Posture Etc

JonJovi

Good Morning,

New to the site looking for some real beginner advice!

When I ride I feel the movement in my legs is tight, i.e my knees come quite high and are bent when at the bottom of peddling but if i put my seat any higher I wont be able to touch the floor when seated on my hardtail mtb.

I'm 5'5.5 yes the .5 matters! on a 16" frame.

Question: Is it typical not to be able to touch the floor when seated - and is this ok?


Thanks

cooldad

As long as you can stretch a toe to the ground, that's fine. You leg should be almost straight with your heel on the pedal.

Greer_

I can barely touch the ground when seated, I usually have to come off the saddle.

bennett_346

I can't touch the ground when the seat is at its proper height, and there's no good reason why you should have to as long as the bike is the correct size for you ofcourse.

nicklouse

JonJovi wrote:

but if i put my seat any higher I wont be able to touch the floor when seated on my hardtail mtb.

totally unneeded. cant think of any reason for that to be required.

have a read
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

How High?
There are lots of formulas for saddle height, most based on multiplying leg length by some fudge factor. The numerical exercise to 3 decimal places gives the illusion of scientific rigor, but, in my opinion, these systems are oversimplification of a problem which involves not only leg length, but foot length, what part of the foot fits on the pedal, shoe-sole thickness, type of pedal system and pedaling style.

You cannot judge the saddle height to any accuracy by just sitting on it, or riding around the block. As you get close to the correct position, the clues get more and more subtle.

Most people start with the saddle too low. This is a habit left over from childhood, because growing children almost always have their saddles too low for efficient pedaling. First they have it low for security while they are learning to balance, then, even once they have mastered balancing, their growth rate tends to keep them ahead of their saddle adjustment.

If you always ride with your saddle too low, you get used to it, and don't realize that there is a problem...but there is. Riding with the saddle too low is like walking with your knees bent (as Groucho Marx often did for comedic effect.) If you walked that way all the time, you'd also get used to that, but you'd think that half a mile was a long walk. The way the human leg is made, it is strongest when it is nearly straight.

I like to think that William Blake summed it up nicely 200 years ago when he said:

"You never know what is enough
until you know what is too much."
I suggest gradually raising your saddle, perhaps half an inch (1 cm) at a time. Each time you raise it, ride the bike. If it doesn't feel noticeably worse to ride, ride it for at least a couple of miles/km.

If it had been too low before, your bike will feel lighter and faster with the new riding position. If raising the saddle improved things, raise it again, and ride some more. Keep doing this until the saddle is finally too high, then lower it just a bit.

When the saddle is too high, you'll have to rock your hips to pedal, and you'll probably feel as if you need to stretch your legs to reach the bottom part of the pedal. Another indication that the saddle may be too high is if you find yourself moving forward so that you are sitting on the narrow front part of the saddle. (Although this symptom can also result from having the saddle nosed down, or having an excessive reach to the handlebars.) [Or from increasing fitness, so you are pedaling harder. In this case,you might need to move the saddle slightly forward. -- John Allen]

It also makes a bit of difference what sort of pedals/shoes you use. If you ride with ordinary shoes, virtually all of your pedaling power is generated by the downstroke, so a good leg extension is essential to let you apply maximum power in this direction. If you use clipless pedals and cleated cycling shoes, however, you can also generate a fair amount of your power by pulling the pedal backward near the bottom of the stroke. This action also uses the large muscles in the back of the leg, and can be quite efficient. If you make use of this pedaling style, you'll want a slightly lower saddle position than for direct "piston-style" pedaling with street shoes. A slightly lower saddle position is also conducive to pedaling a rapid cadence.

JonJovi

Thanks guys much appreciated.

BikernatS

Reading this has definately made me realise I need to raise my saddle!

cooldad

You can drop it a bit for seriously evil gnarrrly heroic downhill

Sharpe2002

hmm, maybe mines too big then :?

im 5ft 6 (and a bit) on an 18" hard tail.. seat is about in line with the stem and legs are almost straight on down pedal (still some bend) but i can still manage to touch a toe to the ground

is an 18" bike a bit big for someone who is around 5ft 6/5ft 7?...

zanush

Before i bought mine i had a sit on a few bikes and on some makes a small was just right and others a medium and i'm only 5ft 5. My scott aspect 35 is a medium (17.3 inch) frame which feels just right although there isn't much stand over distance, whereas the small (15.4 inch) just didn't feel right when i sat on an aspect 30.
If it feels ok don't worry about it

YeehaaMcgee

Sharpe2002 wrote:

hmm, maybe mines too big then :?

im 5ft 6 (and a bit) on an 18" hard tail.. seat is about in line with the stem and legs are almost straight on down pedal (still some bend) but i can still manage to touch a toe to the ground

Nothing about that says it's too big for you - it does sound however, as though your hardtail has a fairly low bottom bracket, meaning the floor is relatively close to the lowest pedal. Not a problem at all.
Bear in mind that with a full suspension bike, the entire bike has to be "jacked up" to accomodate the suspension compressing.