Originally Posted by
johngwheeler
Using KOPS for set-back is at best a starting point, but it's fraught with confusion about which part of the knee to measure against, and depends a lot on your particular leg bone lengths.
I've had better luck with the "balance" method mentioned here and on various bikes fitting web sites. Basically start with the saddle in the middle of rails or with KOPS if you prefer. From there I attempt to get to the point where I can "just about" lift my hands from the hoods while pedalling moderately hard, without tipping forward and sliding forward to the tip of the saddle. Move the saddle back until you have almost no weight on your hands at this level of effort. There should still be some weight of course, to provide control on the bars, but I couldn't tell you how much weight this actually is. An alternative to the hoods, is to try on the tops, but in this case you have zero weight on your hands and be able to cycle with just the finger tips on the hoods.
Another important aspect of comfort is wrist angle and choosing the correct weight bearing portion of your hand. It should be at the bottom of the hand near the wrist, in the same spot that supports your weight when doing a push up. Don't support your body weight with the web of your hand, which has lots of nerve endings that can lead to numb hands. Avoid "ulnar deviation", which is twisting your hands downward out of alignment with your wrists.
This seems a bit trickier than it should be. But making minute adjustments and test riding is a tedious process! I think my current saddle position is pretty close, as moderate pedaling pretty much takes the weight off my hands. But I need to think about that ulnar deviation. And I have to consciously think about NOT locking my elbows with my hands on the hoods... which makes me think the fore/aft may be a bit aft.
Originally Posted by
noglider
For saddle height, many people find that if they put their arm pit over the saddle, the tip of the middle finger should reach the crank spindle. I have short legs (and long arms?) so I find the second joint of the middle finger reaches the crank spindle.
Heh. I just tried this and found when I force my left arm straight, the finger print area of my longest finger (middle finger) reaches the crank spindle. Interesting method.
