Saddle Height - Is Too High Bad?

The Kellyboy

I've adjusted my saddle height and I've found a very comfortable position (I'm only 5 ft 8, shortish legs but very flexible hamstrings) and I've since searched how to perform a 'proper' bike fit.
All the methods are saying I should drop my saddle by at least 4 or 5cm. I'm comfortable, I don't rock and roll and I get plenty of power whilst climbing in the seat.
My real question is - will lowering my saddle help me to generate more power?
Thanks in advance!

Matthew.

CiB

Dunno. Why not try it and find out?

Usual rule of thumb is for leg to be straight with the pedal at its lowest and the heel on the pedal, or have the saddle at 109% of inside leg measurement. Try variations and see what works, but if you ain't rocking and you're generating the power you're probably close to right.

ai_1

Ideally you want your knee between 25 and 30 degrees from straight at it's straightest. I think you may be losing a little power at the bottom of the stroke if you're straightening your legs more than this but not certain. My main concern would be excessive saddle movement and discomfort which you reckon isn't a problem so you're probably not far from right.

willnewtonclare

I'm exactly the same height and did the LeMond combined with Knee over pedal. According to these my seat was 50mm too high and similar too forward. I didn't rock either and felt strong but slightly achey hips. I've split the difference ie seat down a bit, back a bit. I feel like I've less power but feel comfy. I'm going to stick with where I am and give it time. As an aside it is not easy to measure inside leg or see if your leg is straight. Also arch on the heel with a straight leg is now considered correct. I'd agree with CiB though why change? At least do it incremently, down 5mm?

imposter2.0

The Kellyboy wrote:

I've adjusted my saddle height and I've found a very comfortable position (I'm only 5 ft 8, shortish legs but very flexible hamstrings) and I've since searched how to perform a 'proper' bike fit.
All the methods are saying I should drop my saddle by at least 4 or 5cm. I'm comfortable, I don't rock and roll and I get plenty of power whilst climbing in the seat.
My real question is - will lowering my saddle help me to generate more power?
Thanks in advance!

Matthew.

As others have suggested - saddle height is 10% theory and 90% personal preference. Try the new position and see if it changes anything.

MartinB2444

If you've done good mileage with this position and your saddle is horizontal and feeling comfy you should be ok. If you do try lowering the saddle it will take a couple of weeks to get used to the new riding position which will feel weak and too low at first. Remember, the bottom of the pedal stroke comes before the crank is vertical i.e. not the pedal's low point.

sloppyschleckonds

Just don't complain when your knees ache all night.

Monty Dog

Too-high saddle results in a significant 'flat-spot' in your power output and don't be surprised if you suffer from tendon problems behind the knee as well as aching hip-adductors. In answer to your question, yes it's quite likely that you will generate more power with a lower saddle as you are able to engage more muscles efficiently throughout the pedal stroke.

The Kellyboy

Thanks for all the input. I'm riding the Tour Of Pembrokeshire on Saturday and the Carten100 in a fortnight. I think I'll see how my legs are after the Tour Of Pembs & maybe tweak a little before the Carten100 if needed.

Thanks again!

Matthew.

Bar Shaker

Having my saddle too high damaged my IT Band, spoilt 3 months of cycling and caused a lot of pain.

The Kellyboy

After yesterday's Tour Of Pembrokeshire my legs are fine, with no aches or pains. Unfortunately I had to stop after 90 miles due to the adverse weather! Gales and driving rain & I didn't wear a waterproof - I think I had mild hypothermia, starting at about the 60 mile mark. I couldn't change gear with my left hand and at a later food station I was holding (er...spilling) a cup of coffee with my arms shaking. I managed another 15 miles or so, but I wouldn't have coped with another 20 miles to the finish. A lesson learnt!

sloppyschleckonds

The Kellyboy wrote:

After yesterday's Tour Of Pembrokeshire my legs are fine, with no aches or pains. Unfortunately I had to stop after 90 miles due to the adverse weather! Gales and driving rain & I didn't wear a waterproof - I think I had mild hypothermia, starting at about the 60 mile mark. I couldn't change gear with my left hand and at a later food station I was holding (er...spilling) a cup of coffee with my arms shaking. I managed another 15 miles or so, but I wouldn't have coped with another 20 miles to the finish. A lesson learnt!

