Featured Post by Erik Moen PT

3mm

I dug out my reliable titanium road bike for the rainy Seattle riding season. This bike is set up as my rain bike that includes fenders. Fenders are a must for rainy climates. I had not done my check of the bike in awhile and just jumped on and did a 1hr ride. The saddle felt a little high at the onset, but I just wrote it off as a function of me being out of shape. I finished my ride and my hamstring tendons hurt. I came to the conclusion that the “saddle must have been high”, but I knew it was a good idea to check for proper position measurements.

Upon inspection I found the saddle to be 2-3mm higher than my traditional saddle height mark (established on the seat post). I made the saddle height correction. No more hamstring tendon pain on the next ride. Good old, well fit bike.

The moral to the story: always make re-checks of bicycle position, and make reliable marks or measures on your bicycle equipment to indicate proper position. Tendon discomfort can indicate improper positioning of your bicycle, and small saddle position changes (when near normal) can create injuries.