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One common theme I've noticed among saddles is that when I sit on them, they bow inwards at the middle where there's no support from the rails.

In order to compensate for this, I find myself tilting my saddle back a bit farther than I'd like it to be, so that my weight stays on the sit-bones. If I don't tilt the saddle back, I end up sliding forwards.

I once had a really horrible BSO saddle that suffered heavily from this effect. When I sat on it, it basically became a banana. I ended up jamming a block of wood between the rails and the bottom of the seat, and it fixed the issue. I've since upgraded to a better saddle (Velo), but it still does a bit of this.

Is this supposed to happen?

Edit:

I ended up solving this buy moving my saddle back. It kept me from sliding forwards and allowed me to nose the saddle down to level.

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  • 2
    Not all saddles behave as you say, and there are advocates of both styles.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 21:38
  • How heavy are you?
    – Batman
    Commented Nov 19, 2016 at 6:10
  • @Batman 70 kilos
    – BSO rider
    Commented Nov 19, 2016 at 9:42
  • Have you tried rolling your hips forwards (also check your reach as it may be a tad long). Many modern "ergonomic" saddles assume the hips will be rolled forward as it aligns the back better. That said I have seen that many cyclist seem to rotate their hips backwards (posterior rotation) which may make then incompatible with many saddles. I suspect the optimal hip position also differs by brand. Finally different models of saddle are also designed for different riding positions, each of which will have a slightly different hip position.
    – Rider_X
    Commented Jan 18, 2017 at 17:52

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Yes, this is how saddles work. If you find yourself sitting on the rear edge of the saddle and sliding forward, you probably need a seatpost with more offset.

You might also be interested in SDG I-beam design. It has been around for more than 10 years and while not unpopular enough to be out of production, it also hasn't replaced the traditional rails design.

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  • Correct. And moving the saddle from the neutral centre position compromises the seat suspension, giving a harsher ride.
    – andy256
    Commented Jan 19, 2017 at 0:36

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