Proper seats/saddles (especially for an e-bike)

[GuruUno]

I use a digital level to adjust my seat. One degree makes a difference, that way you know when or how much you have adjusted it. And if you suspect something has moved you can put the level on it and check. I like my seat height to be where I can sit on it and be on my tip toes comfortably at a stop, one foot on the ground and the other on a pedal, ready to speed away.

"my seat height to be where I can sit on it and be on my tip toes comfortably at a stop, one foot on the ground and the other on a pedal, ready to speed away"
My exact setting

 

[kahn]

I join the others in suggesting to see a doctor just in case you need an antibiotic to treat an infection. I once got an abscess down there and it needed oral antibiotics as well as topical treatment.

I have used this product:

Purchased from other sources but here's the Amazon link

https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Personal-Hygiene-Ozone-Protective/dp/B001GSOKGA

 

[6zfshdb]

Definitely going to try those padded undershorts. I like to ride in cargo pants or shorts, and they appeal to my inner baboon.
View attachment 151493

I ride with cargo shorts as well. Plenty of pockets to carry gear. Maybe it's an age thing but I feel a bit self conscious wearing spandex off the trail. The padded undershorts work better for me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

(placing feet/foot on ground when coming to or at a stop)?

All wrong. Now, you have answered your original question. Vado is not a beach cruiser (Como might do the job).
The proper way of riding a bike such as a Vado is to jump on the saddle to start the ride and jump off the saddle to stop.

Guru: I rode a Metric Century today. I was thinking of how cold wind was sapping my strength. I was hungry as all stores were closed for Easter Monday and it was so difficult to buy any food en route. I was so weak when pedalling at 35% of assistance. I had to catch the return train.

I have never thought of my ass on that ride.

Can you see the principal difference between my and your setup of Vado?
Trust me, I was thinking of you when I was taking that photo

 

[fooferdoggie]

I ride with cargo shorts as well. Plenty of pockets to carry gear. Maybe it's an age thing but I feel a bit self conscious wearing spandex off the trail. The padded undershorts work better for me.

I had to give up on the shorts they would not stay on had to go with bibs.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I ride with cargo shorts as well. Plenty of pockets to carry gear. Maybe it's an age thing but I feel a bit self conscious wearing spandex off the trail. The padded undershorts work better for me.

Definitely an age thing in more ways than one. Too self-conscious to wear spandex anywhere — anywhere on me, anywhere on Earth. And the world should thank me for it.

My wife, on the other hand, is self-conscious about being seen with me in cargos everywhere. She should be careful what she wishes for.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

There is also no reason you can't wear "regular" bike shorts as padded undershorts. I usually wear a very light and thin and rapidly drying outer pair of shorts over the bike shorts. For me, at least, cargo shorts have too many seams and too many pockets.

 

[jabberwocky]

I'd definitely start with a doc visit to make sure nothing is wrong and that theres no infection needing addressing, but then I think you need to reevaluate your shorts. The location and distance it starts to show up at suggest to me that its potentially a chafing issue and maybe not directly the saddle. You say you wear bike shorts, but you may want to upgrade them (cheaper ones are made with lower quality fabric and fewer panels, and the chamois is lower quality). I'd look for a high quality lycra short with a fairly thin chamois, and if wearing lycra in public bothers you cover them with thin athletic shorts. You want to make sure theres no fabric down there that holds moisture like cotton (so no sweats, no cargo shorts, etc). Watch where seams end up when pedaling.

 

[GuruUno]

All wrong. Now, you have answered your original question. Vado is not a beach cruiser (Como might do the job).
The proper way of riding a bike such as a Vado is to jump on the saddle to start the ride and jump off the saddle to stop.

Guru: I rode a Metric Century today. I was thinking of how cold wind was sapping my strength. I was hungry as all stores were closed for Easter Monday and it was so difficult to buy any food en route. I was so weak when pedalling at 35% of assistance. I had to catch the return train.

I have never thought of my ass on that ride.

