Greg LeMond on seatpost height?
12-22-09, 12:36 PM
#51
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Location: Middle TN
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Bikes: 2 Centurian Ironman, Rossin Genisis, Greenspeed GT3, Stowaway (wife)
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Bill Walton on a bike. I bet he didn't buy that off of the show room floor.
Riding the hoods is not a bad thing and one can be as areo on the hoods as in the drops. You just have to keep some bend in the elbows. I prefer the handling feel of the bike when on the hoods but when I need some rest I go to the drops for some change and rest.
Riding the hoods is not a bad thing and one can be as areo on the hoods as in the drops. You just have to keep some bend in the elbows. I prefer the handling feel of the bike when on the hoods but when I need some rest I go to the drops for some change and rest.
12-22-09, 04:38 PM
#52
Hebrews 10:20a
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Bikes: '74 Viscount Aerospace GP
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I am shorter than the OP; 6' 1" with an inseam of 90 cm. When I bought my Viscount in the 1970s, the rules of thumb we used to fit customers was:
1. Find a bike that they could straddle the top tube, with a little clearance.
2. Raise the saddle so that their knee was straight when their heel was on the pedal, and a slight bend when the ball of the foot was on the pedal.
3. Place the tip of the rider's middle finger on the centerline of the handlebar, and move the saddle back or forward until the nose of the saddle was at the rider's elbow.
4. For a racing setup, set the stem height two inches lower than the saddle; higher for casual riders.
The top of the saddle should be level.
That was how I set up my Viscount; so I was curious how it compared to the results of the Competitive Fit calculator and David Moulton's fit chart. Here is what I came up with:
Top Tube c-c
Competitive Fit - 58.9 - 59.4
Viscount - 58
Dave Moulton - 58
Seat Tube c-c
Competitive Fit - 60.8 - 61.3
Viscount - 57
Dave Moulton - 57
Stem Length
Competitive Fit - 10.8 - 11.4
Viscount - 10.5
Dave Moulton - 13.7
Dave Moulton's chart does not include seat height. But he mentions three methods - the one I mentioned above, the 109% rule, and measuring the angle of the rider's legs. Mine was set up by the first one, so the following includes the 109% rule. Competitive Fit gives the measurement from the BB to the top of the saddle; using my common 170 mm cranks, I added 8.5 cm to get pedal spindle-to-top-of-seat:
Saddle Height
Competitive Fit - 90.4 - 92.4
Viscount - 94
109% Rule - 99.2
Competitive Fit's method seems to specify a longer top tube distance, but a shorter saddle height. I am thinking that the steeper seat tube of today's competitive bike, coupled with a more aero position, rotates the rider clockwise (from the drive side), and changes each accordingly.
Looking at Competitive Fit alone, or Dave Moulton alone, my bike seems off a little. But, looking at the picture as whole, the old rules of thumb work, or at least get you in the ballpark; at least for average sized riders. And, you end up with the "fistfull of seat post."
Echoing what others said, I had no problem riding in the drops when I was a teen. I even rode a century on it once; though the Viscount stock saddle nearly killed me. (Someone loaned me a ladies saddle during the rest stop in the middle of the ride; I was fine after that, and even sprinted back home after changing the saddle back.) But, now that I am in my 40s, and have the first signs of arthritis coming on; I can ride in the drops only for a little while, and hurt in the hands and saddle after my ride. So, I think it is still set up right; rather than move the stem up, I want to work on my flexibility, with riding in the drops for extended periods of time as my goal.
In the end, it is all about what feels right, what your riding habits are, and what your fitness goals are. Which is what Peter White and other posters have said.
-James
1. Find a bike that they could straddle the top tube, with a little clearance.
2. Raise the saddle so that their knee was straight when their heel was on the pedal, and a slight bend when the ball of the foot was on the pedal.
3. Place the tip of the rider's middle finger on the centerline of the handlebar, and move the saddle back or forward until the nose of the saddle was at the rider's elbow.
4. For a racing setup, set the stem height two inches lower than the saddle; higher for casual riders.
The top of the saddle should be level.
That was how I set up my Viscount; so I was curious how it compared to the results of the Competitive Fit calculator and David Moulton's fit chart. Here is what I came up with:
Top Tube c-c
Competitive Fit - 58.9 - 59.4
Viscount - 58
Dave Moulton - 58
Seat Tube c-c
Competitive Fit - 60.8 - 61.3
Viscount - 57
Dave Moulton - 57
Stem Length
Competitive Fit - 10.8 - 11.4
Viscount - 10.5
Dave Moulton - 13.7
Dave Moulton's chart does not include seat height. But he mentions three methods - the one I mentioned above, the 109% rule, and measuring the angle of the rider's legs. Mine was set up by the first one, so the following includes the 109% rule. Competitive Fit gives the measurement from the BB to the top of the saddle; using my common 170 mm cranks, I added 8.5 cm to get pedal spindle-to-top-of-seat:
Saddle Height
Competitive Fit - 90.4 - 92.4
Viscount - 94
109% Rule - 99.2
Competitive Fit's method seems to specify a longer top tube distance, but a shorter saddle height. I am thinking that the steeper seat tube of today's competitive bike, coupled with a more aero position, rotates the rider clockwise (from the drive side), and changes each accordingly.
Looking at Competitive Fit alone, or Dave Moulton alone, my bike seems off a little. But, looking at the picture as whole, the old rules of thumb work, or at least get you in the ballpark; at least for average sized riders. And, you end up with the "fistfull of seat post."
Echoing what others said, I had no problem riding in the drops when I was a teen. I even rode a century on it once; though the Viscount stock saddle nearly killed me. (Someone loaned me a ladies saddle during the rest stop in the middle of the ride; I was fine after that, and even sprinted back home after changing the saddle back.) But, now that I am in my 40s, and have the first signs of arthritis coming on; I can ride in the drops only for a little while, and hurt in the hands and saddle after my ride. So, I think it is still set up right; rather than move the stem up, I want to work on my flexibility, with riding in the drops for extended periods of time as my goal.
In the end, it is all about what feels right, what your riding habits are, and what your fitness goals are. Which is what Peter White and other posters have said.
-James
Last edited by jhefner; 12-22-09 at 04:48 PM.
