AC1074

To this day I am still confused on high my saddle should be. I was fitted at my local bike shop when I bought my road bike (Trek 1000) years ago. However, I really don't feel comfortable at the height they set it because my feet don't touch the ground not even the tips of my toes. It has made it kind of hard for me to mount up and get going. I know during my teen years I rode a bicycle improperly because I could put my feet out and touch the ground while in the saddle.

After doing some research I found everything to put it the way it feels comfortable to you to taking your inseam and multiply it by 0.889. I know my legs should be able to get full motion but I was curious how some of you found your height. I would like to know what is the proper way to determine this. Thanks and sorry I am still a novice rider.

rumrunn6

full motion but not fully extended.

fa63

The formulas are there to get you in the ballpark (and there are several different formulas to further complicate the matters); from there you need to tweak it based on what your body is telling you. So start with one of these formulas, go out for a ride and see how it feels. There are some typical symptoms for too high or too low: a saddle too high will generally result in pain in the back of the knee, and a saddle too low will generally result in pain in the front the knee. Also, don't forget that moving your saddle fore-aft also changes the effective saddle height so make sure you are changing one variable at a time.

Or you can consult with a local experienced fitter.

Jaymadd

you are not supposed to be able to touch your feet to the ground while sitting on the saddle. Stand up when mounting your bike and then sit when you have built up some momentum.

Yo Spiff

As Jaymadd said, you shouldn't be able to touch the ground from the saddle. I can't. If you can stand while on the saddle, then your saddle is probably too low for efficient pedaling. I straddle the top tube and as I push off with the first pedal stroke, I lift myself into the saddle. When I come to a stop, I get off the saddle. It's automatic.

As far as setting my height, I adjust it so that my knee has a very slight bend at full extension. When adjusting a new bike, I usually raise my seatpost a couple of mm at a time until I feel like I am getting full leverage out of my leg on each stroke. If you raise it to the point where you feel you are rocking side to side and stretching for the pedals then it is too high. Just several mm of height can make a noticeable difference.

caloso

1) Straddle the top tube with both feet on the ground and both hands on the bars.
2) Grab the left pedal with your toe and pull it up to 10 o'clock.
3) Put your left foot on it and stand up. The pedal will drop to 6 o'clock and the bike will move forward.
4) Put your right foot on the right pedal and push it down. You are now riding.
5) Sit down on the saddle.
6) Keep pedaling.

datlas 

+1

If you can touch your feet to the ground while on your saddle, your saddle is too low.

Trust us on this one.

cthenn

I've been riding for years and years now, and I'm still fiddling around with different saddle heights, and fore/aft position. I'm talking about millimeters, but you really can notice the difference. Only time will tell you what feels right, but it's waaaay too low if you can touch the ground while seated. The basic starting point I've used (for rental bikes, borrowed bikes, etc) is to put my shoes on, sit on the saddle and get the height so that my leg is fully extended while having my heel on the pedal. From there, usually it's 10mm or so either way for a reasonable fit.

Condor637

Here's a good read.
https://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/art...t-right-14608/

sosojeffcc

I could be wrong, but I thought the opposite was true?

jrhz06

+1
https://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

fa63

No you are right, I wrote that backwards.

I will edit my original post for clarification, thanks for pointing it out.

Machka 

Once you get on your saddle (as described above), pedal a bit then coast. Put your heel on the pedal when it is in the 6:00 position ... bottom of the pedal stroke. You should have a very slight bend in the knee. If you do, your saddle is about right.

With your heel on the pedal, your leg should not be bent a lot and your leg should not be locked straight ... just a slight bend.

fstshrk

Put the heel of the shoe on the pedal. If it barely comes off the pedal at the bottom of the stroke (farthest point), your saddle is "roughly" at the right height. If you wear clipless pedals, this assumes that the cleats are set roughly at the ball of foot point. If they are farther back, you probably want to lower the saddle.

