If im sitting on the saddle, im on my tippy toes at stopping. I thought my feet were supposed to be flat on the ground? I have lowered the seat as low as it can go.

Then i saw youre supposed to hop down from the saddle and as long as your feet are flat, then its a good fit? (which it is).

You should be able to stand flat footed over the top tube. Meaning the highest "bar" should be comfortably under your body if you have to jump down at anytime during the ride.

I remember when I was a child (decades ago) there was an idea that we should be able to remain seated at a stop sign (or light) yet keep the bike upright while on our tippy-toes. I don't know where that came from.... but that "guide" isn't used now-a-days.

If the saddle (seat) is too low.... your knees will be too bent at their apex. This will cause undue stress on your knees and possibly an injury. Alternately... setting a saddle too high may cause a leg extension issue/injury. Whereas neither condition will likely cause any life threating problems.... why not get the adjustments correct and ride comfortably.

There are tons of Bicycle fit videos on YouTube.

What many of us didn't know as children or even as parents and adults is that bicycles come in sizes. Not just the wheel sizes we often see in big mega stores. But bicycles (with the same wheels) are made with different frame sizes. Selecting a bicycle with the correct sized frame makes adjusting the saddle, handlebar height, and such much easier.

A decent bicycle, with a decent fit can be the difference between a very pleasant cycling experience and one that seems like work.

I can stand flat foot over the bar so im good there!

Yes, thats exactly where my thinking came from. Im glad i wasnt the only one. Maybe as kids we just thought it looked cooler?

If you're riding a Huffy Sun Country and you're on your tippy toes when stopped, the saddle is probably too high. If the saddle is as low as it will go, the frame is likely too large.

which goes back to above-

is it flat on saddle or above bar that is correct. Maybe people are split on the issue. Maybe i have no idea what im doing?!

I can't touch the ground when I'm mounted on my saddle, I have to unclip and move forward. You will get more comfortable the more you ride. This idea that you have to touch the ground comes from some unfounded fear of falling, when in reality, you can fall just as hard even if your feet touch the ground. Once you get it in your head that your bike is stable when you're moving (and you should be moving, it's a bike after all!), then you'll get over it.

On a typical road bike, with the top tube parallel to the ground (meaning not a sloping top tube) there should be about an inch of clearance when standing flat footed, straddling the top tube. The Sun Country is more of a relaxed position flat bar hybrid.

Or maybe you have short legs. This is really difficult to diagnose knowing nothing about you, or the bike.

You adjust the seat relative to the pedals.. shift your weight to one foot and slip off the saddle and put the other foot on the Ground.

a Crank forward frame design, (Not yours) puts the distance to the Pedals long enough, But..

the seat is at a shallow angle, closer to the ground, for those who Must stop flat footed while seated.

Im female. 5'4. I dont know my leg length. I dont know much about the bike since i just got it. Its a 3 speed Huffy Sun Country made possibly in the 70s ( according to posters here). It does have the sloped top tube. If i had to guess, its probably 26in, but thats a guess.

I just wanted a bike that was going to last and i knew someone took care of it, not some off the shelf thing.

I would adjust the seat for a comfortable riding position. esp for a comfort bike where riding efficiency is not as important.
When stopping, you should be off the seat standing over the top tube with BOTH feet flat on the ground (for safety).

Fit your bike for riding, not stopping. On most normal geometry bikes, for most riders, if you can touch the ground while your butt is on the saddle, then the saddle is too low.

lean the bike over to get on board with one foot on the ground, and your favorite lead foot on the pedal. Stand it up when you start moving. Think about this in reverse when you get off the bike. Anticipate and have a foot ready to put on the ground when you stop and lean over (preferably on the side with the foot out)

I put the right pedal up and hop over the bar. lean a bit left and put my feet on and go. Stopping, put my feet down, then lean over and hop off.

Its backward and probably wrong but it works.. lol

Stopping: Coast to your stopping point. Stand on the pedals with one foot at the bottom (6 o'clock). As your speed approaches zero take the other foot off the pedal, lean that direction, and put that foot on the ground.

Now you're straddling the top tube with one foot on the ground and the other on a pedal. As you're waiting for the light to change, use your toe to pull that pedal up to the 2 o'clock position.

