Saddle Up
By MrFixie
Saddle Advice
If you plan to ride often and love your ride, you won’t skimp on the saddle. All kinds of problems can arise from improper saddle choice or position. Gels and anatomic depressions are more hype than anything, but you’ll want a saddle shape that is wide enough for your pelvic contacts to bear your weight.
For upright touring style bikes, where the bars are close to the same height as the saddle, position the saddle to be horizontally flat and choose a Brooks leather saddle if possible (Brooks B17 Saddle is a great choice).
For aggressive racing style bikes, where the bars are lower than the saddle, tilt the nose of the saddle just a bit from horizontal and choose a Selle Italia SLK Saddleor the Fizik Arione Ti Saddle
for maximum performance and comfort.
Saddle position
Slide the saddle back or forth so that when the cranks are parallel to the ground, the knee would be directly above the pedal if you were looking strait down while on the bike.
Saddle height should be experimented until optimized. Higher could mean faster and efficient, while too high can prove painful. Too low a saddle height results in faster muscle wear, and the bike begins to ride sluggish.
Once you find a saddle you like, you’ll want to hold on to it. For urban environments where bike theft is common, a saddle lock is a good idea.
Advanced Tips and Adjustments for your Fixed Gear Bike:
Do-It-Yourself Saddle Lock – Use your Chain Tool to measure the right amount of chain to go from your saddle’s rails to the bike frame’s seat stay or top tube. Wrap the chain in an old bike tube (700X23C works very well) and use the chain tool to close the chain. Wrap the tube in some electrical tape and you’re set.
