Specialized Power saddle setup. |
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This is certainly not the highest quality video that I have filmed, but it is pretty helpful, so I have left it up.
The specialized power is a good saddle for many people, but it can be a bit tricky to set up … Seat Height: This will probably remain about the same or maybe a few millimeters higher than what saddle you were on before to get the same riding feel and leg extension. Seat Setback: To keep the same for aft position as a traditional long nose saddle, your reach, measured from the tip of the saddle to the handlebars will be about 3 cm more with the specialized power and other short no saddles for that matter. Their basic design is that where the front of the nose is cut off but the rear in the middle of the saddle is relatively similar to more traditional ones . Seat Angle: I usually measure this with a clipboard or a book across the whole length of the saddle, and be sure the bike is on level ground. I usually set these saddles up with the angle anywhere from flat to about 5° nose down. Some of this will depend on personal preference, but in general for riders with a more upright torso position and handlebars, I would have the saddle closer to flat or 1° nose down. On the other end of the spectrum for riders with a big drop to the bars and a big forward roll of the hips on the saddle, they tend to do better around 3 to 5° nose down.  some people have told me to just set it where the saddle rails are level with the ground and this is roughly correct but I have found some variance with these to wear that is never my first method for doing this. Model range: The general theme of these saddles is that as you go from cheapest to most expensive, they tend to get lighter and have more dense harder padding to them. The highest level, of course is the new 3-D printed mirror model which, despite being really expensive is also very very comfortable in my experience. Don’t get tied up on the fact that the mimic version is marketed towards women. Many guys get along just fine with it too. The power arc variant is a good bit different from the standard power. It is more rounded across the top towards the sides and can feel a bit like a more traditional saddle. Personally, I don’t like it very much, but I do have a few customers who like it better than the regular one. Feel: One critique of the Power Saddle that I have heard from people is it tends to keep you locked in place on the Saddle versus letting you move around and I would agree that this is true with it the curvature of the rear of the saddle pushes you a bit forward and you don’t really have anywhere to go so if you’re someone fidgets around a lot and moves forward and back it might not be the right thing for you  Seatpost Offset: One thing I’ve noticed with all of the Power Saddles is that if you just put it on the bike in the middle of the seat rails, compared to many other saddles, it will put the rider more forwards. Essentially the Power Saddle tends to steepen the effective seat tube angle of whatever bike it goes on. This can be a bonus for riders who have a hard time getting forward over the pedals how they want to on a certain bike, and on the other side of it, it can be a dealbreaker for a rider who has too much weight on the bars and is trying to get their seating position more rearward. This can mean for some riders having to move from a straight offset seat, post to one with some setback to it. Width:  It might be worth trying to also sit on one of the sit bone measuring benches the bike shops have before buying us. I would say trusting your intuition here is also pretty helpful. If you feel like you were tipping to one side or the other and a saddle is just too narrow, maybe move up a width. Also if it feels too wide it will dig Into your thighs and push you even further forward on it. |