View attachment 151497
Can you see the principal difference between my and your setup of Vado?
Trust me, I was thinking of you when I was taking that photo

HOWEVER, with you seated on the saddle, and with the photo as shown, and each leg extended with each down and the pedal being parallel with the surface of the pavement/ground, is your knee bent or is your leg fully extended. I'd be interested to see THAT photo. MY inseam is 32"-33", my EXACT height is 5'11-1/4" (I always have rounded it off to 6' 0", but as I grow older, Im sure I'll shrink)
Fitment is super difficult and critical when a person is on that "cusp" between Medium and Large.
Having had all my previous bikes as a Large, I've found the Medium to handle better, etc. I'd be amazed to find out that a difference of 1 or 2 CM would differ that much.
(Many a bike shop employee have said, "we can make a bike fit, yada, yada raise this/that, etc.")....who is to know for sure unless the person who rides the bike is the true judge of the overall experience (which I'm sure I'm proving that exactly, both good and bad??)
So then, tomorrow or the next day I'll raise my seat post to parallel your photo and report back.
I ordered a new pair of padded bike shorts.
I ordered the 'Ozone Protect' stuff, and I'll try to dial in the seat setting as best I can.

 

[Allan47.7339]

"my seat height to be where I can sit on it and be on my tip toes comfortably at a stop, one foot on the ground and the other on a pedal, ready to speed away"
My exact setting

Do your hips look like a V-8 rocker arm when you're riding? Your hips should generally be relatively quiet. Sawing back and forth will give you saddle sores. Have someone ride with you with a gopro or phone so you can watch privately afterwards and you can see how much you are moving on the bike.

 

[GuruUno]

Do your hips look like a V-8 rocker arm when you're riding? Your hips should generally be relatively quiet. Sawing back and forth will give you saddle sores. Have someone ride with you with a gopro or phone so you can watch privately afterwards and you can see how much you are moving on the bike.

Will do. I do not think I'm doing the twist.

 

[m@Robertson]

"my seat height to be where I can sit on it and be on my tip toes comfortably at a stop, one foot on the ground and the other on a pedal, ready to speed away"
My exact setting

I have to pile on and say this is wrong thinking. It explains part of the problem here. If you were professionally fitted, those pros didn't adhere to cycling norms which has at least something to do with how your problems persist.

When you come to a stop, you should be off the saddle so you can put your foot on the ground while standing. If you try and stay in the saddle at a stop, the only way to accomplish that (lowering the seatpost) screws up your riding posture by limiting your leg extension, just for starters. At the bottom of your pedal stroke, your knees should be only slightly bent. Just enough so the knees are never going to lock.

The seat should not be so high that your legs straightens out. I personally feel that your hips should not move up and down as you pedal. One professional bike fitter says that slightly lower than ideal is better than slightly higher. I agree.

Both points here are huge. If you are moving your hips to reach the bottom of your pedal stroke you have raised your seat too far. But I think the opposite problem exists here.

This bike fit page says for the pedal at the lowest position (crank vertical) your knee angle should be between 35º and 45).

Yikes. That may be ok for the cruiser rider but a 45 degree angle on the knees? Thats waaaay too much. Worth noting that the pic of the recreational cyclist (the one on the left) is taken with the pedals at 3 o'clock and the knees are not fully extended in that shot. The cyclist on the right is showing pretty good extension. Should be enough to not lock the knee, not enough to have to move the hips and also not measured with the rider pushing the balls of their feet down to extend into the pedal stroke.

As an aside I went back to cleated shoes two years ago and have never regretted it. Feet are always in exactly the spot they need to be and never any slippage or repositioning. But then again my cadence is in the 80-90 rpm range.

 

[mschwett]

…

As an aside I went back to cleated shoes two years ago and have never regretted it. Feet are always in exactly the spot they need to be and never any slippage or repositioning. But then again my cadence is in the 80-90 rpm range.

an underappreciated benefit of clipless pedals for sure. foot in precisely the same place every time without thinking about it. small differences make a big difference when you do something 20,000 times in a ride!

 

[Chibbie]

When you come to a stop, you should be off the saddle so you can put your foot on the ground while standing. If you try and stay in the saddle at a stop, the only way to accomplish that (lowering the seatpost) screws up your riding posture by limiting your leg extension, just for starters.

I’m having trouble following this. If you’re “off the saddle” at a stop, then by definition wouldn’t your feet have to be “on the ground” (otherwise, you’d have to be levitating)? I feel like I’m missing something obvious here. Are you in essence saying that your seatpost should be set so high that it’s basically impossible for your feet to touch the ground while sitting in the saddle, meaning you’d have no choice but to dismount at a stop so that you don’t fall over? I find it hard enough to get back up on the saddle smoothly even with it set at the height it is currently (which is the “being able to touch the ground with tippy toes while in the saddle”, which I thought was the standard advice), let alone having it any higher.

