Originally Posted by
badger1
I'll try ... once.
For practical purposes -- other than fine-tuning fit at an elite/pro level -- whether or not you use foot attachment is completely irrelevant. Here's one tried/true method (there are many) to set initial saddle height: your saddle should be set -- as a starting point -- so that if you sit on your bike and put both heels on the pedals, you can pedal backwards without your heels losing contact with the pedals. The contact needn't be 'firm', it needs to be just enough to keep your heels in place without 'reaching' for the pedals/rocking your hips etc. As I say, that's a start point; fine-tuning from there is a matter of millimetres.
To the extent that the picture you posted is an accurate representation, there is no conceivable way your saddle is at an appropriate height for your leg length. It is far too high.
The one note I can add is that, when I was a beginning racer at age 13 in 1964, I was told that the heel-on-pedal method pertained specifically to bike racing shoes, which at the time had very thin leather soles without a heel added. Thus, using conventional shoes with built-up heels for sizing via the heel-on-pedal method would result in an incorrectly high saddle. To end up with a fit like the OP's, I'd have to use the shoes from a Gene Simmons/Kiss Halloween costume.