This ties into “The SMP effect” but is true of anyone who aspires to a better posture on the bike, and less back pain.
Mrs Skeleton in the video below demonstrates the change within the pelvis (concentrating of the difference in femur head placement) during the forward bend of the torso using correct technique.
Sadly most of my clients do not bend forwards in this fashion. Most will retain the vertical placement of the pelvis and bend entirely through the lumbar, creating an acute bend in the back (Sydney harbor bridge back).
Making reference back to the initial video, as you rotate the pelvis forwards:
1. The femur head moves rearward. This will also draw the orientation of the knee backwards.
2. The hamstrings are under much more preload (stretch)
3. The distance between pedal and the top of the femur is LONGER.
Without adapting the components to suit the improved rotation, its a fools game to think you can maintain that posture.
With the femur head moving rearward, the saddle needs to come forward, as a direct compensation.
With the hamstrings under so much more load, the back angle needs to be raised, unless of course the athlete has a high range of hamstring flexibility.
The saddle needs to be lowered.
And this is all only to maintain the original orientation of lower limbs around the pedal stroke! We haven’t even talked about improving that relationship, only allowing for the anterior rotation to be possible at all!
Posturepedic saddles encourage this anterior tilt, but in my opinion should be a practitioner dispensed item, as there are a lot of variables with the suggested posture that the saddle would dictate.
I regularly see people who have bought SMP saddles, who hate them due to improper installation and lack of compensation to position when installing.
SMP saddles in particular have the ability to allow incredible anterior rotation, and as a byproduct require a very forward saddle position. This is due to the femur head orientation being rearward AND the purchase point of the pelvis on the saddle being much more rearward on the saddle itself.
The actual relationship of the lower limbs to the pedaling rotation is not further forward than the average Joe, but the saddle is a long way forwards.
With the ability to tilt your pelvis forward, comes a great benefit in pelvic stability and leads to power production. More accurately it minimizes loss.
More important than that, by reducing the severity of the pinching point in the spine, comfort will obviously be increased.
The complete solution then has the reach properly adjusted to ensure the headweight isn’t being lifted by the lower back, rather, borne by the arms and hands.
