As Contador was TT’ing yesterday, Paul and Phil kept saying that he was “pulling” himself forward on the saddle to maximize his power. To me it looked more like he was sliding forward and then repeatedly having to push his butt back on the saddle. So my question…I find that I slide forward on the saddle more than I would like and I frequently end up re-adjusting. Someone once recommended using some tacky spray…had anyone tried this? Can you recommend a specifc product?
since you are not restricted by the UCI 5mm BB rule, if you’re sliding forward on your saddle… slide your saddle forward.
In this case, it is actually for road TT’s…so the UCI rules are relevant. I always have probelms passing bike checks…I have switched to the Adamo saddle for this reason.
Thx
I don’t think any amount of tack is going to help keep your butt back. shorts/skin suits are made of too stretchy of a fabric. If you look closely at pics of contador’s ride, he usually has strips of grip tape on his saddle.
another thing you might look at is your saddle nose down
that would throw you forward
.
I’ve heard from a few folks I TT with that the new saddle Cancellara promotes/uses (it has all these little grippy rubber things on it) works really well. Problem is, it looks like it has a long nose which could make it harder to be UCI compliant under the 5cm stupidity … er, I mean rule.
Yeah, I just made a similar post regarding both Contador and Schleck creeping forward then doing a little butt hop back every 4-5 pedal strokes. Haven’t noticed other riders doing this.
This is an old picture from last year, but:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v44/strataboy308/contador_saddle_tt_grip_tape.jpg
Credit: Velonews .
Quite a few TT riders do it. Just a quick look through the TT two days ago,
-Bradly Wiggins
-Vino
-Roman Kreuzinger
-Menchov
-Van Den Broek
-Scheck
-Contrador
All the big names do it because of the 5cm rule.
Doesn’t having a steep STA cause you to fall forward? The further forward the knee is then the resultant vector is going to push the body forward. Think of a seated bike, you are not falling forward, think of a super slack position where the resultant vector pushes you backwards, you do not slide forward. Now with a steep angle the vector pushes you forward. So wouldn’t moving it even further forward make the problem even worse?
Doesn’t having a steep STA cause you to fall forward? The further forward the knee is then the resultant vector is going to push the body forward. Think of a seated bike, you are not falling forward, think of a super slack position where the resultant vector pushes you backwards, you do not slide forward. Now with a steep angle the vector pushes you forward. So wouldn’t moving it even further forward make the problem even worse?
I think these guys might be on to something:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sYUfzHzYaU
IMHO, it’s probably a combination of a seat height that’s set too low for the forward (on the nose) position and a saddle that’s not too comfortable in that position either (that saddle pic above looks like some sort of torture device!).
I’ve been riding the Prologo for about 6 weeks. It is grippy and it’s also more of a “TT length” than a road saddle. I ride at 5.5 back
Prologo … that’s it. What’s the longest ride you’ve done on it? Any pressure-relief features for the privates? How do you think it would do for 56 or 112 miles?
About 2.5 hours is the longest; typically 2x per week for 2 hour rides plus one other spin. 56 miles, no problem. 112 is hard to say. For me, the comfort level depends on intensity.
I’ll say this about the Nago EVO TTr: IMO, it’s hands down the best and most comfortable TT saddle I’ve ridden. Not too long, firm so that it’s not squishy (which I hate) but not so much that it’s like a fence post. There’s also a dip between the tip and the widest point at the rear (where you plant your rear), which ideally suits how I like to sit on a saddle.
I think you are right, as they are trying to get more forward, it lowers the saddle height. With the lower saddle height are they utilizing more hamstrings which will push them forward?