Originally Posted by
markhr
agree completely with the bit I snipped
disagree completely with the bit I left - sorry dude
having trashed my knees once from too high a saddle I'd definitely say that:
too high = mucho pain and permanent, long term damage. Please folks do not, under any circumstances, ride with a locked or straight knee at the furthest point of the pedal stroke, i.e., when your cranks line up with your seat tube.
Well, to have a fully extended knee with the ball of your feet over the pedal-spindle would mean that your seat is about 2" way too high!
Notice that the adjustment places your
heel on the pedal-spindle. With the toes, you'd have the necessary 10-20% of knee bend at the bottom of the stroke.
Originally Posted by
markhr
too low = sore buttocks and quads with no lasting effect unless you consider fitness - you can pretty much ride any lower height with your knees bent and suffer no permanent damage. Your efficiency will suck though.
Tell that to all the people with knee problems that went away when they raised their seat. It's having the knee bent more than 15-20% degrees while applying force that causes ITB problems.