Maybe a warmup question for those getting ready for FISTapalooza.
I’m fairly comfortable riding in my current position. However, I find that I pretty regularly scoot forward on the seat to get a little more power and find that very uncomfortable (like a stabbing feeling in the perineum). I’ve never been able to ride on the nose of a saddle for very long and my current and most comfortable TT saddle to date is the Profile design Tri Stryke with the hole in the middle.
Logically, I move my seat forward ~2 cm so I can sit in the “power position” all the time without the stabbing feeling. Then I notice that my hamstrings and glutes get very tight and burn far more than usual… also, I don’t feel like the power comes out as easily (I am using a power meter).
So what gives? I thought I was moving my saddle to complement my most powerful position, What else should I try?
You can experiment with your seat height a little bit. Might be a little too far extended if your glutes and hams are getting upset. Technically, you effectively lowered your seat height by just sliding it forward, but your body might be doing something else that you aren’t perceiving like sitting on the saddle differently.
I have experimented, though not recently, with varying saddle heights and have never found a too-high saddle to cause tightness in the glutes and hamstrings. I’ve had WAY up there too.
Well, logically speaking moving your seat forward should decrease your hip angle which should decrease the stretch required across the hips/hamstrings. I say this assuming you did not change your handlebar position in the process.
So why would the hammies get tighter?
I thought the idea that perhaps your seat was higher was a good suggestion, but you are insisting that’s not it. BTW, did you adjust your seat height when you moved your seat forward? If not, then it would be effectively lower.
OK, so the only other thing I can think of is now that your body is at a position that’s different in relation to the crank perhaps you are using a bad pedal technique. Consider a good pedal stroke to be one that applies downward force from say 1 o’clock to 5 o’clock. But that’s not relative to the ground, it’s relative to the line from your hip through the BB.
You might need to consciously change the arc through which you apply power to adjust to your new seating position. What I’m suggesting is that you might be subconsciously trying to finish your pedal stroke with your hamstrings.
Oh, and this just occurred to me: if you tend to try to put a significant pull on the pedal, when sitting back further you do that more with the hip flexors and when you start to get over the bottom bracket you will more significantly engage the hamstrings.