Hello. I'm a male in my 30s, 6'1, about 220. I'm out of shape and want to start commuting on a bike. I recently bought a used Roadmaster MTB for $100 because it was cheap and the previous owner maintained it well. Since I'm kind of tall I raised the seatpost 5" so my legs wouldn't be so bent.

I'd like to raise the seat even more so my legs will be completely straight, but then I have problems getting on and off the saddle. I have to tilt the bike down and swing my leg over and my pant crotch catches the top. I also try to follow traffic laws, so at red lights I have to stop and put one leg down to balance myself. When the seat is high enough for my legs to be straight, I have to be on tip toes when I'm stopped.

Is there a better way of doing this? What am I supposed to do so I have a bike that is big enough to keep my legs straight, but also easy enough to use when commuting? What do you guys suggest, I am looking for opinions here.

Use an online fit calculator to determine appropriate saddle height. Wear pants that are slightly more fitted so it doesn't catch on the saddle on re-mounts. You don't have to remain seated when stopping at lights; keep one foot on the pedal and the other foot planted on the ground while shifting forward and off of the saddle.

Generally you have to get off your seat during stops. Or you can get to the curb so your foot has a platform.

Some bikes have a lower bottom bracket so you are closer to the ground by default.

I lean my bike to the side a bit so one foot will be flat, and move the pedals so my go foot is bent at the top of a pedal. Then jump on the seat with the first stroke. My seat is not very high and my bike has a low-ish bottom bracket.

That sounds right, actually. If you can stay on the saddle and put a foot down flat footed, it's usually a sign that your saddle is too low. You don't actually want you leg to be completely straight. You should have a slight bend at the bottom of your pedal stroke.

I'm guessing that your Roadmaster was a one-size-fits-some kind of bike and is likely too small for you. Putting the seat up really high will help, but when you have the budget it would be a good idea to get a bike made for someone your size. Make sure you aren't extending the seat post above the minimum insertion line. If your seatpost doesn't have such a line there's a good chance you are over-extending it. (I think you generally need to have two inches of seatpost below the top tube.)

If you're near an urban area with a decent used bike market, look for an old rigid mountain bike from Specialized, Trek or Giant. I'm a good bit shorter than you, so my size estimate might be way off, but I think you probably want something around a 21" frame for a MTB (though for a road bike you'd need something bigger).

I'm going to look for more fitted pants/shorts for riding my bike. Thank you for the advice.

I knew I was doing something wrong. Thank you for the helpful advice! I'm not too nimble so I think I will try the curb idea first.

I am interested in purchasing a bike with a "lower bottom bracket." Would such a bike not also have shorter pedal arms as well to compensate for less ground clearance? What kind of bikes could you recommend for me?

I like the Roadmaster bike and it's components. I don't ride too fast so a study all-weather MTB is fine. My problem is with the geometry.

I'm basically pretty ignorant about bicycle geometry so this may sound like a stupid question, but isn't a 21" frame or an 18" frame with the saddle raised 3" basically the same thing? My Roadmaster has a long 12" seat post so raising it 5-6" is fine.

No, in general as the nominal bike size goes up the head tube and top tube also get longer, meaning the handlebars are higher and a bit further away. For the style of riding you are doing that isn't terribly critical and if you are comfortable on the bike for the length of rides you're doing then there is no reason to get a different bike.

Most people find that they want a new bike after riding regularly for a year or so, because in that amount of time you figure out exactly what you do and don't like about a bike and the odds of the bike you started with being just what you end up wanting are pretty small (regardless of what that first bike was). So it makes sense to wait before thinking about another bike for that reason anyway.

If your Roadmaster has a relatively flat top tube then you may very well be right about the current seatpost being long enough. I was thinking of modern mountain bike geometry like this:



That bike had a 400mm (15.7 inch) seatpost to accommodate the height shown. I definitely still think it is worth marking your insertion point and pulling it out and measuring to see how deep it is. If it isn't in far enough you can break things, including yourself.

Regarding your comments above about not feeling nimble enough for jumping on and pedaling from a stop, I think you'll discover pretty soon that it's not actually a problem. When you get on the bike and start at the beginning of the day you aren't starting in the saddle. Getting going from a traffic stop is basically the same thing. It may feel awkward now, but in a couple of weeks it will become second nature and you won't even think about it.

