Bum Creep - Saddle Adjustment Advice

[Heltor Chasca]

I've had 20+ miles very comfortable riding on my new Brooks C17. I didn't notice it at the weekend but today back from the school run I noticed that my bum/hips work their way towards the front of the saddle. As a result I am feeling the need to nudge myself back onto to comfiest (wider) part of the saddle.

Does this mean:

1. The saddle needs to go forward so Im sitting mainly on the widest part?
Or
2. The nose of the saddle needs to point a little UP to stop me sliding forward? (At the moment it is perfectly level)

I'm having a mental block! HELP...hc

[531colin]

Mark, measure and photo where it is now, then try either/both your suggestions.

[Seagoon]

It means that the reach to your handlebars and or your saddle to bar drop is too far.

[MartinC]

It means that the reach to your handlebars and or your saddle to bar drop is too far.

In my experience it means the exact opposite - it's counter intuitive - if the saddle isn't back far enough for you then you can't get your weight far enough back to stop sliding forward.

[Bonefishblues]

It means that the reach to your handlebars and or your saddle to bar drop is too far.

In my experience it means the exact opposite - it's counter intuitive - if the saddle isn't back far enough for you then you can't get your weight far enough back to stop sliding forward.

I have exactly the same symptom. I've just moved the saddle forward slightly and will test the theory one way or the other on Sat!

[maxcherry]

I was thinking you would need to move the saddle forward.
I put my bum on the wide part of the saddle so my sit bones have a comfy spot

Just bought a new saddle and even though I took pics and measurements before taking
my old one off, I still had to faff around with it due to 'Creeping bottom syndrome'

You are not alone

[Heltor Chasca]

Coolio! Thanks all. I'm going for 5mm forward and I'll go from there. My last bike had the nose of the saddle lower. I probably had a little more weight than most like on their upper body but I find it easier to to get off the saddle in heavy traffic and I have the strength available to me. Just wish I had the brains too [emoji5]️...hc

[stewartpratt]

Could be either but IME once the angle is right I stay put, so I'd angle up first.

[Heltor Chasca]

Could be either but IME once the angle is right I stay put, so I'd angle up first.

Thanks Stewart...hc

[maxcherry]

Could be either but IME once the angle is right I stay put, so I'd angle up first.

Thanks Stewart...hc

+ Me with the angle bit. I had to adjust the fore and aft as well as the angle
due to my saddle being a different design and shape to my previous saddle

[DaveP]

I'm well aware that my weight goes on the rear of my saddles, so when I swap one, I measure from the steering head to make sure that the back of the new one is in something like the same place. No need to be over precise, this is just establishing a starting point.
Having got that far, for my money, the next step is to experiment with the angle. By all means set it level to start with, but you must remember that the saddle will change as you sit on it. Its the loaded configuration that you have to get right, and this is something that you can never see! The rails will flex, and even with a new Brooks, the leather will give a little, and, thinking about it, that will be a progressive change over the first few hundred miles - you might have to re adjust in a few rides time...
If you're basically comfy, then your adjustments aren't too far off. Raise the nose slightly and see how it feels, but the problem might go away as you break the saddle in.
You'll know when things are spot on!

[RonK]

Move the saddle forward, 5mm at a time. You soon find the point where you stop sliding forward.

Some do like to tilt their Brooks up a little, but I prefer mine flat.

[yostumpy]

Am I right in thinking that the OP has bought a C17, ie a cloth cover cambium, or was it a typo, and its a b17.
If the latter then it is the silly shiny surface they put on it, plus the inbuilt hammock. My Spa Nidd, (b17) does not have this as the leather is not shiny, and there is no hammock due to much thicker leather.
If its the former, then its still got the hammock shape due to the metal horseshoe at the rear. Sugest tilting slightly nose up as with all b17s.

[MartinC]

Move the saddle forward, 5mm at a time. You soon find the point where you stop sliding forward...................

Ha! You might think so. My experience is different. When I first built up a decent bike some 30 or so years ago I went through this process. Kept sliding off the front of the saddle so shifted it forward a bit. Kept repeating the process and trying different seat posts and saddles so that I could go further forward. Then one wet Sunday afternoon I got Bernard Hinault's book out and measured myself and calculated my position using his method. It put my saddle further back than average because of my body proportions. Lo and behold this instantly stopped me sliding off the front of the saddle. His method works for me and I've never bettered it in 30 years of experiment.

If you don't have your saddle back far enough that you're actually pushing on the bars not pulling on them then you'll slide off the front. Your bum needs to go back far enough to balance your bidy weight over your c of g. It's the old saw about standing with your back tight against a wall and trying to bend down to touch your toes. You can't because you fall forwards - you need to be able to move your bum back to balance. If you tilt the saddle nose up to stop the forward movement you haven't solved the problem just created some more.

[ANTONISH]

Move the saddle forward, 5mm at a time. You soon find the point where you stop sliding forward...................

Ha! You might think so. My experience is different. When I first built up a decent bike some 30 or so years ago I went through this process. Kept sliding off the front of the saddle so shifted it forward a bit. Kept repeating the process and trying different seat posts and saddles so that I could go further forward. Then one wet Sunday afternoon I got Bernard Hinault's book out and measured myself and calculated my position using his method. It put my saddle further back than average because of my body proportions. Lo and behold this instantly stopped me sliding off the front of the saddle. His method works for me and I've never bettered it in 30 years of experiment.

.

+1 for the Hinault book.
IMO it's a very good way of establishing a good position, particularly for the saddle - the individual will probably need to trim what is in effect a racing position to suit themselves. I found that apart from handlebar height the position obtained conformed closely with the position I had arrived at over many years of trial and error.