Commuting - Questions about pedeling

ok.. this may sound stupid.. but here goes. when ur pedeling, is your legs pretty straight or is it still bended? cuz on my rockhopper, the frame is too big, thus my legs are pretty straight when i'm pedeling. however on my sirrus... it's not as straight. is that normal?

also, how do you adjust ur seat? do you adjust it to the height where both feet can be on the floor or to the point where ur tiptoe?

I adjust my seat to the point where my leg is slightly bent at the bottom of my pedal stroke. By slightly, I mean about 5 degrees give or take. Full leg extension is the key to maximum efficiency. On my mountain bike, I can barely touch the ground with one foot when I'm on my seat.

I adjust my seat to the point where my leg is slightly bent at the bottom of my pedal stroke. By slightly, I mean about 5 degrees give or take. Full leg extension is the key to maximum efficiency. On my mountain bike, I can barely touch the ground with one foot when I'm on my seat.

cool.. thanks trekkie.. that's what i was thinking too.. by having a full leg extension it should be better. now if only if i can find the time to go adjust my seat without my boss seeing me,.. hehe :p i'll just adjust it before i go home.

thanks!!

rui

At the 6:00 position, you should have a small amount of bend in the leg. If you pedal down on a fully extended leg, you could damage your knees.
You can adjust the extension with your seatpost. The rule of thumb is to set it so that you are fully extended when your heel is on the pedal. This will give sufficient flex when you pedal normally using the ball of your foot.

At the 6:00 position, you should have a small amount of bend in the leg. If you pedal down on a fully extended leg, you could damage your knees.
You can adjust the extension with your seatpost. The rule of thumb is to set it so that you are fully extended when your heel is on the pedal. This will give sufficient flex when you pedal normally using the ball of your foot.

ok.. in that case, i'll have to raise the seat on both of my bikes. with my sirrus, i've adjusted my seat higher and felt better going home last night. the only thing is that when i'm stopping at a signal light, i'll have to either lean sideway to put my feet down, or have to step down from my bike. is that the same with u guys?

the only thing is that when i'm stopping at a signal light, i'll have to either lean sideway to put my feet down, or have to step down from my bike. is that the same with u guys?
Yep.

On my commuter (hybrid) I can touch with the toes of one foot by leaning slightly to the side. If I stay on the saddle, I can't make both feet touch the ground.

On the roadie and MTB, I can barely do the same thing - mostly I leave one foot clipped into a pedal and step forward off the saddle to put the other foot down. When I start again, I just stand on the clipped in leg and move back up onto the saddle.

You may feel a touch insecure at first, but after a couple of ride it will be fine and you'll feel very sluggish if you ride with the saddle lower. You'll find your pedal stroke to be much more efficient. The rule of thumb that MichaelW mentioned is a good starting point, but you may find you need to adjust a few mm up or down from there to find the most comfortable position for you.

Yep.

On my commuter (hybrid) I can touch with the toes of one foot by leaning slightly to the side. If I stay on the saddle, I can't make both feet touch the ground.

On the roadie and MTB, I can barely do the same thing - mostly I leave one foot clipped into a pedal and step forward off the saddle to put the other foot down. When I start again, I just stand on the clipped in leg and move back up onto the saddle.

You may feel a touch insecure at first, but after a couple of ride it will be fine and you'll feel very sluggish if you ride with the saddle lower. You'll find your pedal stroke to be much more efficient. The rule of thumb that MichaelW mentioned is a good starting point, but you may find you need to adjust a few mm up or down from there to find the most comfortable position for you.

cool.. yeah.. normally that's what i do on my rockhopper.. i keep my right foot on the pedal, while i lean over to tiptoe on my left foot. had to do that cuz the frames too big.. but now i guess that's ok. i'll try it out this weekend to find my comfort zone....

Check out this website for your best fit. http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html
Essentially, if you put your heel on the pedal and in the 6 oclock position your leg is straight, you've got the right height. If you are in the 3 o'clock position, the bony part of your knee should be directly over the pedal spindle. This gives you the fit on the seat rails.

On my commuter bike, I usually hold myself up with a light post or sign post at a stop. If one is not around, put my foot on the curb, when that isn't around, I have to slide off of the front of the saddle to hit the ground.

Check out this website for your best fit. http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html
Essentially, if you put your heel on the pedal and in the 6 oclock position your leg is straight, you've got the right height. If you are in the 3 o'clock position, the bony part of your knee should be directly over the pedal spindle. This gives you the fit on the seat rails.

wiswell.. thanks for that site. that's awesome. i'm bookmarking and printing it out later.

On my commuter bike, I usually hold myself up with a light post or sign post at a stop. If one is not around, put my foot on the curb, when that isn't around, I have to slide off of the front of the saddle to hit the ground.

trekkie, i tried and adjusted my seat higher. it was awesome! my ride home was great! normally i wasn't able to ride too far when i put it in the biggest gear in the front and then the 5th gear in the rear. but then today.. i did just that.. and it was awesome!!! my legs has been sore since this week is the first week in my 4 week commute that i been biking everyday to work.

but now i know why i was sore.. i was sitting in the wrong height and trying to do ankling at the same time. can't wait to ride...

but now i know why i was sore.. i was sitting in the wrong height and trying to do ankling at the same time. can't wait to ride...[/QUOTE]

Re. ankling, avoid doing too much of it. There's a cautionary tale on Sheldon Brown's website: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_a.html#ankling

But I do find ankling useful now & then for getting a little extra force.
--Neon

but now i know why i was sore.. i was sitting in the wrong height and trying to do ankling at the same time. can't wait to ride...

Re. ankling, avoid doing too much of it. There's a cautionary tale on Sheldon Brown's website: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_a.html#ankling

But I do find ankling useful now & then for getting a little extra force.
--Neon[/QUOTE]

neon, i started to notice that too.. i started getting some muscular pain around my shin bone area. another thing i noticed is that when i pedal while standing up.. i'm leaning forward and noticed that me toes were pointing downward. i have a toe cage on my pedal.. and it almost looks like i'm pedaling like i'm tip toeing. does that make sense? it feels easier to pedal like that when i'm standing up. likewise when i'm sitting down i noticed when i'm pedaling, my toes are also pointing downwards as i apply pressure.

I base extnesion on when I'm pedalling as fast as I can...If I can pull off my fastest cadence possible and not have any hyperextension...then my seat is right.

Given for lower speeds it feels a hair too short, but once you get moving it's perfect.