in order to be able to compete in anything until april of '05, i bought a mountain bike a month ago. i raced a super-technical xc race on it, and had a great time. now, though, my club has entered cyclocross season.
compared to my road setup, my mtb saddle is incredibly low. i got used to it for xc racing, but now i’m wondering, is it way less efficient (and is my road-bike training less applicable) than having a higher saddle? should i raise the saddle a bit (not asking for exact #s, i’ll eyeball it and experiment) for the cyclocross?
also, how do i explain to my friends that when i come home limping, covered in mud, and in desperate need of food, that i’m actually enjoying myself?
Generally speaking, for cyclocross, you should have your saddle the same height or about 5 mm or so lower than your road bike, in order to remount more easily. I ride cross and personally like to have my saddle about the same height as my road bike. You just learn to jump a bit higher when remounting.
WRT your friends, bring one to a race. They may want to try it just based on the smiles on the racers’ faces after the event.
in order to be able to compete in anything until april of '05, i bought a mountain bike a month ago. i raced a super-technical xc race on it, and had a great time. now, though, my club has entered cyclocross season.
compared to my road setup, my mtb saddle is incredibly low. i got used to it for xc racing, but now i’m wondering, is it way less efficient (and is my road-bike training less applicable) than having a higher saddle? should i raise the saddle a bit (not asking for exact #s, i’ll eyeball it and experiment) for the cyclocross?
Why is your MTB saddle lower than your road setup? Look at pictures of NORBA racers in mountain bike magazines and you’ll see that it should be setup essentially as high (look at their leg extension with the pedal at the six o’clock position) and perhaps a bit farther back for more power but that’s a personal preferance thing. The main difference is that the MTB saddles are narrower or clipped so that you can slip off the back for technical descents. The height comment applies to cyclocross as well.
A agree, raise the saddle. And also, if you did not already, think about some skinny tires for that MTB - like the conti 1.5" model. way lighter, both for going fast and for hefting the bike on the dismount sections. have fun!
You may need to lower your saddle height if your MTB cranks are longer. Then again, different bike shoes have different thicknesses of sole. That too can affect seat height.
If the course has mud those big old mtb tires can collect a ton of mud, making the bike real heavy going over barriers. There are a few pretty good 1.5 tires out there. G