cerbeos

Hey everyone, I just got a Raleigh Route 66 (56cm) and I'm absolutely loving it. The only thing that is kinda bugging me, is that while I have my height set at a height that is very comfortable to pedal, with my legs about 95% extended when they're pushing down. However, with the seat at this height, I'm 'tippy-toeing' to stand the bike at a stop. If I get off of the seat and stand over the frame though, its perfectly fine.

I know the bike is like one size too big (as per the manuals and such) but I really have not had one problem with it. I'm not gonna trade it in or anything, but was wondering if there was anything I could do to avoid standing on my toes at a stop.

Thanks!

rmwkokomo

Your are not supposed to be able to stay in the seat when stopped - if the seat were low enough to allow that then it would not be high enough to pedal efficiently.

DavidLee

AASHTA - Sheldon Brown, Starting & Stopping.

BarracksSi

Not true all the time, of course, since a few bikes have a seat tube angled back far enough to flat-foot at stops and still have an efficient pedal stroke.

But with the OP's Raleigh, it's definitely true. Best thing to do is to get off the seat and step off of a pedal to put one foot on the ground.

Sometimes I unclip both feet and just stand there if the stoplight is going to take a while.

deraltekluge

Sounds like you've got it just about right.

ukie

I personally found this article very helpful for fitting a bicycle.

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

cerbeos

Awesome, thanks so much everyone. Thought I had it all messed up ><.

Thanks again!

stevage

Thanks for that URL, very good read. I'm in the process of trying to decide between a frame that I thought might be marginally too big, or having to choose a different bike altogether. Sounds like it's relatively straightforward to compensate for big frame with seatpost/stem/saddle adjustments.

Steve