Which method for assessing required saddle height?

Joe86

Hey

I have had my bike for a while now, and to start off with I kept the saddle at a moderate height as I wanted to get a feel for the bike and get comfortable on the bike without having a tower of a seat post. Anyway, I now want to start fine tuning my saddle height. I have seen some guides that suggest you have your leg 'slightly bent' when at the bottom of the stroke, but not much bend. Also the other suggestion that I have read is that if you put your heel on the pedal, your leg should be straight at the bottom of the stroke. So, are there are any other methods? And which do you use? I will make small adjustments and keep record of the heights, but I wanted to know if there was a more accurate way to know what I should have. I imagine it would be hard to tell the angle of your leg when you are on the bike

Cheers

kfinlay

I would set the crank arm to be at the same angle as your seat tube then put your heel on the pedal and set your saddle height so that in this position your leg is straight (but not stretched). This way when your riding you normally you have the ball of your foot across the pedal axle and a slightly bent leg.
Also for the forward/backward saddle position, you measure a plumb line (I used string and a spoke key) from the little bump just below your kneecap and the vertical line should go thru the pedal axle - you may need someone to help with this

Remember to do this in your regular cycling gear. This should get you very close to a good position but you can still fine tune from there. Lastly once this is done you may need to look at the stretch to your handlebars - I had to get a new stem 20mm longer but it made a big difference to my cycle comfort on longer runs (well longer for me has been 24 miles)
Hope you can follow this as I'm not the best at explaining things, if not then have a look on You Tube as there are loads of clips to help

hopper1

kfinlay wrote:

I would set the crank arm to be at the same angle as your seat tube then put your heel on the pedal and set your saddle height so that in this position your leg is straight (but not stretched). This way when your riding you normally you have the ball of your foot across the pedal axle and a slightly bent leg.
Also for the forward/backward saddle position, with your cranks horizontal (quarter to three!) ,you measure a plumb line (I used string and a spoke key) from the little bump just below your kneecap and the vertical line should go thru the pedal axle - you may need someone to help with this

Remember to do this in your regular cycling gear. This should get you very close to a good position but you can still fine tune from there. Lastly once this is done you may need to look at the stretch to your handlebars (Rule of thumb= place elbow against nose of saddle, tip of middle finger should now be touching the centre of your handlebars) - I had to get a new stem 20mm longer but it made a big difference to my cycle comfort on longer runs (well longer for me has been 24 miles)
Hope you can follow this as I'm not the best at explaining things, if not then have a look on You Tube as there are loads of clips to help

+1
I made a small edit to it, hope you don't mind...

huuregeil

http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2007/ ... eight.html

Can't really improve on that! Though Kev's method is also perfectly valid. Couple of points to remember:

1. Only ever change saddle height or setback from your current position in small (5mm max) increments. Once you've made a change, ride it a bit (unless it hurts!) to see how it feels. Really important to do this - the surest way to injury yourself voluntarily on a bike is to ride it in a radical position!

2. Saddle height is personal and is a function of bodily proportions and flexibility. As Dave's blog said, there's no such thing as a "right" position, and your position may well change as you get stronger, fitter, or more flexible.

3. Setback. Change the setback and you effectively change the distance from the pedal to your hips (Imagine a piece of string attaches to the pedal...). Setback also changes the hip angle and your balance on the bike. Getting a comfortable saddle position is as much about getting the setback right as it is the saddle height, and one has an impact on the other. Once your saddle position is right, you might need to change your stem to suit.

4. "Knee over pedal spindle" is only a (good) starting point for a reasonable saddle position. I personally have a lot more setback (knee more behind pedal), while I know others with a lot less. There's no right answer.


Hope this helps!

huuregeil

Also well worth a read.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

John.T

+1 for all that. I fine tune from the heel on pedal position by raising the saddle a bit at a time until the pelvis just starts to rock when pedaling. Then go back down until it stops. Get someone to ride behind you to check this. This compensates for whether you ride toes down, heel down or in between. For me this gives the most comfortable and as far as I can tell position. It does not work for all as some always have pelvis movement at any saddle height.

kfinlay

cheers hopper - important bits I missed

pickled

I was always told that you should put your elbow against the seat and the finger tips should reach the centre of the stem. Not the bars.
Is this wrong then?

John.T

pickled wrote:

I was always told that you should put your elbow against the seat and the finger tips should reach the centre of the stem. Not the bars.
Is this wrong then?

That is closer to right but it varies a lot depending on style of riding, the reach of the bars and even how low the bars are relative to the saddle.
Another way of getting it about right is to have the front hub hidden by the bars when you are sat normally with hands on the hoods. It works for many but should only be used as a guide for a starting point.

red dragon

I have at various points tried all of the methods mentioned in the post to set up and adjust my bike. Sometimes people will pass on what has worked/or works for them. But as we are all slightly different I found the best was in the end was to go for a bike fit. It has for me made such a difference, and my bike is now set up correctly. I also have a piece of paper with the measurements on it. I have set up my other bikes to reflect the settings of the bike adjusted in the bike shop. The difference has been tremendous, my power has increased (power is getting transmitted through pedals and transmission, not through my knees ((ouch)) ) I no longer feel as tired when I come in from a ride, I am truly enjoying cycling now. So If you can do it, It will be worthwhile.