Cycling and bicycle racing discussion forums.   View New Forum Topics
Today's Forum Topics

Set as homepage


Go Back   Cycling Forums > Mountain Bikes > General Mountain Bike Chat
User Name
Password
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Welcome to CyclingForums.com

You are currently viewing our website as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions. You will have to register before you can post to this thread.

By joining our free online community you will have access to post new topics, communicate privately with other cyclingforums.com members (PM), respond to polls, upload photos and access other special features like product reviews and classifieds.


Saddle height

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 03-01.-2004, 02:13 PM   #1
bone
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 44
Default Saddle height

Gang,
Newbie question here. Is the recommended saddle height a function of your inseam, and if so what percentage??? What is your inseam and what saddle height are you running??? FWIW, my inseam is 34.5"
Thanks Gang, Bone
bone is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 04-01.-2004, 05:59 AM   #2
njee20
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Guildford, Surrey, UK
Posts: 15
Default Re: Saddle height

To be honest Bone any way of determining saddle height is, at the end of the day, a guide.

Try sitting on the saddle, then, with the crank at the very bottom of its stroke, put your heal on the pedal. At the optimum saddle height this should in theory leave your leg more or less locked out, with a very small bend in your knee.

I'm about 5'10" with an inside leg of about 32" and the distance from the centre of the B/B shell to the top of my saddle is 710mm on my mountain bikes (17.5" frame) and 715mm on my road bikes (56cm frame), just as a rough guide. Try what feels right, it almost certainly is!
njee20 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 04-01.-2004, 10:04 PM   #3
Duckwah
Community Team
 
Duckwah's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 780
Send a message via ICQ to Duckwah
Default

A good starting saddle height is to set the saddle so that when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke there is a slight bend in your knee. You may need to adjust the saddle up or down a few times to find a good height

to further complicate things your saddle height may vary with the terrain you are riding over. For example on rough or dodgy terrain it can pay to lower your saddle an inch or two so that you can get your wiehgt off the back easier on descents and so that you can dab a foot down a bit easier. However riding a for hours on a lowered saddle can be hard on your knees and thighs.

In extreme conditions (particularly steep rocky down hills) it can be a good idea to drop the saddle all the way down so you can move around easily and get your weight right off the back of the saddle and your center of gravity nice and low

So..... When i'm out riding and i have to climb a big ass hill i jack my seat as far up as is comfortable until i get to any tricky sections and then i lower it a bit. If i know there is a big knarly section coming up i slam it down, power through the section then adjust it up again. On a long ride i might adjust my seat 3-4 times.

Actually some one has just released a seat post with a remote that changes your saddle height by a couple of incehes at the flick of a switch and if i can get the money together i might buy one

Hope that helps
__________________
Don Stevenson

Strength and Conditioning Coach

Octogen Fitness

www.octogen.com.au

fitness@octogen.com.au
Duckwah is offline  
Reply With Quote

Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump



All times are GMT +10. The time now is 11:40 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Copyright © 2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 cyclingforums.com

Links to websites we like:
Pezcyclingnews | Cyclingnews.com | Wine Zone | iinet