Essential Knowledge Guide

Setting Up Your MTB
Seat Tilt

Finally, the final seat adjustment that will save your groin!  Once again, I don't pretend to be some specialist on seats and human anatomy, but if this is set wrong, even if all else is right, you can still hurt your rear (and more sensitive parts) while riding.

As stated in the very beginning, most people don't sit on their seat right.  The two sit bones should be on the back, wide portion of the seat.  This is where the padding is.  The seat tilt serves to keep you on the seat while pedaling.   If that didn't make much sense, read on.  When you are riding a trail, do you feel like you are constantly having to shift your weight forward or backward on the seat?   In other words, are you sliding off all the time?  Your tilt is wrong.   If the horn (front of the seat) is lower than the back, you'll slide forward all the time.  You'll also be concentrating your weight in between your sit bones most the time instead of on them.  Guess what's between the sit bones?  An important nerve cluster you don't want anything to happen to.  If the horn is too high, you'll slide back all the time, and the horn will be sticking up between your legs, still putting pressure on that same nerve cluster.  Generally, your seat should be FLAT!   If you have a bike with front of full suspension, the seat should be flat while you are on the bike.  Spend  some time trying different seat tilts.  Each time make small changes only.  The tilt should keep your weight centered over the pelvic bones, not the groin.  However, the farther you go into attack position, the more weight you will naturally be putting on your groin.  This can't be helped, except maybe to purchase the seat below.

If you go back up to the beginning of the section on Handlebar Height and Tilt, there is a picture of my bike.  You can see that the seat horn is slightly higher than the back.  About 1/4 of an inch.  I have my bike set up more along the lines of a downhiller, as you might expect of a downhill full suspension bike.

This seat is for folks that ride in full attack position and have numbness problems.   See the area just below Race Day?  That area is VERY soft and yielding.  Right where you need it.  If you just can't get your seat adjusted to make you happy, get one of these.

Actually, according to what I have read, the problem is greater for road bikers.  They are always ducked all the way into attack position to minimize wind resistance.  Also, VERY FEW road bikes have any sort of suspension whatsoever.   This seat was designed for roadies.  But you can use it on your mtb if you want, of course.

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Opening Remarks About Your First MTB
What Mountain Bikes Can DO!
Anatomy of an MTB
Getting Your First MTB

Setting Up Your MTB
Adjusting Seat Post Height
Adjusting Cockpit Length
Handlebar Adjustments
Seat Tilt
Numbness and Impotency
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