Sounds awful.

Are you aware of 'The Rules' of cycling? Here are some slightly different ones:


5. Riding in bad weather makes you better. But don’t be stupid about it.
6. If you aren’t having fun, stop.

The Kellyboy

The weather was awful (at times) but the ride was great & I'm signing up for next year.

I like your 'rules' - I'll bear those in mind!

Druidor

Mulling over lowering my saddle a smidge, after a 43 mile ride on Sunday the tendons in the back of my right knee are killing me so think may be overstretching a little.

had set with heel on pedal for height and dropped down a smidge but maybe not enough.

ai_1

Druidor wrote:

Mulling over lowering my saddle a smidge, after a 43 mile ride on Sunday the tendons in the back of my right knee are killing me so think may be overstretching a little.

had set with heel on pedal for height and dropped down a smidge but maybe not enough.

I don't know if your knee problem is likely to be saddle related or not but if in doubt, a little too low is probably better than a little too high.

DavidJB

The Kellyboy wrote:

The weather was awful (at times) but the ride was great & I'm signing up for next year.

I like your 'rules' - I'll bear those in mind!

I rode The wiggle magnificat 3 years ago (127 miles) in heavy (and I mean heavy) rain from start to finish...7 hours or something because of the conditions. I don't really ride sportives these days but I'd never do it again...its was horrendous.

southdownswolf

DavidJB wrote:

The Kellyboy wrote:

The weather was awful (at times) but the ride was great & I'm signing up for next year.

I like your 'rules' - I'll bear those in mind!

I rode The wiggle magnificat 3 years ago (127 miles) in heavy (and I mean heavy) rain from start to finish...7 hours or something because of the conditions. I don't really ride sportives these days but I'd never do it again...its was horrendous.

Last year, cycling from Gretna down to Chorley I had to pedal hard down Shap just to move in the wind and rain. By the time I got to Kendal I was shaking quite badly. I managed to find a coffee shop and warm up with a hot chocolate, coffee and a couple of slices of cake. Once I had warmed up again I was fine, but apparently I was quite a sight as I went into the shop. The staff were a bit worried :shock:

slowbike

I was laughed at for wearing my winter jacket for a TT yesterday morning - temp was <10°C and there were heavy showers about. Unfortunately I punctured just over 2/3rds of the way round - in the gathering after it was commented by those shivering that it must have been awful trying to change a clincher tube whilst freezing cold - but I wasn't cold at all ... I was warm - not completely dry, but mostly ...

Not that this has anything to do with saddle height!

moyesie

I'm always amazed when I read of guys who are having to adjust their saddle by +/- 4cm; that's a huge difference!

FWIW I start with my saddle against the position on my hip that I am 'used to' and tweak a mm here and there until it's comfortable. Too high a saddle for me becomes obvious as I have to stretch at the furthest away point of the pedal stroke.

If it feels right it most likely is.

ai_1

moyesie wrote:

I'm always amazed when I read of guys who are having to adjust their saddle by +/- 4cm; that's a huge difference!

FWIW I start with my saddle against the position on my hip that I am 'used to' and tweak a mm here and there until it's comfortable. Too high a saddle for me becomes obvious as I have to stretch at the furthest away point of the pedal stroke.

Measuring against your hip is hardly accurate either - you could easily end up way out.
A simple measurement from either the BB centre or pedal axle to saddle is the work of a few seconds as long as you possess a measuring tape or long ruler. Then you can transfer your saddle height between bikes or restore it to the desired height later with no guessing to an accuracy or a millimeter or so. Hardly difficult.
So for me I know with my current saddle position of 55mm from BB to saddle nose, 175mm cranks and using Speedplay zero pedals with my Shimano shoes I've been using a distance of 743mm from BB to top of saddle.
That's completely and easily transferable and can be adjusted to allow for changes in fore/aft saddle position, crank length, pedal and shoe stack etc.

moyesie wrote:

If it feels right it most likely is.

The problem is that relatively new cyclists may not have a reference point against which to judge what "right" is. If you were familiar with what the right saddle height feels like you could try and adjust it by feel but if you're new to cycling this won't work as evidenced by the fact that new cyclists can be out by a few centimeters.

ThatBikeGuy

Could always get a bike fit...? Well worth it if you want a bike to fit properly.