what a difference an inch makes...

NGale

sexual inuendo entirely meant even though i am talking about saddles

I decided to give the theory a go of raising the saddle up a bit to see if it would be easier on my cycle home, happily yes it was easier, I even made it home in double quick time, although I'm not sure the saddle was anything to do with that.

The shaking knees afterwards was more of a testiment to me going like the clappers along the riverbank with a headwind while listening to the James Bond theme tune on my iPod

So yes, raising the saddle a bit does actually work. theory proved

jimmypippa

"Commander" Bond I guess...

nicklouse

most cyclist dont have the saddle high enough.

go up until your hips rock and then back down to where they stop rocking.

downfader

I think I have mine at the sweet spot for me. Played around with it for something like 2 months when I got the Kona last year, and then made a final adjustment of 5mm at most last month. My general feeling is that my knees should almost be straight and not overextend.

There are one or two riders that are tippy-toes on the pedals though. I've seen them jump down at the lights.

afcbian

Apparently this is the single biggest "mistake" made by cyclists when setting up their bike.
When the pedal is at the bottom your leg should be almost straight but with a slight natural bend only.
It makes such a difference.

AndyManc

I was watching the vuelta today (in fact this applies to all road racing) and I noticed the pro riders fall well short of full leg extension.... and I mean ' well short' .


Surely the pro's must be right :roll:



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Slow Downcp

For years I rode with the saddle at the perceived correct height - slight bend in the knee when at lowest point, and heel just touching the pedal without shoes. I noticed that the pro's seemed to be set much lower, so after a fitting session at Epic, my saddle is now around 2 inches lower :shock:

Felt strange at first, but it's so much better now I'm used to it. Can ride faster, stay on the drops longer, and more comfortable than before.

AndyManc

Slow Downcp wrote:

For years I rode with the saddle at the perceived correct height - slight bend in the knee when at lowest point, and heel just touching the pedal without shoes. I noticed that the pro's seemed to be set much lower, so after a fitting session at Epic, my saddle is now around 2 inches lower :shock:

Felt strange at first, but it's so much better now I'm used to it. Can ride faster, stay on the drops longer, and more comfortable than before.

Yeah, it's like a running motion, power running .... but , if you believe what you read (Sheldon Brown), it's bad for your back ... so what should we do :?


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N0bodyOfTheGoat

Hmm, would I be barking up the wrong tree to think that a lower saddle height would enable the rider to make more use of the upstroke of the pedals, while using clipless?

Perhaps this would explain the amount of bend I saw in the TdF on TV (talking someething like 30 degrees off straight at lowest point in pedal circle)?

Roastie

Mine is 79cm.

Centre of BB to centre of seat

dav1

doesnt anyone else use the 109% rule? works very nicely for me. on both of my bikes I am almost locking my leg but not quite, I can lift about 1-2 cm out of the saddle if I lock my get out completely.

Rich158

Dav1 wrote:

doesnt anyone else use the 109% rule? works very nicely for me. on both of my bikes I am almost locking my leg but not quite, I can lift about 1-2 cm out of the saddle if I lock my get out completely.

It usually works for me, or at least gets the saddle to within about 5mm of an ideal height

Roastie

Dav1 wrote:

doesnt anyone else use the 109% rule? works very nicely for me. on both of my bikes I am almost locking my leg but not quite, I can lift about 1-2 cm out of the saddle if I lock my get out completely.

My current setting is a tweak on the 109% rule based on a fit session. TBH, it only moved by a few mm.

biondino

What a difference 9 inches makes: