apetro3

I was thinking about raising my saddle height a little bit. I am not experiencing any pain or discomfort, but would like to maximize power. I have my current height marked so it would be easy to return to it if it didn't work out. Do you guys think it would be silly to try raising it...maybe a half centimeter or so?

chaadster

Looks pretty good, though you probably could slide it up a skosh. Didn't you say before you do a lot of climbing? Better to err on the lower side in that case and not give up climbing power, but if you have someone check your hips aren't rocking when powering in the saddle, you should be fine.

apetro3

Yeah, can't really avoid the hills around here. While I'm at it, would there be any benefit to lowering the handlebars? I have two centimeters of spacers that can be removed in half-centimeter increments.

Road Fan

What is your saddle height, and what is your cycling inseam, aka pubic bone height?

Not that this is the end-all, but I suspect you could go higher, and perhaps the saddle could go farther back.

apetro3

Pubic bone height is 31 inches in bare feet. I'll have to check on my saddle height. How is that measured?

chaadster

You could go lower, but it depends on your comfort. There's some aero advantage to being low, but you've got to balance being comfy, and honestly, I think being comfy is more important because it makes making power easier, whereas aero benefits only manifest under certain conditions, distances, and speeds.

apetro3

That makes sense. I think I'll give it a try, and If I find that I'm no longer comfortable I'll just raise it back the way it was. One thing I do like about the way it's set up now is that using the drops is still reasonably comfortable.

fietsbob

Heel of foot over the pedal spindle, leg straight , is my seat height baseline ..
I may need to change a little dependent on shoe sole thickness ..

Road Fan

Two main ways: distance from the center of the BB spindle at the crank, up along the seat tube to the top of the saddle, and the maximum distance from the center of the pedal spindle up the same way to the top of saddle. The first way is more common.

Are you actually having any problem based on your saddle height? Most people who do have problems are looking to change a few millimeters at a time, yet you give the key measurement (pubic bone height) in round inches. Usually we're talking millimeters. Can you at least go back and measure it to a 16th of an inch? Then there would be some confidence of giving you some improvement.

Do your pictures show a seating problem? Maybe, maybe not. Should you raise it? Well, one guy with some experience says maybe so (me), and another with some experience says maybe lower it (chaadster). If you don't have any sense of whether you have a problem and no sense of the needs of the measurement, do whichever you like. Maybe you'll find a problem. Presently it's just academic.

Usually you take your pbh in millimeters and multiply by 0.883 to get the starting point. Some painstaking processes came up with that number, and it is 0.883 rather than 0.88 or 0.9 because the difference mattered in the testing that was done to assess rider efficiency and long-term comfort.

I'm trying to say, precision and accuracy make a difference. Telling us "it's 31" is rather useless. If a few millimeters matter (and the cycling science community thinks they do), then a 16th, and 8th, or a 10th of an inch matter. If you rounded correctly to get 31, you could be half an inch off. That's 12.7 mm, a big error in fitting and in optimizing comfort and efficiency.

apetro3

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to take some better measurements. I don't have any problems with the current position, but I wondered if I could get more power out of a slightly higher seat. I am just fine tuning. And to clarify, chaadster also thought I could stand to raise the seat up a little bit. So that makes at least two. Given that, I think I will try moving it up.

I was trying to do this based on the angle of my leg because I don't trust myself to take acurate measurements. I guess that is what a professional fitting is for.

chaadster

You can pick up a goniometer at a medical supply store for $10 and measure your knee angle just like the pros do yourself (well, with the help of a friend).

Xsive

Would a goniometer such as this suffice? Is 12 inches long enough to accurately measure the anatomical landmarks?

https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Goniom...f=pd_sbs_hpc_5

chaadster

That looks to be the same size as the one my physical therapist used, so I'd say yes.

Road Fan

I guess I think of measuring the distance from the middle of the BB to the top of the saddle and reading the tape or yardstick to 1/16 inch with reasonable accuracy as pretty basic, like measuring the length of a piece of wood you are going to cut. But I have been doing this sort of stuff for a long time.

If you have an LBS you could ride the bike over there and ask them to check your numbers, without paying them for a fitting.