John... another great video but a question or possible point of conjecture... You speak of "actively" tightening the abdominals to relieve pressure ( although I am sure there is no substitute for passive core strength ) but I am an active "belly" breather and wonder if these two techniques are set to counter each other = I will try this when I ride tomorrow -> Can I actively tighten my abdominals while maintaining a belly breathing technique ? - - we'll have to see - I believe you can probably obtain both with practice but I fear it might be a "rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time" thing.... Cheers for all the great & PRACTICAL video tips on how our body reacts to riding....
Fred A. Lewis Just thinking the same thing. I try to belly breath as much as I can, just a case of getting used to it at the moment but not sure how you can do it while tightening your abs.
Hi +Fred , when you refer to the importance of "passive" core strength, I assume you're meaning "unconscious" stabilization? And you're right this is the best means of trunk stabilization on the bike in this situation. The small "tightening" that I mention in the video is meant to just wake up this unconscious stability. Actively holding that forever isn't possible, and while most riders will do this active tightening on the bike, it'll help relieve some of their saddle pressure, they'll forget about it a few minutes later, but at least for a while their passive control will be better and allow them to ride without issue. Then they may be actively reminded by the creeping pressure on their perineum again and go through the process again. Does that make sense? I wasn't very clear in the video about this. As a practical tip I should have dipped into the real world likelihood of how performing this change would go down. So to answer your question, since this is meant to facilitate unconscious stability rather than replace it, you can belly breathe through this technique.
Thanks for the detailed reply John... I understand a little better now and think I know exactly what you are describing... I now believe that I may actually use this technique already from time to time - sometimes when I start to feel a little pressure or stress to the perineum on a long ride I tighten my stomach and roll my hips back - in a way I thought it was almost akin to pushing my pelvis back on the saddle but after your description I now realize that I am not really pushing myself back on the saddle but instead straightening my hip -> spine alignment which is rolling my sit bones backwards and relieving pressure / discomfort being received from the front of the saddle... The next thing for me to try is to not wait until I "need" to do this and instead do it purposely on a 15 minute time schedule which may alleviate pressure "before" it builds ( my garmin gives me an alert every 15 minutes to remind me to drink and I will use this for the secondary purpose as described by you )... I am sure that this also helps blood flow to increase as well ? perhaps as a partial substitute for needing to stand as much.... Keep up the great videos - not so easy to find a fitter that I can clearly communicate with here in Japan and the physiology is different so it isn't that easy and I find your hard work of great help in presenting an interesting professional perspective in an easy to understand way... Ride On...
I've never seem any specialist talk about this on a manner so concise, cientific and precise at the same time. It blew my mind. Just amazing! Well done!
Thanks so much - this was very helpful. Being able to see a graphic display of how your pressure on the seat changes, and having the anatomical model, made things clear!
Great video. Please consider performing the same demonstration with a seat that does not have a cut-out like the Standard B17, and compared the pressure results with a seat that has a cut-out. It would do be immensely helpful. Thanks
Simple yes but a much needed video. Unfortunately I had to learn where to sit on the saddle by lots of trial and error. Always thought I was sitting mostly to the back of the saddle but was still having lots of soft tissue pressure and numbness. Just thought it was the saddles I was trying because the rest of my position on the bike felt fine. Ended up with a Pro Stealth saddle that finally took most but not all of the pressure away. After recently getting a new bike with a slightly shorter effective top tube and reach I all of sudden felt better on every saddle I tried. Turns out even though the reach felt fine on my old bike from a flexibility standpoint it was too far for me to actually sit on the back of the saddle. I guess the Pro saddle only helped some because it’s meant to make a more forward aggressive position more comfortable which unknowingly was was my position. Now I’m able to use a more traditional road saddle and be even more comfortable because I can get to the very back of the saddle and stay there.
