Originally Posted by
SahuaritaDon
Thanks to all who responded with the great replies. But you, Leisesturm hit the nail on the head. My height is 6' and my cycling inseam is 91.5 cm. My seat height is set low as it was set just for the thigh to calf angle at full extension. It never occurred to me that raising the seat would draw the knees back (DUH!) Of course raising the seat will straight my leg too much at full extension but that is probably because my bike is too big at 61 cm. (I bought it from an individual and have never been thru a proper fitting). The proper size for me according to the height charts is 58 cm. I think buying a 58 and getting a proper fitting will solve the problem. Thanks again.
Set your saddle height by the heel-on-pedal method. Put the bike near a wall or something so that you can mount the bike and hold yourself upright with one hand. Get into your usual riding position with the other hand. Unclip one foot and put that heel on the pedal. Pedal backwards slowly. At bottom dead center, your knee should completely lock out with no pedal pressure and without your hips rocking at all. Some people prefer a small gap between heel and pedal, say 4mm. Set your saddle height to make that true. Then test the other leg. Some people have legs of different lengths. I go by the shorter leg. Once you get the dialed, take the bike out on a no-traffic road and repeat the test with each foot while pedaling slowly with heel on pedal.
Once you have that set, put your hands on the hoods and with your back straight, bend your elbows until your forearms are horizontal. Your elbows should be a little in front of your knees at 3 o'clock, no overlap, and the gap less than 2". If that's not true, adjust your stem length to get it closer. You may not need a new bike at all.