Jed19

The late great cycling sage Sheldon Brown was of the view that the correct saddle height is exactly the point where you can ride without rocking your hips. In his view, it is a trial and error situation. You keep raising your saddle height incrementally until you get to the ideal height, and any point past that height results in rocking hips. Sheldon's way of finding saddle height works for me.

stilltooslow

This is a good starting point. IME, many of the other methods cited here would result in your saddle being too high. Take a good look at the pros in the next televised road race.....they all ride with more bend in their legs than some of these methods would suggest.

AC1074

Thanks for the tips !

Will Goes Boing

With your pedal at the 6 o'clock position and the ball of your foot on the pedal, you should have NEARLY a full leg extension. You don't want your knees to fully lock out, but you want to have just a very very slight bend to your knee.

As others said, if your saddle is at the proper height you are not suppose to be able to sit on the saddle when your bike is stopped.

Kai Winters

If you prefer your feet to touch the ground when seated set your saddle height thus and don't ask saddle height questions any more.
If you want proper leg extension go to a decent fitter and get fitted...it is not only seat height, it is more than than as one setting impacts others so it is a balance of measurements and settings for a proper fit...when the bike is the correct size for the rider.
If that has been done and you don't like it, make adjustments until you are comfortable and ride...don't worry about whether it is correct or not...

jdfriesen

I just raised my saddle last night about 2cm. I had originally set it using the heel method when I got my bike a month ago, but I just felt it was too low still. I have size 15 feet, so I'm sure that makes a fairly significant difference. I used the 109% method, and set it just a bit lower than recommended, as I figured I was doing a fairly big jump as it was. Did my first ride with it this morning, and I definitely think it's an improvement.

I've got to get used to essentially having 2cm more drop, but I don't think that will take too long. I don't think my hips are rocking, although I'd probably have to have someone follow me to verify for sure. At this point, I'm definitely at the point of tweaking by millimeters.

Good thread though, got me really thinking about my position, and got me to make a change that I think will help. I've not had a pro fit, as I don't see the point until my body is very used to cycling. A lot of the comfort improvements I've noticed in the last month I think are simply due to getting used to being in a bent over position. As I increase my flexibility and core strength, as well as continue to lose some of that extra "filler" around my midsection, I'm sure my comfortable position will continue to change.

Hiro11

This is what worked for me. I just kept raising the saddle in half inch increments until it was clearly "too much". Also, Lemond says I should be at 29.1, I'm currently at 29 so his formula definitely holds up in my case.

Hiro11

This is tricky to do if you're using clipless, especially if the release tension is high. I typically put my right pedal at 6 o'clock. Snap in. Pull it up to three o'clock and push back down to get moving. Or, I simply push off the ground with other leg while the right pedal is at 6 o'clock. Once I'm moving, I snap in the left pedal.

Banzai

With all due respect; this technique invariably results in saddles that are too low. It's an old WOM that gets the novice/new rider in the ballpark, but is merely a starting point...certainly not an ending point!

It also doesn't account for foot size, natural pedal-stroke, etc.

Oh, and this old WOM is typically prescribed as leg straight/locked with heel on pedal, and even that is often a bit low. Leg slightly bent with heel on pedal will be rather low when in a proper foot position.

It is a good start point though. Then the cyclist should keep raising a bit at a time until rocking/stretching/etc - all signs of too high - then lower just a bit under the highest functional point...because every day won't be your best day.

Also, it's an evolving relationship. I had to drop my saddle 1.5cm for much of an autumn due to a hamstring strain...it affected my leg extension and even back flexibility. Raised it when things returned to normal.

kenji666

Don't forget that some folks have different leg lengths (left vs right).

lazerzxr

This thread is full of fail. The number 1 mistake people make is to set their seat too high becasue it initially feels better. It leads to sore backs which leads to stacks of spacers under the stem and reaches that are too short. And all becasue "you get more power", hmmmm.


In my opinion if you cant touch your toes on the ground while seated then your seat is too high. Particularly if you like a fair amount of set back.