Someone have a diagram of the appropriate pelvic tilt in aero? I have read people describing it, but I am having trouble visualizing it.
Someone have a diagram of the appropriate pelvic tilt in aero? I have read people describing it, but I am having trouble visualizing it.
Wanted to bump this old post to see if anyone had any advice on this topic.
I’ve been riding my tri bike for a few weeks now and find that I can’t stay in aero for more than 45 minutes or so before I start getting some burning. I have a good bike fit, so trying to narrow down the issue to either my saddle (ISM PR 3.0) or potentially incorrect pelvic tilt / seating on the saddle.
Pictures would help
.
http://bkbikefit.blogspot.com/2009/05/basics-cycling-posture.html
Look at the image half way down the page above.
Also…
http://www.marktosques.com/cycling/choosing-your-cycling-saddle/
Look at the side view of the pelvis image
Pictures would help
This is a video I took of my position when I first got my tri bike:
I’ve since been focusing on relaxing my shoulders more and letting my head drop. But I don’t think that my position on the saddle has changed since this video.
Hopefully Eric Reid will chime in. Imo you need ALOT of hip rotation that may require a different saddle and you will get longer in the process.
Yeah, you look similar to me. I find I can kind of get the pelvis to rotate, kind of think of it as arching my lower back a bit and ‘rolling’ the butt back, but I have a hard time holding it, doesn’t feel natural.
What if you tilt the saddle nose down a little bit?
Hopefully Eric Reid will chime in. Imo you need ALOT of hip rotation that may require a different saddle and you will get longer in the process.
Thanks for the input! Do you mean I should be rotating my hips forward or backward? I feel like my current level of hip rotation is resulting in the pain - after 45 minutes or so, I feel burning in my perineal area, like I’m being pressed down too aggressively into the saddle, if that makes sense.
Yeah, you look similar to me. I find I can kind of get the pelvis to rotate, kind of think of it as arching my lower back a bit and ‘rolling’ the butt back, but I have a hard time holding it, doesn’t feel natural.
I actually tried this last night and it seemed to take some of the pressure off. But agreed that it doesn’t feel natural and it felt like I was losing some power by making this adjustment. Maybe it’s just a matter of acclimitizing to the sensation.
Hopefully Eric Reid will chime in. Imo you need ALOT of hip rotation that may require a different saddle and you will get longer in the process.
Thanks for the input! Do you mean I should be rotating my hips forward or backward? I feel like my current level of hip rotation is resulting in the pain - after 45 minutes or so, I feel burning in my perineal area, like I’m being pressed down too aggressively into the saddle, if that makes sense.
If that’s the only issue you are having, pressure in the perineal area, then it may be easily solved with a different saddle.
You mention you are already using an ISM saddle. Maybe make sure you are sitting far enough forward on it, so that your sensitive areas are over the cutout. I think ISM has some guides on their site on how to properly position yourself on their saddles.
It definitely takes some time. I’m trying to post a picture for you but my phone sucks. It may also take you stretching out first to force your hips to rotate. There is a period of time that you will have some discomfort until you find The right saddle.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=6389649
Look at post 70 and 71 Good rotation.
I actually think you are sitting too rearward on that saddle. And the saddle may be a bit wide for you. ISM has a couple narrower saddles (PN 3.0)
You need around 4 weeks of riding on the new saddle to adjust for it. If you still have issues, then you need to swap the saddle.
http://bkbikefit.blogspot.com/...cycling-posture.html
Look at the image half way down the page above.
Also…
http://www.marktosques.com/...your-cycling-saddle/
Look at the side view of the pelvis image
This is beyond helpful! Thank you for posting this as I had similar questions and “la Gouch” has been bothering me on my Hilo
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=6389649
Look at post 70 and 71 Good rotation.
Thanks for taking the time to find those pictures! I can tell that their position is different from mine (seems like they have a flatter back), but am having difficulty understanding what they’re doing differently physically to produce that. Is it the same motion that SBRcanuck was describing (arching lower back a bit and rolling the butt back)? I think this may alleviate some of the current pressure that I’m currently experiencing.
You mention you are already using an ISM saddle. Maybe make sure you are sitting far enough forward on it, so that your sensitive areas are over the cutout. I think ISM has some guides on their site on how to properly position yourself on their saddles.
I actually think you are sitting too rearward on that saddle. And the saddle may be a bit wide for you. ISM has a couple narrower saddles (PN 3.0)
You need around 4 weeks of riding on the new saddle to adjust for it. If you still have issues, then you need to swap the saddle.
Thanks, guys. Where I’m currently riding feels like the most comfortable position to me, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right position. I’ll take a look at ISM’s guides to see if I need to change my actual saddle positioning.
stevej - Why do you say that the saddle may be too wide for me? Can you tell from the video? I have looked at the PN series instead of my current PR, but I’m not sure how I can tell if I need the narrower saddle.
This may not be the best way to try to describe it but just follow me here if you can. Stand sideways to a mirror so that you can watch her hips rotate. Now standing perfectly upright with your knees locked without bending your hips try to just arch your lower back and touch your toes you don’t get very far and your hips stay vertical and all you do is put a lot of strain on your lower back. Now repeat the same thing again keeping your knees locked but bend over to try and touch your toes like you were stretching your hamstrings but keeping your back perfectly locked straight causing you to be at a 90-degree angle when you’re bent over or however far you can get note that flexibility is not the point of this exercise. Notice how much your hips rotate at this point if you’re doing it right your hips are now parallel to the ground and have rotated to to help you touch your toes as opposed to the bend in your lower back. Now next time you’re on your bike pedaling for a while sit up straight in the saddle so that you are vertical and are not using your bars to support your weight like you were riding hands-free now after a few seconds of that try to repeat this exercise so that your hips completely roll forward like you were just trying to stretch your hamstrings. I hope this makes sense it does to me however I might not be doing the greatest job communicating it.
This may not be the best way to try to describe it but just follow me here if you can. Stand sideways to a mirror so that you can watch her hips rotate. Now standing perfectly upright with your knees locked without bending your hips try to just arch your lower back and touch your toes you don’t get very far and your hips stay vertical and all you do is put a lot of strain on your lower back. Now repeat the same thing again keeping your knees locked but bend over to try and touch your toes like you were stretching your hamstrings but keeping your back perfectly locked straight causing you to be at a 90-degree angle when you’re bent over or however far you can get note that flexibility is not the point of this exercise. Notice how much your hips rotate at this point if you’re doing it right your hips are now parallel to the ground and have rotated to to help you touch your toes as opposed to the band in your lower back. Now next time you’re on your bike pedaling for a while sit up straight in the saddle so that you are vertical and they’re not using your bars to support your weight like you were riding hands-free now after a few seconds of that try to repeat this exercise so that your hips completely roll forward like you were just trying to stretch your hamstrings. I hope this makes sense it does to me however I might not be doing the greatest job communicating it.
This is perfect and your description makes total sense to me. I’m going to give this a shot later this evening when I get on my bike and will report back with results. Thanks again for taking the time to explain this to me - much appreciated!
No I can’t tell from the video, it’s just a guess based off talking with friends and others who ride the wider ISM saddles. Most tell me they have some discomfort on their saddle and my first question I ask… does it feel too wide? They usually answer “yes†and their eyes get very wide as they were likely never able to describe the discomfort they had.
If you are getting chafing or saddle sores on your inner thighs, then your saddle is likely too wide for you. But this could also be fixed by you riding more forward on the saddle (on the nose). I do think you are riding to rearward on the saddle from the video (1 cm or so). Try moving it back 1 cm and see if you notice any difference. Mark the original location of the saddle so you know where your starting point is.