The Miracle of raising my saddle
09-08-09, 05:12 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: California
Posts: 317
Bikes: Dawes SST <3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
The Miracle of raising my saddle
I am so happy right now, thus I make a thread.
I raised my saddle, awesomeness ensued.
I am so fast and so comfy now.
Just wondering, how high is the saddle generally supposed to be? My feet can still touch the ground...
I raised my saddle, awesomeness ensued.
I am so fast and so comfy now.
Just wondering, how high is the saddle generally supposed to be? My feet can still touch the ground...
09-08-09, 05:23 PM
#3
a.k.a. QUADZILLA
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Denver
Posts: 1,505
Bikes: Super Pista, Basso, Big Dummy
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Seat height and ground touching should never have anything to do with each other. You fit your bike for riding, not for touching the ground. If with proper fit you can touch the ground, then that is good. If you can't, then that, too, is good.
More specifically, you want to have a slight bend in the knee when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke, but you don't want to be tippy-toeing the pedal. You should be able to touch the pedal with your heel. That's a good place to start.
More specifically, you want to have a slight bend in the knee when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke, but you don't want to be tippy-toeing the pedal. You should be able to touch the pedal with your heel. That's a good place to start.
09-08-09, 05:32 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Fairfield, California
Posts: 209
Bikes: 1979 Nishiki International, 1989 Dahon folder, 1999 Nishiki Backroads, 2009 Dawes SST
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
09-08-09, 05:33 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
*Generally speaking. It depends on frame geometry, cranklength, inseam length, and the phase of the moon. But I bet it's still too low.
09-08-09, 05:48 PM
#9
Nü-Fred
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 1,517
Bikes: Torelli Tipo Uno (stolen), Peugeot Nice, Mercier Kilo TT
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
generally, when u are on the saddle, the leg on the bottom of the pedal stroke should only be slightly bent.
according to sheldon brown, adjust ur saddle about half inch higher. Take it for a ride. If the comfort doesn't go down, adjust half inch higher. Repeat process. Until finally it's too much. Then bring back down half inch.
Read more here.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html
according to sheldon brown, adjust ur saddle about half inch higher. Take it for a ride. If the comfort doesn't go down, adjust half inch higher. Repeat process. Until finally it's too much. Then bring back down half inch.
Read more here.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html
09-08-09, 07:16 PM
#10
Real Men Ride Ordinaries
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,723
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
go on a ride with an allen wrench, and every half mile or so, raise the seat about a cm. Stop when it starts to hurt your knees, and then back it down a half cm or so.
09-08-09, 09:44 PM
#12
n00b
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SGV
Posts: 301
Bikes: Mercier Kilo TT - Grapesoda
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
was that too much information? seriously with the WEALTH of information you can find on this site alone, you shouldn't have to ask such an elementary question. are you just too lazy to google? im ****ing crazy about my bike so i pride myself on looking up information for myself. does that make me a ******bag to reply like that? i dont really care but please use search or google. its extremely easy and liberating.
09-08-09, 10:05 PM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 442
Bikes: Turner Czar, Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
.883 x true inseam (jam the edge of a book against your pubic bone to simulate a saddle and measure against a wall).
This has invariably given me the exact length that balances leg extension with ability to spin (measured from the center of the BB to the top of the saddle). You can also use 109% of your inseam to give you the length from the pedal spindle to the top of the saddle.
Doesn't necessarily work for everyone, but it nails saddle height for me.
This has invariably given me the exact length that balances leg extension with ability to spin (measured from the center of the BB to the top of the saddle). You can also use 109% of your inseam to give you the length from the pedal spindle to the top of the saddle.
Doesn't necessarily work for everyone, but it nails saddle height for me.
09-08-09, 10:18 PM
#17
Hella Raw
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 820
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Best video advice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAl_5e7bIHk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAl_5e7bIHk
09-09-09, 08:44 AM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 59
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Oh man, i always see people riding with terrible saddle position/knees bent like crazy etc.. Hurts me just thinking about it, nothing makes a bike ride as terrible as a bike/saddle that don't fit.
09-09-09, 10:24 AM
#19
yesterday you said tom.
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 457
Bikes: Bianchi Pista 07, Dodici Veloce
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
you start off by adjusting the saddle to where it's about the level with your waist. adjust lower or higher from there.
09-09-09, 11:00 AM
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 11,375
Bikes: '08 Surly Cross-Check, 2011 Redline Conquest Pro, 2012 Spesh FSR Comp EVO, 2015 Trek Domane 6.2 disc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times
in
6 Posts
Best advice I've used for a starting adjustment is this:
With the cranks aligned with the seat tube, put your heel on the pedal at full extension. Your saddle should be high enough that your knee is fully extended at this point.
With the cranks aligned with the seat tube, put your heel on the pedal at full extension. Your saddle should be high enough that your knee is fully extended at this point.
__________________
"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.
"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.
09-09-09, 11:17 AM
#21
Tuba = Heavy Metal
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Urbana, IL
Posts: 92
Bikes: 1985 Trek 720, 1993(?) Schwinn Cross-Fit (set up as a townie)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
But if your bike fits AND you can touch the ground, doesn't that mean your pedal surface is on the same plane as the ground? Eternal pedal strike? How you gonna make that thing go?
09-09-09, 11:27 AM
#22
a.k.a. QUADZILLA
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Denver
Posts: 1,505
Bikes: Super Pista, Basso, Big Dummy
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I think that on a road bike, with a lower bottom bracket and longer cranks, I could likely reach a toe down to the ground. I'm not talking about planting a foot. My point was more about the absurdity of fitting a bike based on the ability (or lack of) to touch ground.
09-09-09, 12:12 PM
#23
沒有腳踏車的居民
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Honolulu, HI
Posts: 1,283
Bikes: Mericier Kilo TT Pro
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Best video advice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAl_5e7bIHk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAl_5e7bIHk
09-09-09, 11:10 PM
#24
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Brighton, MI
Posts: 16
Bikes: Specialized allez triple '09, Vista 10 speed, Stolen Brat BMX 2006.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Dude, his voice reminds me of bob ross!