I’m asking in all earnest, because although I’m not the OP, I too am still adjusting my saddle positioning.

 

[steve mercier]

Uno I don't know your ass from a hole in the ground. All I know is last year I rode 20,500 km on three different bikes ( on 2 different frame sizes ) with the good fortune of very minimal discomfort. All 3 bikes have this saddle which is the best I have found so far for my ass. Heal quickly and keep the rubber side down. https://shop.serfas.com/p/rx-921v-rx-mens-road-mtb/saddles?pp=25

 

[McCorby]

Are you in essence saying that your seatpost should be set so high that it’s basically impossible for your feet to touch the ground while sitting in the saddle, meaning you’d have no choice but to dismount at a stop so that you don’t fall over?

I’m asking in all earnest, because although I’m not the OP, I too am still adjusting my saddle positioning.

Yes, for this bike, and assuming the frame is sized properly for the rider and the seat is adjusted for proper leg extension, you should not be able to put both feet on the ground while seated.

 

[GuruUno]

I apologize if this discussion deviates from the "Specialized Forum" discussions about the 'brand'. However, regardless, it sure seems to have fired up a lot of interest, response, opinion, suggestions, etc.
So hopefully, it might ultimately have a silver lining, if we all come away from here having a greater understanding of the many things that are part of the bicycle world.
After all this is why we are active in these various conversations....we all learn from one another, share experiences, and buy expensive e-bikes

 

[Allan47.7339]

I’m having trouble following this. If you’re “off the saddle” at a stop, then by definition wouldn’t your feet have to be “on the ground” (otherwise, you’d have to be levitating)? I feel like I’m missing something obvious here. Are you in essence saying that your seatpost should be set so high that it’s basically impossible for your feet to touch the ground while sitting in the saddle, meaning you’d have no choice but to dismount at a stop so that you don’t fall over? I find it hard enough to get back up on the saddle smoothly even with it set at the height it is currently (which is the “being able to touch the ground with tippy toes while in the saddle”, which I thought was the standard advice), let alone having it any higher.

I’m asking in all earnest, because although I’m not the OP, I too am still adjusting my saddle positioning.

The seat height is set for riding not stopped conditions. I usually unclip and step off or lean with my right foot at stop lights and I start up with a right pedal stroke. Some people are right foot down. We want to be careful not to hijack the OP's thread because there is a lot of information we would need to ask to be able to answer your question.

 

[GuruUno]

The seat height is set for riding not stopped conditions. I usually unclip and step off or lean with my right foot at stop lights and I start up with a right pedal stroke. Some people are right foot down. We want to be careful not to hijack the OP's thread because there is a lot of information we would need to ask to be able to answer your question.

I've been riding steadily for about 6 years now on different e-bikes. Before that, it might have been well over 50 years ago when I was on a bike. So.....if some true-blue real deal YouTube video exists that "tells it like it is", that would be a great contribution here, about the varied conversations specific to this topic. (seats, adjustments, reach, and all the other things that are spinning off of this discussion). Some YouTube videos get too technical, over the top and not about the 'meat and potatoes' of some of the items being discussed. I know there is no 1-stop-shop answer, but there must be some 'authority' that has this all documented on film, no?

 

[Allan47.7339]

I apologize if this discussion deviates from the "Specialized Forum" discussions about the 'brand'. However, regardless, it sure seems to have fired up a lot of interest, response, opinion, suggestions, etc.
So hopefully, it might ultimately have a silver lining, if we all come away from here having a greater understanding of the many things that are part of the bicycle world.
After all this is why we are active in these various conversations....we all learn from one another, share experiences, and buy expensive e-bikes

The added benefit to this discussion is e-bikes are frequently more difficult to adjust components to get a good fit. Saddles are like opinions, everybody has a box full of them trying to find the magic one but it's almost always not the saddle.

One of the videos I like is "How to Perform a Simple Bike Fit (at Home)" on Cam Nicholls YouTube channel. His friend is a fitter and you need to listen to the fitter carefully because even though he is fitting a very fit host he talks about the process. There is also more recent video where the host's favorite saddle has started to not work for him and he had to go to a different model.