In recent years we have witnessed an evolution of everything: power supply, materials, positions. And on this last front the most significant variation concerns thesaddle height. At first glance, it seems that this measurement has shortened, that is, that the pros pedal lower than ten or twenty years ago.
Among the first to show us his low pedaling in a marked way was Alberto counter: from certain images, it was really clear. The Spaniard was among the first to use very short gears, to ride nimbly on one side and to have a fast, high-speed gear on the other. It was clear that this was the product of a new cycling style, clearly referring to those years.
So how has the saddle height changed? Let's try to understand it with the help of Alessandro Mariano, one of the biomechanics most in contact with the professionals of the group.
Change in general
"Lowered saddles? I'd say 'neither'," Mariano begins. "It depends on your perspective. Compared to the past, if you compare the musculoskeletal systems of riders, the tendency isn't always to lower them. Some have even raised them. Generally speaking, though, it's true: they've lowered themselves a bit. We're talking millimeters, not centimeters." I could say about 4-5 millimeters on average, but there are also those who have reached 6 and those who have stopped at 3".
Mariano immediately takes the discussion to a higher level. And we soon discover that the topic is vast, to say the least.
«Let's make a comparison with the riders of the years 2000-2010: since that period, training and nutrition have changed and consequently also morphologically the athlete is very different. If we look at the riders of that period, they seem like amateurs. In fact, today an amateur is more athletic. Even the muscular work and the muscles themselves change. The cadences change, and inevitably the saddle height is also affected."
There is no fixed rule
For Mariano everything is connected. It is impossible to analyze only the distance between the center of the bottom bracket and the top of the saddleAt least for him and his way of “operating”.
"The thrust angles have changed. But if the muscular aspect hadn't changed, the height would have remained the same. Throughout this evolution, some have lowered it, but there are also those (a few) who have raised it.
There's no one type of rider who raises and one who lowers. It's not that a sprinter raises it and a climber lowers it, that's all. It always depends on the individual. I say this because I use the electromyograph to determine the best performing position. It's about enabling all the areas to work together as best as possible."
Gears and saddles
As mentioned, many factors influence this share. For us, one of the most important is relationships, but for Mariano, no single factor is more important or more influential.
«Today we use shorter ratios – he says Mariano – Fifteen years ago, it was unthinkable for anyone to use a 34x28. Consequently, training plans and higher cadences have changed. So how much of an impact do relationships have? No more than other factors. Yes, it can vary a little from person to person: maybe for one athlete training accounts for 30 percent and relationships for 40 percent, for another they both account for 3%... More or less the weight is the same for each factor.
"And then the saddles have changed. Without going back to prehistory, until a few years ago saddles were extended backwards and consequently widened at the back. Now, however, they widen earlier, there is a mechanical limit (a support point, ed.). When I say widen, I mean the famous anatomical center, although I prefer to call it the point where the pelvis stops.
"This measurement is usually found at 72 millimeters, but from various tests I've done, it advances a little for some people (68 millimeters) and retreats for others (73-74 millimeters). It depends on the pelvis."
All of this theoretically leads to pedaling further forward, and that alone would be enough to reduce the saddle height, even if only slightly. But then, as Mariano says, it's the whole that counts. It's important to connect all the different areas. Sitting further forward in the saddle might also mean changing your position on the handlebars (in length and height). And everything else depends on the chain.
And in time trial?
«Against time the situation changes a bit – Mariano continues – In terms of muscle use, I could say it's another sportHowever, the impact of the factors mentioned above (nutrition, training, muscle mass, saddles) is more or less the same. With a pure time trialist, you can optimize to the maximum and even dare to try more extreme positions. With a top-seeded man who has to be strong the next day too, you have to find a good compromise, Otherwise, it pays off in the next stage. If it's the final stage, however, you can go all out with the GC man. And I'm pushing him hard...
«Has it happened to me? Yes, and more than a few times. With Joaquim Rodriguez, for example. In the last stage of the Tour of Italy who won Hejsedal by just 12" on him. That time we changed the position before the final time trial and Purito he ran the time trial of his life, but it wasn't enough. Let's say he was unlucky that year because it was the only time they removed the climb bonus, otherwise he would have won that Giro by a good margin."
