You bicycle saddle position can make the difference between a nice comfortable bike ride and your knees and lower back making you scream in pain before your ride is over. You don’t have to get overly technical about it but it needs to feel right.

Your pedal axle relation to your knee position greatly affects how you deliver power to the bike. Playing around with bike pedal position isn’t advised for beginners. It can ruin your fit by moving around other measurements and can cause aches and pains, especially in your knees. When making changes to the fit you are used to, be careful not to make movements of more than 1 to 2 centimeters. With small changes you can squeeze a little more speed, power or endurance out of trained legs. Take a plumb line, drop it from the bony bump below your kneecap with the pedal in the 3 o’clock position and make saddle adjustments with extreme caution.

THE NEUTRAL SADDLE POSITION: Most consider this the recommended neutral position. Knee directly above pedal axle. This spreads pedaling force out over the largest number of muscle groups and lets knee work in its strongest range of motion. Best overall balance of pedaling because most of your weight is over the pedal at the most powerful part of the stroke.

FOR MORE ENDURANCE: Move saddle back 1-2cm . As much as 2 centimeters back puts most of the demands of pedaling on the back of your legs which are some of the strongest muscles in your body. Most efficient during downstrokes and when pulling back. Some riders feel this a very comfortable position, and this adjustment tends to favor low-cadence pedalers.

FOR MORE SPEED: Move saddle forward 1cm . Moving the saddle a centimeter forward puts your weight forward for better sprinting. This position greatly increases work of the lower-leg muscles and front half of foot, but can hurt endurance. Time-trial racers tend to move forward to get a better position on aero bars. This is usually best for spinners.