saddle height

clucas

i read that you should have your saddle high enough so that your feet are just touching the floor, i just wondered is this how most people adjust there saddle or do you have it higher or lower?

nicklouse

that is not correct. your heel should be able to touch the pedal with the leg fully extended.
seated.

Anonymous

what 'e said

Tara911

so me not being able to touch the floor with both feet is right.... runs off to sit on bike....

heel touched pedal with leg extended...

Ouch pedals hurt in bare feet! :roll:

teacherman

Depends what I'm doing. But for most riding - what they said up there.

nicklouse

Tara911
the whole idea is being able to pedal without the hips rocking.

redvee

Tara911 wrote:

Ouch pedals hurt in bare feet! :roll:

SPDs hurt more :shock:

-liam-

bare feet and dmr v12's anybody ?

-liam-

I like my seat up nice and high so I have to almost fully extend my legs. Dropped it a bit today to make so steep downhill bits a little less precarious and I've strained/pulled a thigh muscle.

Tara911

nicklouse wrote:

Tara911
the whole idea is being able to pedal without the hips rocking.

Hips don't rock when I'm cycling...




Hips only rock when I'm wearing 4 inch heels...

-liam-

and consumed half a dozen bacardi breezers ?

Tara911

yuk... not bacardi breezers...

maybe pints of cider!

Nodnol

What they said.

But I drop it all the way down when I'm hammering it down hill.

xtreem

On downhill, same as Nodnol.
But on flat I'm using it medium extended, wich means while sitting I can touch the ground with both feet, and on uphill my feet is just touching the groung so the seatpost is almost but not fully extended.

allthegearnoidea

mines as suggested but dont have a qr seat clamp so leave it as it is and just hang the backside off the saddle! far easier than stopping to drop it, then have to stop and raise it again at trhe bottom!!

NorwegianBlue

nicklouse wrote:

that is not correct. your heel should be able to touch the pedal with the leg fully extended.
seated.

Largely correct, but that works with road shoes with soles that are the same thickness from heel to toe. And takes no account of different pedal cleat combinations. So while that's a good starting point you may need some fine tuning.

carlosthejackal

See, it all depends on weather I'm wearing my Noddy Holder 4" stack heels, my Paul Stanley 7" stacks or my Quay Lude 12" silver lame heels.

I think I need to go for a lie down...

NorwegianBlue

It's about 1/2" difference between my summer shoes and my winter boots. Not massive but enough to feel uncomfortable if I didn't change the seat height between the two shoes. And I don't even use clipless pedals.

I'll bet it's different again with my road shoes on my commuter bike, but I've never compared the two since they are on differet bikes.

Not being Merkcx (or however you spell him) I don't habitually carry a tape measure and a spirit level.

hopper1

So, for those of you hurting your delicate little feet, by checking seat height without shoes.....
You're doing it wrong! :oops:
Affter setting it up, when you get on the bike with your shoes on, your saddle will be approx. ½" (13mm) too low! :shock:

robertpb

First off put on hobnails, not the Italian red ones with a 5 inch heals.(':roll:'). Measure your inside leg then multiply this by 109%. This gives the most power to the pedal and also the biggest fresh air consumption, but at the same time is kinder to those old knees.

The saddle can be lower than this but less power, more stress to the knees and less fresh air consumption.

Another method is to multiply inside leg measurement by 0.884 this gives the centre bottom bracket to saddle height.

The first is the method I've used for the past 25 years or so, the second comes to almost the same saddle height.

Some use the heal on the pedal method plus 5mm, but if you have big feet you need to add to this.