Thanks, I experienced something very similar with a new Prologo Dimension saddle, tuned more for forward (agressive) posture. During the second half of a 50km ride I was experiencing numbness and intermittent sharp saddle pains. After analysing my seating position and reach, I lowered the saddle ~1cm and raised the height of the handlebars by ~1cm, feels so much better after a short test ride. Great to see the seating and posture analytics displayed in real time helped me make the same but essential adjustments. 👍🏼
When the pelvis is in the "actively neutral" position and the rider's abs are tight, to get more aero the rider must be flexible in the spine to lower the head and shoulders to stay out of the wind. My question is -- in this position, (pelvis actively neutral and head/shoulders low) does it create more stress on the lower discs in the spine .. similar to picking up an object from the floor using bad form, i.e. your back instead of your legs? Love your videos by the way. They're very informative!
Can a saddle be to wide? To narrow seems obvious, but can more width adversely affect the fit, or is it more about shape as long as you have the necessary minimum width? Thanks and keep the great videos coming!
I experience the opposite of what you talk about at around 1:30, about how a less flexible person has a more upright pelvis and a more flexible one can rotate their pelvis forward more. For me, I have an extremely stiff back due to 2 ruptured + 3 herniated discs starting at S1 and going up. I have to keep my lower back very straight with little bend in it, and to get in an aggressive riding position I must rotate my pelvis forward quite a bit in order to get my upper body into an aggressive position in the drops. If I were more flexible, my spine would be able to flex more, letting my pelvis remain more upright when positioning my upper body into the same position. Am I thinking about this backwards, or do I just ride my bike weird?
Today I did my first test ride with my new SQLab saddle and this is exactly what I noticed. The problem is that I need to actively push my hip/back with my hands on the handlebar to keep my hip in the correct position. Otherwise my hip rotates too much forward.
Questions on Cambium C13 seats. There is a noticeable “hammock” effect in the middle of the seat. It is a different feeling compared to normal seats, but not necessarily uncomfortable. I’m assuming it is okay to sit on this part of the seat versus further back? Also, when setting the height does it need to be slightly higher due to the slight drop in height from the hammock? How does that effect things when you’re riding on the back part of the seat? Thanks!
Hello John, I got 2 questions. 1) Which saddle setting would give less pressure to perineum? Flat or -3 degrees 2) I always feel that I have to center my pelvis to the saddle (like one side always slips) is that a pelvis misalignment or something else? The saddle width is correct for my sit bones. Thanks for the very useful videos!
I decided to relearn how to ride a bike for my school trip later on, and my main issue is how my butt begins to hurt painfully when sitting on a bike seat. I have this horrible feeling and when I stop to take a break, my private area because to hurt (sorry tmi). I’m not exactly sure how to correctly sit on the bike seats my school use as the bikes I have at home don’t hurt at all. Should I be placing my bum at the very back of the sit or at the very edge (yeah for all those bikers who might be annoyed by this question, I just want to know) I mean I tried sitting to the very back, I keep sliding to the front... After I finished my first day of biking, my bottom area began to sore like crazy (probably because I haven’t rode a bike in so long) but I mean it’s very odd for me and I’d like some answers.
Hey John, what would you say to this? I'm a big rider with a bunch of power and I find a lot of the saddles out there tend to sag badly under my weight after a few months. Once this hammocking happens the saddle becomes pretty useless - can't weight bear in the right spots. Any recommendations for no-sag saddles?
John... another great video but a question or possible point of conjecture...
You speak of "actively" tightening the abdominals to relieve pressure ( although I am sure there is no substitute for passive core strength ) but I am an active "belly" breather and wonder if these two techniques are set to counter each other = I will try this when I ride tomorrow -> Can I actively tighten my abdominals while maintaining a belly breathing technique ? - - we'll have to see - I believe you can probably obtain both with practice but I fear it might be a "rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time" thing....
Cheers for all the great & PRACTICAL video tips on how our body reacts to riding....
Fred A. Lewis Just thinking the same thing. I try to belly breath as much as I can, just a case of getting used to it at the moment but not sure how you can do it while tightening your abs.
Hi +Fred , when you refer to the importance of "passive" core strength, I assume you're meaning "unconscious" stabilization? And you're right this is the best means of trunk stabilization on the bike in this situation. The small "tightening" that I mention in the video is meant to just wake up this unconscious stability. Actively holding that forever isn't possible, and while most riders will do this active tightening on the bike, it'll help relieve some of their saddle pressure, they'll forget about it a few minutes later, but at least for a while their passive control will be better and allow them to ride without issue. Then they may be actively reminded by the creeping pressure on their perineum again and go through the process again. Does that make sense?
