Originally Posted by
Jed19
I went with Sheldon Brown's dictum re seat height. He had posited that the appropriate seat height (in his experience and view) is where you have the seat at the highest level that precludes hip rocking. And it has worked beautifully for me. I am a little bit leary of seat height formulas, as I am not proportionally apportioned. I am 5' 10" tall, but my cycling inseam is a full 34"(86.36cm).
And I believe wholeheartedly in Sheldon's dictum, as I have experimentally tried my saddles lower and higher, but it did not work either way.
Makes perfect sense. Those who pedal with pointed toes will naturally set their saddles a bit higher, flat-foot pedalers a bit, lower, and heel-droppers lower yet. Steve Hogg has discussed pedaling styles in this manner.
I've also found that if I'm feeling undue pressure to the perineum, or if I'm feeling discomfort from too much friction down there (probably an indication of hip-rocking), or if I find myself creeping to the front of the saddle, it's too high. I recently lowered the saddle a couple millimeters, and I was more comfortable, I could control the bike better, and I rode faster.