Saddle Height

Best way to get your saddle to a good starting point is to measure your inseam properly (floor to pubic bone, using the spine of a book shoved up with some degree of pressure). Take the measurement and multiply by 0.833.

Take this measurement and set your saddle height by using this measurement from centre of bottom bracket to top of saddle, along the same angle of the seat tube.

It's a good starting point and shouldn't be too far out from your ideal. A bit of fine tuning should be all that's in order.

PS, I used to have a rolls saddle and didn't get on with it. I found it either tilted too far forward and I slid down it or if adjusted backwards, the nose stuck up too much (either way, my weight was on my perineum - bad:eek: )

I now have a flite ti gel saddle and have had no such problems since.

Thanks for the replies, firstly when i started racing years ago i used a Turbo saddle then i got a Rolls one and it was perfect so assumed it'd still be perfect. I'm thinking it's not the saddle though it's it's height. I more or less have it the right height but if i lower it say 5 mm i'm not getting a sore butt but am getting very sore knees, front and back then when i higher it knees aren't as sore but butt is !! Maybe it's just the muscles in my legs growing again cos i only really notice the pain in my knees going up hills.

You may neeed to bring the seat forward a touch, check the crank length, I had this problem with a lady friend, she needed to come forward and shorter cranks.

I get loads of emails about how I can increase my crank length to help lady friends😄

I used the .883 times inseam for my road bike's seat height - discovered the formula in LeMond's book several years ago - I then got on the bike and positioned the pedal at roughly 90 degrees forward from the top of the stroke and then dropped a plumb line from knee cap - the line should extend through the center of the pedal - if it's way off then tweak the height.

Good Luck !!!

But to answer your question, as darrenf suggested, start with the .883 times inseam .

Darrenf

Well we all have our crosses to bear 😄

gclark8

Yeah thanks already tried moving it foward a bit and it helped, at this stage i'm thinking it's just my leg muscles growing cos i'm training over a lot more hills than i have up till now.

litespeedguy

Good idea thanks will check that one out later

Easy,

can you give us some feedback please on your climbing cadence and crank length, your age and height will help too.

Darren, don't believe those E-male offers, a B12 shot beats viagra any day. 😄

Ok now i'm confused, one lad says multiply by 0.883 and the other says 0.833 which is it? Also dunno cos my inside leg is 81cm which means i should have my saddle height between 68cm or 72cm, at the moment i've got it at 75cm !! I've had it 1cm or 2 cm lower and i've got cramps in my calves and bad knee pains then when i higher it no calve cramps and knee pains not as bad. The crank length is 170 mm which leads me to another question what difference does the crank length make?

Finally i'm 31 5ft8 or 173 cm dunno what my cadence does be cos i haven't got a cadence thingy on me bike but i'd more prefer spinning the pedals rather than trying to push big gears, if that helps?

EasyDoesIt said:

Ok now i'm confused, one lad says multiply by 0.883 and the other says 0.833 which is it? Also dunno cos my inside leg is 81cm which means i should have my saddle height between 68cm or 72cm, at the moment i've got it at 75cm !! I've had it 1cm or 2 cm lower and i've got cramps in my calves and bad knee pains then when i higher it no calve cramps and knee pains not as bad. The crank length is 170 mm which leads me to another question what difference does the crank length make?

Finally i'm 31 5ft8 or 173 cm dunno what my cadence does be cos i haven't got a cadence thingy on me bike but i'd more prefer spinning the pedals rather than trying to push big gears, if that helps?

Try saddle to pedal height = inside leg ( with shoes ) divided by 1·09 .
or inside leg 109% of pedal to saddle distance .

Quoted post said:

Ok now i'm confused, one lad says multiply by 0.883 and the other says 0.833 which is it? Also dunno cos my inside leg is 81cm which means i should have my saddle height between 68cm or 72cm, at the moment i've got it at 75cm

Sorry, I made a typo. it is 0.883. That may clarify your confusion but still doesn't solve your problem it seems as you are still 3cm higher! I just think you'll have to keep tinkering!

In your case, .883 of inseam to centre of bb and 1.09 x inseam to pedal gives about the same length of 88 to 88.5cm to pedal when you factor in 170mm cranks.

