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  • There's no such thing really as a perfect position. However, there are a couple of principles you can follow. Your saddle has got to be at the right height first, and this will depend on you your hamstring and calf flexibility. Too low, you'll knack your knees, too high and you'll strain your hamstring and/or your achilles. Further, how much your hamstrings stretch (or, more to the point) how much in reserve they have to stretch with you in the saddle, affects how much you can bend at the hip while maintaining a straight back. A perfectly straight back while riding isn't necessary (or, I believe optimal) however a very bent back is definitely bad because your straining the ligaments in your spine. I'd probably say (without having seen you on the saddle!) that your back is probably too curved.

    The question is the, what's the cause. Make sure you saddle is at the right height first. If the handlebars are too low, and your hamstrings are tight, the bars need to come up. But, the other possibility is that your handlebars are too close, so even with perfectly flexible hamstrings, you have to hunch just to hold onto the bars.

    A good rule of thumb is: with your saddle set and your back in a favourable position (i.e just off straight) and your hands off the bars (If you can't hold this position without your hands on anything, your saddle needs to go further back, so you can sit in balance), your handlebars should block your view of the front axle. That's for drops. If you've got a straight bar, it could potentially go even further forward, so the front axle appears in your field of vision behind the handlebars.

    It took me quite a while to tune my postion, which eventually involved: saddle moving back; bars going up; bars going forward. Judging by other riders I see on the road, quite a few people could do with doing the same three things!

    What's your inside leg measurement, and what have you got your bike setup like (top of saddle centre to bottom bracket, top of saddle centre to bars both horizontal and vertical)?

    HTH,

    Courant

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