Saddle height vs absorbing drop impacts

Question

Let's assume the following saddle heights:

• ultra low (bmx, DJ)
• low (slopestyle)
• medium
• high
• ultra high (XC)

In videos on the internet we sometimes see pro DH riders riding with a medium to high saddle height. I understand that this needs experience and works for them because on some ocasions they may control the bike by pressing on the saddle or something like that.

But how can they absorb impacts from 5 (or more) feet drops? Either drops to flat or drops with a bit of a transition.

My problem is that even when my saddle is at low to medium position I'll sometimes crash my b@ll@cks when trying to absorb landings. So I either:

1. decide not to absorb anything and let the bike (suspensions) handle it, or
2. absorb a bit by leaning my back (humping) which is obviously super wrong and dangerous and has already caused me some lower back pains

Any ideas on how they do it and whether [1] is the key on those situations?

Answer 1

The pros you see on the videos set their saddle depending on the DH course. If the course has a lot of possibilities for pedalling and not many drops - set it high, so on flat sections they can rest their bum on the seat and give it a full pedalling power.

If the course is rough and steep - no racer will have the seat high. So you should do. You know what you are riding, you know that you are going to do drops - set the seat low.

And leaning back is not always wrong. As long as you don't overdo it and don't send yourself flipping backwards. It all takes practice and time.

If on the drop you let your suspension handle it all and keep your legs straight - at some point suspension will bottom out and shock through your straight legs will go into your spine. And that is a direct ticket to spinal injury.

So the best is to learn to to do a bit of both - work your legs and let the suspension do work as well. If you feel that the landing is going to be rough - move yourself to the side a bit, protect your groin, take the hit with your thigh. You might crash in that case, but your kids will be happier -)

And one more thing, in DH drops to flat higher than 5 feet are very rare and are considered dangerous. It's not trails for you, where guys carefully absorb 10ft flat-drop with their whole body. On the other hand, drops to transition do require different technique (comparing to drop to flat) and give less stress on a bike and a rider.

Answer 2

If you're banging the boys against the seat even when it's low, it's the result of poor technique. The pros are using a of proper technique in conjunction with their suspension.

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to learn proper technique riding a full suspension bicycle. The suspension does the work that proper technique should be doing and you just never need to learn it.

It's not a technique that I can explain either. The best I can explain it is that you land in sort of a pseudo-manual and then simply set the front end down. The best way to learn better technique is to ride a fully rigid bike for your DH, street, etc. for a while. It's learned through muscle memory more than any cognitive process. When you land rough, you feel it in a way that you don't on a full suspension. After a few dozen rough landings, your muscles start to react and the landings start to smooth out. All of the sudden one day, you take a big drop on your rigid bike and the landing is fluid and you don't feel a thing.

I know that getting an extra bike just to learn better technique is not a cheap solution, but it is the best one that I know of.

Answer 3

I always thought that a low saddle height was used in BMX because there is no suspension so the legs have to absorb all the impact whereas on a downhill bike the massive suspension should mean the legs need to absorb very little. I am not a regular downhill rider but have done it occasionally and I think that letting the suspension do the work is key. Although if you are crushing your under-carriage into the saddle it does suggest that something isn't working right. Maybe by releasing the pressure on the bike (pedals) by trying to absorb too much of the impact you are stopping the suspension's natural dampening.