Mid-foot pedaling = what fore/aft saddle position?

[Mojo]

Here is the mainstream cycling world exploring Grant's longheld belief
in using the mid-foot for pedaling:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/tech/2009/reviews/biomac_bio-mxc2shoes09

So if you move your foot forward on the pedal, should you also move
your saddle forward on the post? I ride a mix of SPD and platform
pedals and set them up at KOPS, plus back another 1-2cm.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html
My platform pedaling of course is wild and unfettered. For my SPD
bikes, I am wondering if I should move my saddle forward as I slide
the cleat further back?

[charlie]

I don't see the need to move the saddle forward or back but you might
want to raise or lower it depending on your foot placement. An extreme
example of this would be riding in a recumbent position or a crank
forward style bike. Its just the angle of your leg changing relative
to your hip joint. As long as your foot is the same distance to reach
the pedal I don't see why the for and aft position should make any
difference. In fact, if you change your saddle position your bar will
be either closer or farther away. I'm talking around a couple of
inches difference so it might matter to you. I currently ride all of
my bikes (recumbent included) without attachment and my feet are free
to find their own spot depending on muscle fatigue, rpm or terrain and
my saddle/seat position of course can't be changed on the fly
sooooo.......food for thought! On my single speed I have the saddle
slightly lower than ideal and I have the saddle all the way back
allowing me the option of sliding forward for a high rpm spin and
sliding back for the slow grind up a hill, allowing fuller leg
extension for increased leverage and power. I would just avoid any
extremes where you might be "reaching" to the pedals causing undue
strain on your knees and hip rocking. I'm talking a relatively small
window of distance here. This is my perspective anyway.

On Jun 7, 6:42 am, Mojo <gjtra...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Here is the mainstream cycling world exploring Grant's longheld belief

> in using the mid-foot for pedaling:http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/tech/2009/reviews/biomac_bio-...

>
> So if you move your foot forward on the pedal, should you also move
> your saddle forward on the post? I ride a mix of SPD and platform

> pedals and set them up at KOPS, plus back another 1-2cm.http://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

[PATRICK MOORE]

On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 7:42 AM, Mojo <gjtr...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Here is the mainstream cycling world exploring Grant's longheld belief

in using the mid-foot for pedaling:For my SPD

bikes, I am wondering if I should move my saddle forward as I slide
the cleat further back?

I never do, and I tend to pedal with the cleat in a rearward position.

One nice things about saddles, as for unfettered pedals, is that you can move fore and aft on them, so a cm or so movement of cleat position is not, at least for me, anything that makes any noticeable difference to my saddle preferences.

--
Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
Professional Resumes. Contact resumesp...@gmail.com

[Will]

<<...if you move your foot forward on the pedal, should you also move

your saddle forward on the post?>>

Perhaps the answer depends on whether you tend to pedal with "flat"
feet (that is, heel drops as much as your toe at the bottom of a
stroke), or "pointed" toes (toe pointed lower than the heel at bottom
of stroke, as some riders prefer). If the latter, there may be
arguments for lowering the seat post. Thanks for sharing the article.

[TJ Ramb]

don't over anal-yze it - the prmise of the article -
just ride and see how you feel after a week or two of riding.
you may just find a better position !

[Mojo]

Yeah TJ,

but on my foot, moving the cleat from mid-ball to mid-arch, would be 3
inches. Now this is an academic exercise for me so far anyway as I
cannot move my cleats that far and there ain't no way I am buying
those butt-ugly shoes for that kind of money. But a 3 inch change in
position is huge

> > arguments for lowering the seat post. Thanks for sharing the article.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[charlie]

Of course I ride with no cleats and my feet are often mid foot or on
the ball depending and I don't feel the need to move my saddle around.
I might unconsciously move myself back and forth on the saddle but I
don't lock myself into one exact spot anyway. Not being locked in, I
kind of ride loosey goosey and avoid repetitive stress injuries. At
least that's the idea anyway but when I did ride locked up, I had
more problems with comfort. I skimmed the article but find the whole
concept slightly off the mark since it seems to me that riding sans
cleats makes more sense for me at least for the last 14,000 miles it
has.