mrblue

I realize there are lots of ways to determine the correct saddle for each individual. I was just wondering what methods you find to be the most useful and accurate and which ones you find to be the most inaccurate (at least for you). Or if you have any tricks and/or tips that aren't quite so obvious or well known, please feel free to share them.

Personally, I've found the LeMonde and the 109 methods tend to give me a height that's roughly 10 to 15 mm's too high. The heel method gives me a saddle height that's a bit too short. I find the Holmes method seems (so far) to work the best for me.

Thanks.

dmanthree

I had a "fit kit" done a while ago, and it's not as simple as we'd like. Barring that, find a height that allows a little knee bend on the down stroke, and allows for a comfortable riding position. Nobody knows better than you.

Iride01 

I've never had any method give me the perfect position. I always think of them as just a place to start and then see what's needed after some actual rides. However heel to pedal at furthest position when seated and a little bend in the knee comes close.

Otherwise for the last three bikes, I've just measured what the previous bike was from the pedal to where I sit on the saddle.

genejockey 

23 years ago, I had a pro fitting, where he raised my saddle about an inch and moved it forward an inch. After riding a week, I dropped it about half an inch because I felt like I was reaching at the bottom of each pedal stroke. I've used the same height and setback since then, copying it onto 3 new bikes. It turns out to be just about 0.5 cm higher than "inseam x 0.883", but I think I point my toes when pedaling, which may explain it.

Dean V

Measuring your extended leg angle at the knee while peddling is the only way to get a fairly accurate measurement.
No other methods will allow for how flat footed or toe down you pedal which can have a significant impact on the measurement.

ccinnz

The method I commonly use is when the pedal is in the bottom position you should be able to extend your leg straight with your heel down. Then when riding with flatter pedals you will have a slight bend at the knee when your leg is extended.

bampilot06

This is how I did it.

Litespud

Any "sure-fire method" is just a starting point. You'll almost certainly start tweaking once you've put in some miles and you know what works for you specifically.