Starting: When the light changes, stand on the 2 o'clock position. As the pedal goes down, you move forward. Put the standing foot on the other pedal and sit on the saddle. Pedal forward and be on your way.

It is easier for young kids to learn to ride their bikes if their feet touch the ground, so a low seat is good.

For adults, you can maximize crank lengths, posture, and etc with a higher seat. Your leg should be more or less straight with the heel on the pedal and the pedal at about the 7:00 position. With adequate pedal clearance, it is hard to do that and get the feet to the ground.

There are crank forward (semi-recumbent) bikes with a very upright posture, and allow the legs to be extended in front rather than straight down, and thus allow reaching the ground.

Good thread. With seat height adjusted correctly I can just barely touch the ground with one foot with foot extended while still sitting, but if I slide off of the seat and stand I can comfortably clear the top bar which is horizontal. I found not being able to stay in the seat unnerving at first, but with some practice now I hardly give it a second thought.

Tippy toes when stopping seems about the right saddle height. You are only supposed to stand flat footed when OFF the saddle (standing over the bars).

Tip: always stand over the bars when stopping. This is a lot more stable, thus safer.

Sorry if this is redundant with some of the other good explanationsQ


Let's see if I can explain these differences across the board - I hope to help you with a perspective. Other perspectives are possible, of course!

The most important criterion for saddle height is how far you extend your leg to the bottom of the pedal stroke when pedaling. One of the old-fashioned tests was to wear your riding shoes, put the heel on the pedal, and see if your leg just goes straight when you pedal through the bottom of the stroke. This needs to happen with both legs equally. This affect power production, knee health, and the health of the rest of the connective tissue in the leg.

Bike fitters now have a lot of tricky methods for setting the saddle height, but the old test is still regarded as a good starting point, and most people and most shops don't really get this one right. But you don't need to be a pro to set this correctly for yourself, or to do it with a friendly assistant.

Second is whether your body clears the top-bar when you stop and put your feet flat on the ground. Because this is the easiest one for a shop to check, it's often all they do.

The foot contact with the ground when you are seated is less critical than the others in my opinion for an adult rider, because it doesn't affect riding quality or health like the first one does. Also because if you can get your feet safely on the ground by getting off the seat, you can get your feet safely on the ground. I think it's good for kids because it gives safety without any rider action needed to be taken. But not necessarily healthy for old knees, stressed knees, or knees whose owners are planning 20+ mile daily rides.

There are other saddle adjustments as well, but saddle height is regarded as the most fundamental one. Get that right with your saddle looking level in a side view, ride it a few days, then see where you stand (or sit).

The right fit is more about top tube length than anything else. Just about everything else can be greatly adjusted. Every bike has a different bottom bracket height and every cleat has a different stack heigh. This means that judging your saddle height by where your feet touch the ground will not be consistent from one bike or pedal to another. I have very long arms and prefer a 19'' mountain bike at 5'9''. When I am on the seat, it's perfect, but I touch when over the top tube because the bike has a tall BB height. If you don't have a tool to measure a knee angle of about 30 degrees when your leg is fully extended, a good close indicator is to just be able to touch the pedal with your heels at the bottom if the pedal stroke.

Yes, I am a certified fitter. More info on that is below.
Bought A Bike Online? I Come To You Build & Fit It. Road Mountain Tri

That can cause knee pain. My right knee was killing me after I some how lost an inch of saddle height (I tried to switch back to an aeropost I'd used years ago, and installed to the same height as my round post the narrow section ended below the seatpost clamp).

Ive already raised the seat, and switched to a different bike since making this post.

Back in the day people tended to ride larger bikes. You see much more seatpost exposed now than you tended to see in the 70s and it wasn't that uncommon to lean the bike slightly at a stop even when off the saddle.

Crank Forward Frame designs came about because there were enough people ,

who were Insecure if they could not stop, still in the saddle, and, Like a Motor Bike, put a foot down.

Example :

https://www.trekbicyclesuperstore.com...s-193035-1.htm


Higher BB and 73 degree seat angle and I have to shift my weight to one pedal and get off the saddle,

and put a foot down, on my Bike Friday Pocket Llama , but not my lower BB Brompton..






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