This actually makes too much sense. I think it's an 18" frame, and I feel a bit "hunched" when I ride it. If I had a larger frame, I should have more room to spread my body out.

The reason I bought this bike was because it was nearby, cheap, and ready to ride. It was a convenient purchase but I should spend more time searching Cragislist and finding a bike you guys suggested, and make absolutely sure it fits my body this time.

Here's a pic I found online to kinda explain it:


1. Raise the seat to a height where when pedalling your leg is almost fully straight.
2. On a bike that is the right size the top of the seat should be at about the same height as the top of the handlebars.
3. If you can't do both these things, then the bike is likely to small for you.

You mention having raised the seat 5 inches - that's a huge increase in seat height, if that still feels like it might not be tall enough it's almost certain that the source of your issues is that bike being far to small for you.

I suspect that bike being much to small for you is why getting on and off the bike is such a problem as well. Needing to be on your tiptoes to put your foot down when stopped is normal - normally when people come to a stop, they put all their weight on one foot, slide forward off the saddle so their waist is clear of the saddle on over the top tube, and put their other foot down on the ground as they stop. To get going again you do the opposite, put all your weight on one foot, use that to push yourself back up onto the saddle, then put the other foot back on the other pedal. I don't think that it's something you can avoid doing on a regular bike regardless of how low the bottom bracket it - the efficient point for your legs is being almost fully extended at the bottom of pedalling, and the pedals need to be a certain height so they don't hit the ground when you turn, so you're always going to need to get off the saddle to put your foot comfortably on the ground.

It's cool, a lot of us just wanted to get out there riding cheaply and ASAP. :-) You could also go to a bike shop. It's more expensive, but in addition to getting a new bike that's not partly worn out already, it also gives you the opportunity to ride several different size of the same model. A lot of shops also have a bike fitter that could take a look at you on the bike and tell you which size is the right size.

A decent hybrid bike from a bike shop (basically a mountain bike but without offroad stuff that's not needed, like shocks, knobby tires, etc) usually costs around $400 from a bike shop.

Thank you Paul. I'm trying to avoid going to the LBS because a brand new bike can be a target. I'd rather have the peace of mind of having something cheap and replaceable if it gets stolen or -more likely- I mess it up somehow.

Personally, I would stay away from the curb area at lights, especially if you are riding in the lane. This opens up all kinds of space for cars to crowd you and make things stressful. Try working on your stops and figuring out for you what is comfortable to do. For me, I always end up like this at a light.



I keep my right foot (stronger leg) clipped in the pedal and support myself with my left leg. When the light goes green, you have your power leg starting you off and you just sort of hop up on the saddle and go.

Lol I remember going through all that back in the day...after a while I found that bike fit and riding something enjoyable were far more important to me than one or two hundred dollars. Even replaceability is kinda like that...it's more expensive to replace a bike from a store, but it's also a heck of a lot less hassle than spending 6 months scouring craigslist.

Dunno where you live though. I leave my bike locked in uptown, but not the ghetto or anything.

Make sure you get a ulock, not a cable lock.

This is a good video demonstrating starting and stopping when the saddle is too high to comfortably put a food on the ground. I raised mine recently and I'm trying to get used to doing it this way; I find stopping awkward, but starting is pretty easy. You stand over the top tube with the pedals horizontal, then when you step onto the forward pedal you propel the bike forward while lifting yourself up (as if you were going to pedal standing) and then settle back onto the saddle while you're moving.

I agree with others, this sounds right. I was just coaching my son through this the other day, as he is growing fast and I had to raise his seat again. The best way to start off is to get the left pedal high, right foot on the ground, and simultaneously stomp on the left, and use that as the 'stepstool' to get yourself up onto the seat -- then continue pedaling with the right. The whole time trying to avoid the front wheel turning a lot. Sometimes it works out that when you stop you can put your right foot on a curb, and remain seated, just leaned over a little bit maybe. (all that can of course be reversed mirror image, just swap left<-->right)

Your goal when riding is to not quite completely extend each leg at the bottom stroke. If your heel can just graze the pedal, then when you put the ball of your foot on the pedal (which is how you should ride), then it should be just about right. If you find your hips are rocking back and forth, then you're a little high, and should lower the saddle a cm at a time until the rocking stops.