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Old 10-07-21, 09:41 AM
  #21  
CliffordK
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There are a couple of things that will determine seat height.

As mentioned above, the crank forward designs allow more leg extension with a lower seat.

If a person sits bolt upright on the bike, then one can have more knee angle and a lower seat.

On the other hand, the more forward leaning one is on a road bike, the more the knees tend to hit the belly forcing one to raise the seat.

Crank length has both positive and negative influences. If one has full leg extension, then longer cranks require a lower seat. However, if the concern is leg flexion then a shorter crank will have less flexion at the top of the stroke, and may also allow a lower seat (without full extension at the bottom of the stroke).

Ultimately the decision will depend on the riding goals.

If the goal is the occasional ride around the park, or a mile or two commute, then a person may be perfectly happy with an upright posture and low seat. And that should be considered just fine.

On the other hand, if the goal is to ride 10 to 20 mile commutes, and perhaps half century or century rides, then the solution should be to slowly raise the seat, and learn to dismount to get the feet on the ground.
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