I wasn't very clear in the video about this. As a practical tip I should have dipped into the real world likelihood of how performing this change would go down.
So to answer your question, since this is meant to facilitate unconscious stability rather than replace it, you can belly breathe through this technique.
Thanks for the detailed reply John... I understand a little better now and think I know exactly what you are describing...
I now believe that I may actually use this technique already from time to time - sometimes when I start to feel a little pressure or stress to the perineum on a long ride I tighten my stomach and roll my hips back - in a way I thought it was almost akin to pushing my pelvis back on the saddle but after your description I now realize that I am not really pushing myself back on the saddle but instead straightening my hip -> spine alignment which is rolling my sit bones backwards and relieving pressure / discomfort being received from the front of the saddle...
The next thing for me to try is to not wait until I "need" to do this and instead do it purposely on a 15 minute time schedule which may alleviate pressure "before" it builds ( my garmin gives me an alert every 15 minutes to remind me to drink and I will use this for the secondary purpose as described by you )... I am sure that this also helps blood flow to increase as well ? perhaps as a partial substitute for needing to stand as much....
Keep up the great videos - not so easy to find a fitter that I can clearly communicate with here in Japan and the physiology is different so it isn't that easy and I find your hard work of great help in presenting an interesting professional perspective in an easy to understand way...
Ride On...
I've never seem any specialist talk about this on a manner so concise, cientific and precise at the same time. It blew my mind. Just amazing! Well done!
I added this to my list of videos to rewatch. It helps me to visualize what's going on as I try to find that "right way" to sit on the saddle.
Thanks so much - this was very helpful. Being able to see a graphic display of how your pressure on the seat changes, and having the anatomical model, made things clear!
The perfect answer to my question! I'm just starting to explore the world of bikes so thanks for this!
Great video. Please consider performing the same demonstration with a seat that does not have a cut-out like the Standard B17, and compared the pressure results with a seat that has a cut-out. It would do be immensely helpful. Thanks
dude, your videos are soooooo clutch! keep em coming cause i swear you are reading my damn mind when you come up with them!
Skeleton and side outline helped out immensely! Thank you!
thanks for this before i thought it was the saddle causing me pain but after doing what you said i realized i was leaning to far foward thank you
Great video. Data is everything and I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of where to sit.
I really loved this video. It answered the question I had in my mind exactly. Thank you
Very handy and useful video! Thanks
Simple yes but a much needed video. Unfortunately I had to learn where to sit on the saddle by lots of trial and error. Always thought I was sitting mostly to the back of the saddle but was still having lots of soft tissue pressure and numbness. Just thought it was the saddles I was trying because the rest of my position on the bike felt fine. Ended up with a Pro Stealth saddle that finally took most but not all of the pressure away. After recently getting a new bike with a slightly shorter effective top tube and reach I all of sudden felt better on every saddle I tried. Turns out even though the reach felt fine on my old bike from a flexibility standpoint it was too far for me to actually sit on the back of the saddle. I guess the Pro saddle only helped some because it’s meant to make a more forward aggressive position more comfortable which unknowingly was was my position. Now I’m able to use a more traditional road saddle and be even more comfortable because I can get to the very back of the saddle and stay there.
Thanks, I experienced something very similar with a new Prologo Dimension saddle, tuned more for forward (agressive) posture. During the second half of a 50km ride I was experiencing numbness and intermittent sharp saddle pains. After analysing my seating position and reach, I lowered the saddle ~1cm and raised the height of the handlebars by ~1cm, feels so much better after a short test ride. Great to see the seating and posture analytics displayed in real time helped me make the same but essential adjustments. 👍🏼
When the pelvis is in the "actively neutral" position and the rider's abs are tight, to get more aero the rider must be flexible in the spine to lower the head and shoulders to stay out of the wind. My question is -- in this position, (pelvis actively neutral and head/shoulders low) does it create more stress on the lower discs in the spine .. similar to picking up an object from the floor using bad form, i.e. your back instead of your legs?
