Saddle keeps tilting backwards - Rockrider 560

Good jib!

Hi, hope someone can help me with this, it's been driving me crazy.

Got this bike in September, it's my first ever MTB and I'm fairly happy with it. One problem keeps cropping up though: very often when I'm flying downhill on rough terrain and my backside lands back on the saddle at speed, the back of the saddle lowers. I then have to stop my ride, get the Allen key out, loosen the bolt (correct term?) holding the saddle in place to allow me to readjust the saddle to a normal position.

I now make sure the bolt is tight before I go for a spin, but that doesn't seem to change anything. It's annoying not only because of the saddle tilting, but also the fear of it tilting, meaning I'm always a bit wary of it when riding downhill.

Any help/ideas welcome!

QueenMTBee

Do you have a dropper post? If you're regularly hitting the saddle when you are descending then either your seat post is too high or your ass isn't back far enough (or both!).

My guess is that the fixings holding the saddle to the two "runners" underneath aren't correctly fitted. I had this happen on my first bike too (it was second hand). It shouldn't be possible to tilt the saddle without purposely adjusting the fixings.

Good jib!

No dropper post, and as I'm on a mixture of trails, I keep the saddle high, as 80-90% of the time I need to pedal.

When you had the problem with the runners on your saddle, was it just a question of removing everything and then putting it back together correctly, or did it take more specialised equipment/specialist knowledge?

Large bottle small glass

Good jib! wrote: »

No dropper post, and as I'm on a mixture of trails, I keep the saddle high, as 80-90% of the time I need to pedal.

When you had the problem with the runners on your saddle, was it just a question of removing everything and then putting it back together correctly, or did it take more specialised equipment/specialist knowledge?

Get a Thomson seat post

QueenMTBee

Good jib! wrote: »

No dropper post, and as I'm on a mixture of trails, I keep the saddle high, as 80-90% of the time I need to pedal.

When you had the problem with the runners on your saddle, was it just a question of removing everything and then putting it back together correctly, or did it take more specialised equipment/specialist knowledge?

Is it held with a single bolt? If so, that's the problem. If it is held with one bolt, it can tilt either way if enough pressure is applied at one end. If it is held with two bolts (one more forwards and one more backwards) it should stay stable.

Edited as I realised I hadn't actually answered your question! I changed the seatpost so that it had four bolts attaching the saddle to the post - one in each corner of a small square.

saccades

I'd suggest loctite blue thread lock but I suspect it's probably buggered by now.

I'm hefty and run the seatpost very high and the saddle only comes loose if I've been swapping about too quickly and a single tighten up is that is required, no matter the design. Never have to repeat which is why I suspect your threads are partially stripped.

Check the seatpost diameter and replace.

mollser

Had this issue before on a Giant hard tail, ended up having to replace the seatpost - the threads had worn and wouldn't grip the saddle tight enough, despite it being tightened continuously. This became a safety issue for me, not great when your whizzing down a trail and the saddle decides to tip back...

Seeing as you need to replace your seat post, may as well go all out and get a dropper! Look out for discounts on the Brand X ones on CRC - have had no problems with mine [yet]

Good jib!

Thanks for all the advice! I dropped the bike back into the shop for the six month tune-up, have gone for two spins since and the saddle hasn't moved. I mentioned it when I dropped the bike off, but when I picked it up at the weekend the guy at the counter didn't know what had been done on the bike, so I've no idea if they actually did anything or not.

Will probably get a dropper post if I need to replace the seat post in the future, other than cost, are there any other drawbacks?

covey123

Good jib! wrote: »

other than cost, are there any other drawbacks?

.....you'll never go back to a standard seat post!