it back even more, for a total of maybe 3/4 inch. I recently completed a century ride with no problems at all.
Maybe you could discuss moving the saddle forward or backward with a fitter. Might not be worth a full episode, but might be good for a GCN Tech question.

[lafamillecarrington]

I'm a commuting cyclist in a very windy region. I changed to flat bars many years ago, and found that, whilst generally comfortable, cycling into the wind was awful.
So, I added tri bars, which really helped on those windy days, but made setting the saddle angle really tricky. I think I have now got the worst of all worlds - compression of the nether regions when using the tri bars, and numb hands when I'm on the flat bars.
A tilting saddle sounds like heaven!

[lechantelefou]

Was just adjusting my saddle tilt and as if GCN heard my plea for help this video came up 30 mins later 😂

[CatManDoSocial]

They touched on this but it's the most important thing to remember. 99% of riders should not copy the pros. They are freaks of nature and can handle more extreme positions. They produce much more power than the rest of us and this power takes considerably more weight off of the hands, arms, and shoulders. For the rest of us, tilting your saddle forward will just put undo stress on those area and cause problems. We have to stop comparing ourselves with the pros.

[willparsons]

I unknowingly had my saddle pointing down (it almost looked level) and kept sliding uncomfortably towards the handlebar.
If that wasn't uncomfortable enough, the padding in my bike shorts were bunching up uncontrollably needless to say, my toes in my shoes were also getting crunched up causing discomfort from head to toe.
Got home, readjusted the saddle to point upwards at the tongue and WOW! ! It was like night and day! NO MORE discomfort and everything from the toes upward was relaxed and the ride afterwards was absolutely splendid BUT I guess it really depends on the type of bike you have between the feet!

[aaronjohnmaughan]

-8 works great for me. Love being able to roll forward, hunker up a bit and use the whole torso to drive through the glutes.

[targaW]

I just DONT care what other cyclists say about my saddle angle. My saddle is pointing down 4 degrees since I ride road bikes. Because it’s the best position for me. And that’s the only thing that counts.

[bruriera]

Interesting video! What we experimented is the design of the saddle helps to increase the power benefit that you been mentioning without the problems to have a forward tilt.

On the video, I missed to mentioned that a forward tilt the cyclist slides on the nose, where the saddle is narrow INCREASING THE PRESSURE IN THE PROSTATIC AREA

[alicejwho]

I say have your saddle at the most comfortable angle for you. I tilt mine down slightly, to take pressure off the front area. Too much, and it's then uncomfortable on my butt, so it's a fine balance! I have the same saddle on my gravel and road bikes. As the geometry is different between the bikes, the tilt of the saddle needs to be different, so that the angle feels the same when I'm sitting on each bike. It took a lot of faffing about in my kitchen and then testing around the village about 100 times for me to realise this 😊

[bharatrkaliyambath]

My saddle had a slight upward tilt, like 1-2 degrees. I realised it after years and decided to tilt it downwards today to see if it works. It really did help in terms of comfort and pressure on the buttocks/ bones as well as ease of riding But after 5 hrs of riding, I started feeling discomfort in my shoulders and neck. But still I feel downward tilt is the best as it helped me cover 100 kms with ease. Only started today, will update more later.