Abstract: To determine the self-standing timing of the splay saddle during the main cable erection, a local mechanical analysis model for the suspension bridges is established using the single strand as the basic unit. Combined with the geometric compatibility and the principle of unstressed length conservation, the control equations equal to the number of basic unknown parameters are constructed, and the nonlinear generalized reduced gradient (GRG) method is used to solve the control equations. The method of determining the self-standing timing of the splay saddle is proposed. Using the Baidicheng Changjiang River Bridge as a case study, the variation of the self-standing timing of the splay saddle with its preset angle at different temperatures is analyzed, and the anti-slipping safety of strands is evaluated. The method proposed is applied in the main cable erection to verify its feasibility and effectiveness. The results show that the number of strands required to be erected decreases with increased preset angle when the splay saddle is self-standing, but the reduction gradually slows down. When the preset angle is determined, the overall rise in temperature helps the splay saddle achieve self-standing. To prevent strand slippage, the preset angle of the splay saddle should be set as the corresponding self-standing angle when the strands are erected to about 20% of the total amount. The measured strand tensions in the anchor span agree with the calculated values within the acceptable engineering error range, and no strand slippage is observed. This study provides an essential reference for constructing and monitoring the main cable erection of suspension bridges.