Are you sure you have your inseam correct? Stand against the wall and shove a book right up against your pubic bone, not just resting on it, but with about as much pressure as you feel when sitting on the saddle. This is your true inseam measurement.

Anyway, by using the 0.883 and 1.09 and setting your saddle fore/aft so you have knee over pedal spindle as described above will give you the theoretical ideal saddle position as long as you have your inseam right.

You may find that you like it a bit higher/ lower/ forward back but not much more than a cm or two from this "neutral" position.

Anyway, happy tinkering!

Easy,

You seat should be 700-705 from the centre of the BB bolt to the centre of the seat. To find the seat centre, put a bit of sticky label or tape there, measure the overall horizontal length, mark it half way accurately with a pen, to the mm. Re measure straight down from that line to the BB centre.

The 700-705 is my calc for your measurements using 170mm cranks and shoes of medium thickness. Shorter cranks and thicker shoes will mean a longer measurement. At 31 you should have good flexibility and fitness. Cadence can be measured with a watch with a sweep second hand, tape it to the bars. Higher cadence, normally, shorter cranks and a steeper effective seatpost angle (epo), that means the seat forward.

For example, I am 171cm tall, inseam 795mm, 55yrs, seat height 695mm in running shoes (700mm in Shimano SH-M038), cranks 170mm, cadence 86-90, eop 76degrees.

Consider a bike fit session with a good LBS or bike training gym.

Ok thanks everyone for all your help. Measured my inseam again (with someone elses help) and i've got 82cm, so i've lowered the saddle down to 73cm which i'll try out tomorrow on my usual spin will post a progress report soon !!

EasyDoesIt said:

Ok thanks everyone for all your help. Measured my inseam again (with someone elses help) and i've got 82cm, so i've lowered the saddle down to 73cm which i'll try out tomorrow on my usual spin will post a progress report soon !!

The other way to set seat height is to put your bicycle in a trainer, or have a friend hold you upright, then sit on the saddle with your cycling shoes on and spin the pedal to your furthest extension with your heel. Your heel should just rest on the pedal at the furthest point, without rocking your hips. If you can't reach the pedal with your heel, your seat is too high, if you have lots of bend in your leg at the farthest point, your saddle is too low.

PS- Don't forget that as your raise or lower a saddle it changes your fore and aft position relative to the cranks and handlebar.

Remember, it doesn't matter which "formula" you use to set your saddle position - it's only to determine a starting point from which to tweak your optimum position.

Once you get your saddle to a starting point, you might want to check this out:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=2004/letters12-20#Steve

DK

EasyDoesIt said:

I'm having trouble getting my saddle height right. If i lower it i'm not getting saddle sore at all (Rolls saddle and Assos shorts) but i'm getting sore very quickly around my knees, front and back. If i higher up the saddle the soreness in the knees isn't as bad but i'm then getting saddle sore. Funny thing is it's only on one side of my butt i'm getting sore and i'm beginning to think maybe one leg is longer than the other ?

EasyDoesIt

I have found over many years that what always works for me is the following:

1. Sit on the seat and prop yourself up against a wall or have someone hold you up straight.

2. Adjust saddle height so that, with your leg straight, your heel just sits on the pedal. I guess you could check with both legs, just in case one is longer than the other. I've always used my right. I actually just stand up on the pedal (on my heel) and figure out what the correct adjustment is by checking the distance from the saddle to my crotch. No measuring tapes or differential equations for me ("hmmm, that would be about two fingers too low"😉. 😉

That's it. When you put the balls of your feet on the pedal you will now always have, at least, a slight bend in your knees and that is exactly what you want. How easy is that?

Ok thanks everyone for all your help tried the bike yesterday with the saddle at 730mm and found i've more power as i'm going up the same climbs also no saddle sores. Kinda feels very low but i'll leave it be till i get used to it and see, dunno about lowering the saddle more though cos i've a good bend in my knee as it is.

EasyDoesIt said:

Ok thanks everyone for all your help tried the bike yesterday with the saddle at 730mm and found i've more power as i'm going up the same climbs also no saddle sores. Kinda feels very low but i'll leave it be till i get used to it and see, dunno about lowering the saddle more though cos i've a good bend in my knee as it is.

less risk to the knees if a bit low rather than too high