Saddle soreness—it’s the uninvited guest on every cyclist’s journey. But did you know that sometimes, it’s not just about the miles or the saddle itself? The way your saddle is angled and set up can play tricks on your body, and trust me, I’ve seen some wild cases in my bike fitting sessions!
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Let’s talk about saddle angles and the bigger picture. Finding the right saddle angle isn’t as simple as just keeping it flat—there’s a whole world of variables at play. The degree of training load, an athlete’s experience level, body weight, how weight is distributed on the bike, flexibility, core stability, and even subtle habits all come into the mix. That’s where the real work of a bike fitter shines: carefully balancing each adjustment, testing different setups, and listening to how the body responds, all to find that sweet spot where comfort and performance meet. It’s a delicate dance, but when everything clicks, the difference is night and day.

But here’s where things get really interesting. Recently, I had a rider come in complaining of a mysterious “leg length difference.” They swore one leg was suddenly longer than the other! After a thorough check, there was nothing anatomically wrong. So, I dug deeper.
Turns out, the issue was hiding in plain sight: a quirky seat post with a thru-axle and two lateral cups to lock the saddle rails. Sounds fancy, right? Well, the cups hadn’t been greased, and over time, they stuck—but not in alignment. The result? The saddle rails were wedged at different angles, creating a subtle but real torsion in the saddle. When the rider sat on it, their pelvis tilted to one side, mimicking a “false positive” leg length discrepancy. The body is smart, but not that smart—it just tried to compensate, leading to discomfort and a wonky pedal stroke.
A quick fix: some grease, a proper alignment, and voilà—the rider’s pelvis was back to neutral, and the “leg discrepancy” vanished! Moral of the story? Sometimes the problem isn’t you—it’s the saddle (or the sneaky seat post).
So next time you feel off-balance, check your saddle angle and give your seat post a little love. A well-greased, well-aligned set-up can save you from a world of discomfort and keep you rolling smooth and pain-free.

After few miles of riding if you perceive pain down your intimate parts or buttock is not a good sign. Also, you may experience pins and needles. After few more miles pain become more intense and you need to stop for a while. In this case you need to take action and do something about it. Improve your ride quality. It is not normal to perceive the above symptoms. Read more on saddle fitting. An interesting story by Helen Pid.
​https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/aug/05/in-search-of-the-perfect-saddle-aka-when-bigger-isnt-better

It is not rare for cyclists to suffer from discomfort, soreness, pain, pins and needles in the buttock area. One reason for this is that saddle bears the 40%-50% of the rider's weight. Also, humans are unique and all different. All up to say that finding the optimal saddle often is not as performing a calculation, it is more similar to solve a complex equation with many variables. You can enjoy more on this field reading this fascinating article by Jon Iriberri.
​https://cyclingindustry.news/bike-saddles-does-the-industry-want-an-easy-answer-to-a-complex-problem/?platform=hootsuite