saddle position

[Caher]

Hi all,
I was just wondering how important is it to sit as much above the bottom bracket as possible as advised by all the various experts?
I have a Kona which has a long top tube meaning that the seat is some way back from the bottom bracket. This is now exasperated by the fitting of a thudbuster, which has a rearward action as it compresses the parallelogram. To get a fit I’m used to I have pushed the seat as far forward as possible. If anything the frame is slightly smaller than my other bikes.
Any advice would be gratefully received.

Caher.

 

[gclark8]

Change the seat post, I have, I got me a Rockshox Zero Offset Seatpost for my Felt Trevisa, it now gives me a 75 degree effective seatpost angle, perfect...

 

[Caher]

I bought the thudbuster specifically to handle bumps and enable me to ride all day. Maybe I should add that I have an off-road bike.

 

[RC2]

What's important in positioning your saddle fore-aft is keeping your legs positioned correctly w/r/t pedals and BB. The rule of thumb on this is knees over pedal spindle. With your crank arm pointing straight forward (3:00), a plumb should fall from the front of your kneecap to the pedal spindle. That's a rule of thumb, ballpark approach... if your LBS has a good fitter they may have slightly different suggestions.

How important is it? If the long reach is causing you back pain (or numb/tingling hands, etc), it's pretty darn important. Positioning the saddle incorrectly can also result in knee pain. Fit is #1 in my book. If you don't have discomfort in your set up though, more power to ya.