The posts here have inspired me to reinvent my seat height, setback, reach, and posture. Early results look promising.
My return to cycling has been complicated by both lack of practice and peripheral neuropathy (due to an intervening surgical complication). Result: Some difficulty with balance on my feet, but none on a bike once above 4 mph or so.
Playing the trade-offs as best I could at the time, I set the seat as high as possible with both tip toes still on the ground at stops. To gain back some of the lost extension, I then maxed out saddle setback and adjusted the stem and grip angles accordingly for a back-friendly upright posture.
Fast forward 6 months to the present. Legs are stronger, low-speed balance is better, and I'm getting better at stops off the seat with ever-higher seat positions. Result: Ever-happier knees.
Using the info and tools here, it's now time to tackle butt pain — the only remaining barrier to rides longer than 25 miles. The main trade-off now will be between butt pain in the saddle and back pain afterward.
I go through all this to remind folks here (1) that getting all this right gets a lot more complicated when medical issues enter the picture, and (2) that some riders will need to work up to their own optimal configuration.
Meanwhile, I'm trying those padded undershorts
@6zfshdb showed us.
