My hamstrings have been killing me while running after biking recently. I put on a new saddle a few weeks ago, a rail on my old one snapped while on the trainer, but other than that, not has changed.
Should I move my seat forward or back to work my quads a bit more and take some pressure off my hammies? I can’t move it too much farther forward, but if that’s the way I need to go, I’ll try to get there. If that isn’t the answer, where else should I move the saddle (up, down, tilt it one way or the other…).
You didn’t mention if you’re on a road or tri bike.I suffered thru this my first year in tri on a road bike.
If you’re on a road bike, it could be that your seat is a bit high. Try lowering it a bit first. If that doesn’t work jam it forward on the rails. If that doesn’t work try the big slam by jamming it back on the rails as far as it will go and lowering the seat a bit more. If neither of these work then it’s time for a proper bike fit or a new bike.
I’m on a road bike with a “fastback” seat post flipped around. My seat is pretty far up on the rails and doesn’t have a lot of room to go. If I had the means (i.e. the cash) to buy a true tri bike, I would. Something about being a student now and planning on being a public school teacher next year…doesn’t allow for a pricey sport like triathlons all that well.
Experiment with the different positions and see what happens. To get your proper theoretical seat height multiply your inseam by .883. Measure your inseam from floor to the top of a book jammed against your crotch, in bare feet with back against a wall. Have an assistant do this for you. Seat height is then measured from BB center to the top of the seat.
Perhaps you might have tight hamstrings. Get into a stretching progam. Lance stretches an hour each day.
I had hamstring problems a little over a year ago that weren’t explainable. I got very serious about stretching them, and finally started using a yoga position tha really worked. That might be worth looking at, depending on what your stretching routine is now.
I have also read that as the pelvis rotates in a forward position, the hip sockets actually rise up a tad, and it is appropriate to lower the saddle a few mm’s below where it would be for road-riding. I won’t swear to the validity of that, but it might be worth investigating.
Is the new saddle the same model as the one it replaced? If not, is it wider or narrower than the old one? Even if it is the same model, it might be a few millimeters (or more) wider due to wear on the old one. The new saddle may be rubbing the tops of your hamstrings the wrong way with every pedal stroke. John Cobb mentions “hamstring interference” (specifically in the context of wider women’s saddles) somewhere on the bicyclesports site – this may be your problem. But I think the pain would be more localized toward the tops of the hamstrings.