Love your videos by the way. They're very informative!
Hi there, you posted a great question. Did you manage to get any knowledge about it so far?
@@Northwindbreeze been 2years now...did you get any answer? :p
@@guitarnication1796 nothing....I guess this channel has been abandoned!
Can a saddle be to wide? To narrow seems obvious, but can more width adversely affect the fit, or is it more about shape as long as you have the necessary minimum width? Thanks and keep the great videos coming!
a seat too wide will seem to cut off the circulation in my legs, personally
I experience the opposite of what you talk about at around 1:30, about how a less flexible person has a more upright pelvis and a more flexible one can rotate their pelvis forward more. For me, I have an extremely stiff back due to 2 ruptured + 3 herniated discs starting at S1 and going up. I have to keep my lower back very straight with little bend in it, and to get in an aggressive riding position I must rotate my pelvis forward quite a bit in order to get my upper body into an aggressive position in the drops. If I were more flexible, my spine would be able to flex more, letting my pelvis remain more upright when positioning my upper body into the same position. Am I thinking about this backwards, or do I just ride my bike weird?
Thank you very much, really useful. I’m learning and it’s great to come across videos that are visual.
Today I did my first test ride with my new SQLab saddle and this is exactly what I noticed. The problem is that I need to actively push my hip/back with my hands on the handlebar to keep my hip in the correct position. Otherwise my hip rotates too much forward.
Wonderful I've wondering about it for so long
Great illustrating video !
Wow! This helps a lot! Just bought my trinx n106.. Had a 7km earlier. Now my bones in between my *** hurts so bad
Great video. Seeing is believing. Very useful for me. Thank you.
Great video
Best video on the subject. Thanks.
Questions on Cambium C13 seats. There is a noticeable “hammock” effect in the middle of the seat. It is a different feeling compared to normal seats, but not necessarily uncomfortable. I’m assuming it is okay to sit on this part of the seat versus further back? Also, when setting the height does it need to be slightly higher due to the slight drop in height from the hammock? How does that effect things when you’re riding on the back part of the seat? Thanks!
Great video! Thanks.
Hello John, I got 2 questions.
1) Which saddle setting would give less pressure to perineum? Flat or -3 degrees
2) I always feel that I have to center my pelvis to the saddle (like one side always slips) is that a pelvis misalignment or something else? The saddle width is correct for my sit bones. Thanks for the very useful videos!
I decided to relearn how to ride a bike for my school trip later on, and my main issue is how my butt begins to hurt painfully when sitting on a bike seat. I have this horrible feeling and when I stop to take a break, my private area because to hurt (sorry tmi). I’m not exactly sure how to correctly sit on the bike seats my school use as the bikes I have at home don’t hurt at all. Should I be placing my bum at the very back of the sit or at the very edge (yeah for all those bikers who might be annoyed by this question, I just want to know) I mean I tried sitting to the very back, I keep sliding to the front... After I finished my first day of biking, my bottom area began to sore like crazy (probably because I haven’t rode a bike in so long) but I mean it’s very odd for me and I’d like some answers.
so a core training does take away back pain and make us sit on the right spot more easily
Abdur-Rahman I dumped my cheap matress and sleep on a sleep matt on the floor, I have had no back pain for 5 days and counting!
Hey John, what would you say to this? I'm a big rider with a bunch of power and I find a lot of the saddles out there tend to sag badly under my weight after a few months. Once this hammocking happens the saddle becomes pretty useless - can't weight bear in the right spots. Any recommendations for no-sag saddles?
also regard my last comment i have misaligned hips is this why it hurts alot
Amazing video. Thank you!
This is a great video! Do you have any recommendations on stretches we could do to obtain more flexibility?
Can you explain it more with the "skeleton"?
Thanks 🙏
this is very good!
Very helpful. Thanks
GREAT VID
Best video
Awesome.!
I would have liked to see a rear view where is saddle meets butt
I’m fat so my ass pretty much swallows the seat
Fantastic video. Thanks!