Originally Posted by
HillRider
Then it's safe to say most of the cyclists you see have their seats much too low. Properly adjusted, you should not be able to put your foot on the ground while seated unless you lean the bike very far over.
The only way to avoid dismounting in traffic is to: a)time your riding to catch the lights green, or b) run all the red lights or c) learn to do a trackstand.
This is wrong. At the bottom of your pedal stroke, your leg is still slightly bent and your ankle is not extended. You don't have to lean far at all to reach the ground on a modern road bike by simply extending your leg and ankle, especially if you're above average height and the BB Height is proportionally small compared to others.