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Seat Height During Ride

by Jayden
Thu, Oct 20, 2016 17:31
7

Specifically what is generally best, was as a nipper told, so long as toes reach a floor, may have thought the relationship with pedals we more important.

Also, the seat is, well arse needs a battering as well as dangly bits.

Is it right during cycling that when cyclist sat his leg should be straight with the heel of your foot on the pedal when the crank arm is at the bottom of the stroke, or least it's a starting point? This way when cyclist's foot is correct for riding there is a slight bend in the knee, there are various ways/theories that try to say what is the right way. But I am looking for healthy Advice.

 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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7 comments

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glyn round | 8 years ago
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My simple but well tried method (over 60 years on many bikes) sit on the saddle with crank in line with your leg, keep leg straight, bend ankle at a right angle and adjust saddle till top of foot touches underside of pedal, works everytime for me, I have lost 1.5 inches as I have aged but it still works.

 

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matthewn5 | 8 years ago
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You'll have to do a bit of measuring but this worked perfectly for me and a friend:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/Store/catalog/fitCalculatorBike.jsp#re...

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Roadie_john | 8 years ago
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Heel on pedal with straight leg at bottom of pedal stroke is a good start, as is 109% of inside leg between pedal spindle and top of saddle.

BUT All sorts of things can cause it to vary, particularly pedals and shoes - I had a combination of shimano road shoes and look delta pedals that put my saddle around 15mm higher than it is for my current Time/Scott pedal/shoe combination. The formulae and rules of thumb are just that - they give you something to start with and you have to trial and error it a bit from there. Too low is less of a problem than too high - you can get a lot of lower back issues from being too high. 

You could pay to get a bike fit, but even then you'll probably end up tweaking it a bit. 

Signs that the saddle is too high are calf cramps, pedalling toe down excessively, pelvic 'rocking' from side to side and lower back tightness. And a sore backside from bad road surfaces. So the kinds of aches you get from riding a bike anyway...

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madcarew | 8 years ago
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As a starting point, heels flat on pedal at lowest point is pretty good. There are a lot of ways to set your seat height, but research shows that because of the amount a cyclist moves around on the saddle anything within a range of 1/2" is fine. I know most think this is probably heresy, and can 'feel the difference 1/32" makes', but research shows that there is little difference in power output or comfort over a range of 1/2" - 1"

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Redvee | 8 years ago
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Regardless of the height you have your saddle, make sure it's pointing straight ahead. Raised my saddle slightly and found the saddle to be pointing oh so slightly to the left, not a lot but noticable.

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brooksby | 8 years ago
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I think Bontrager argued against that whole KOPS thing?  Anyway, that's fore/aft, not height. Google Sheldon Brown on saddles.

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VeloUSA | 8 years ago
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See this GCN vid on How To Set Your Saddle Height

http://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/videos/sec-how-to/how-to-set-your-sa...

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