alkaiden

Should it be exactly the length of my leg when im on the paddle or what?

roadwarrior

Huh? What are you asking?

MichaelW

When your pedal is at the bottom 6:00 position, you should have a little flex remaining in your knee. Hyperextending your knee will lead to injury.
A good rule of thumb is to sit with your heel on the pedal and set your saddle for fully stretched leg. When you pedal you should use the BALL of your foot not the heel and this will give you a safe amount of flex.

Dave Moulton

This can be a mystery to new bike riders but it need not be if you think about what you are trying to achieve; in order to pedal at maximum efficiency it is necessary for your legs to move straight up and down like two pistons. Your hip joint like all joints has a restriction as to how far you can raise your knee. To demonstrate this to yourself; while standing up straight bring one knee forward and upward as high as it will go. Hold it in this position with one hand while supporting yourself with the other. This is the limit of your hip joint and the only way you can make your knee reach further is to move the knee outwards and you can then go another inch or so higher.

When pedaling you do not want your knees splaying outwards at the top of the pedal stroke; this is not the most efficient way to pedal. If you lean your upper body forward as you will be on your bike this restricts the height you can raise your knee even more. So if at the top of the pedal stroke you are going beyond the limit of you hip joint and your knees splay outwards; your saddle is either too low, or too far back, or a combination of the two.

A rough place to start is to place your heel on the pedal with the crank at the bottom of the stroke. I have found for most people unless they have exceptionally small feet for their leg length (See the above chart.) the saddle will need to go higher than this. A ¼ inch higher is a good place to start, in some cases as much as an inch higher. It is easier to tell if your saddle is too high rather than to tell if it is too low. If it is too high you will feel like you are stretching and reaching at the bottom of each pedal stroke, and in extreme cases you will be rocking from side to side on the saddle. You will know after riding only a few yards if your saddle is too high; if it is lower it the quarter inch and try again.

Next check the top of your pedal stroke; support yourself by leaning against a wall or a vehicle and in your lowest riding position with your back horizontal bring each leg to the top and see if you can lift your foot slightly above the pedal. In other words you are checking to see if you are reaching the limit of your hip joint at the top of each pedal stroke. Ideally you do not want to be right at this limit of movement. Check both legs because there may be slight variations in your hip movement on either side. Moving the saddle forward just an eighth of an inch will increase the angle of the body/leg and also has the effect of shortening the distance from the saddle to the pedal so if you move the seat forward; move it up also. Make small adjustments and try it by riding to see how it feels.

The position of the knee over the pedal is generally accepted as center of knee directly above the pedal spindle with the cranks in a horizontal position. However this is not written in stone and can vary from one person to another. Someone with long legs for example will sit back and push forward, whereas a shorter person will sit more forward with their legs acting straight up and down. Once you have found a position that feels right ride it for at least a week to get used to it before making small adjustments. Each time you adjust ask yourself if it feels better or not. As you gain fitness, muscles stretch and your saddle can be adjusted slightly higher. Just remember that your legs have an upper and lower limit of movement and an ideal saddle height is one that puts you within those limits so the leg muscles can work with maximum efficiency. As simple as that; there is no big mystery and no magic formula.

baj32161

High enough so you will be able to drop the next "chick" you pass on your MTB with underinflated tires.

alkaiden

LoL, u make a good point

and to the above poster, thanks for ur help....that mustve took alot of effort. ill look into it

dta95b7r

Is it just me or is there something about high seat that just looks purdy

jwilson165

mines fairly high. thats how i like it.

https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...on165/bike.jpg

alanbikehouston

I wish there was a "sticky" at the top of the "Road Cycling" page that contained only the posts from Dave Moulton. He was one of America's greatest bike builders before turning to writing. His posts on bike "fit" questions are both accurate and understandable.

The question about "how high should my saddle be" gets asked on the Forums in one form or another about a hundred times a year. And, the BEST answer, from Dave Moulton, is gonna get buried deep in the archives where it won't be read...and that's a shame.

The folks who post asking about "sore knees" and "sore crotch" problems would also benefit from closely reading Dave's suggestions for dialing in the correct saddle height.

bbattle

alanbikehouston, I just pasted Dave's answer in the "Standard Questions....." sticky.

Now if we could only get people to use the search function more often.

joetronic

If you can, take it to the LBS you bought it from and ask to fit you. If you didn't buy it there, they might charge, but most would be happy to give you a hand.

WorldWind

I find it very hard to row when standing on the paddle no matter how high my seat is.

CardiacKid

Nothing personal, I'm sure it is a generational thing. When I see a compact frame with a foot of seatpost showing, it reminds me of my Mom's bike. I immediately look for the wicker basket with the plastic flowers.

curiouskid55

Within comfortable reach of your butt.

rufvelo

jwilson165, I don't find you seat very high at all, especially in comparison with your bars/hoods.

Since I'm showing off my newest bike everywhere I can, here's my setup :

trekking_TW

my saddle (seat) goes all the way up to the bottom of my a$$.

Seriously, Dave Moulton has it right as usual. Keep some knee flex at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Marlin523

Sit on your bike, in your riding shoes, and put your pedal at 6:00 - fully down. Have someone measure the angle of your ankle to our knee. It should be between 25 and 30 degrees. Also make certain your knee is over the spindle of the pedal axle by dropping a plum line. While you are at it, also check to see that your nose is just behind the stem.

voltman

Mine, not so high.