Effect of raising saddle? - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

06-16-2004, 05:36 PM

Wow....went to the LBS today to pick up my bike with the rebuilt rear wheel
(28 spokes, 240 lbs rider). Don't know yet if they did a good job or
not --- TBD.

Anyway, since folks have been telling me to raise my saddle (including the
cute lady who sold me my bike -- I think she was afraid for me at first so
played it safe), I thought to ask for some assistance on getting it close
(they're pushing me to pay the $100 for a professional fitting). Anyway,
one of the guys (a mechanic and one of the two people there who does the
fittings) decides to help me out...puts the bike on the trainer and has me
start riding. By then end of 30 minutes or so, he has raised the saddle
hight by 2.5 inches!!

I'm wondering what practical difference this will make?

I have encountered a couple of cases where I had some knee issues, but since
I workout in the gym and blamed one incident on that (I felt some funniness
on the leg press). The other I blamed on going clipless with stock SPD
pedals with no (or little) float. I knew having the saddle too low might be
an issue, but since there were multiple factors at play....

The LBS claims I should get more power on the stroke and maybe less fatigue
while riding (that would be great!). Some older fellow said something
similar as he dropped me on the road trying to catch up to his wife on her
recumbent.

06-16-2004, 08:46 PM

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:36:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

<Snip>

>The LBS claims I should get more power on the stroke and maybe less fatigue
>while riding (that would be great!). Some older fellow said something
>similar as he dropped me on the road trying to catch up to his wife on her
>recumbent.
>

Proper leg extension is one of those things that really makes a
difference. at the bottom of the pedal stroke, there should only be a
very slight bend in your knee--it should be extended, but not
overextended.

On a road bike, the saddle will probably be high enough off the ground
to preclude being able to put your feet down on the ground while
sitting on it.

Try raising the saddle: you'll like it. I recently raised the saddle
on my little brother's superheavy Huffy, and the grin on his face when
he could actually *move* the bike down the road at a decent clip was
proof enough of the efficiency and effectiveness of good position.

-Luigi

06-16-2004, 08:46 PM

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:36:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

<Snip>

>The LBS claims I should get more power on the stroke and maybe less fatigue
>while riding (that would be great!). Some older fellow said something
>similar as he dropped me on the road trying to catch up to his wife on her
>recumbent.
>

Proper leg extension is one of those things that really makes a
difference. at the bottom of the pedal stroke, there should only be a
very slight bend in your knee--it should be extended, but not
overextended.

On a road bike, the saddle will probably be high enough off the ground
to preclude being able to put your feet down on the ground while
sitting on it.

Try raising the saddle: you'll like it. I recently raised the saddle
on my little brother's superheavy Huffy, and the grin on his face when
he could actually *move* the bike down the road at a decent clip was
proof enough of the efficiency and effectiveness of good position.

-Luigi

06-16-2004, 08:46 PM

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:36:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

<Snip>

>The LBS claims I should get more power on the stroke and maybe less fatigue
>while riding (that would be great!). Some older fellow said something
>similar as he dropped me on the road trying to catch up to his wife on her
>recumbent.
>

Proper leg extension is one of those things that really makes a
difference. at the bottom of the pedal stroke, there should only be a
very slight bend in your knee--it should be extended, but not
overextended.

On a road bike, the saddle will probably be high enough off the ground
to preclude being able to put your feet down on the ground while
sitting on it.

Try raising the saddle: you'll like it. I recently raised the saddle
on my little brother's superheavy Huffy, and the grin on his face when
he could actually *move* the bike down the road at a decent clip was
proof enough of the efficiency and effectiveness of good position.

-Luigi

06-16-2004, 08:46 PM

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:36:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

<Snip>

>The LBS claims I should get more power on the stroke and maybe less fatigue
>while riding (that would be great!). Some older fellow said something
>similar as he dropped me on the road trying to catch up to his wife on her
>recumbent.
>

Proper leg extension is one of those things that really makes a
difference. at the bottom of the pedal stroke, there should only be a
very slight bend in your knee--it should be extended, but not
overextended.

On a road bike, the saddle will probably be high enough off the ground
to preclude being able to put your feet down on the ground while
sitting on it.

Try raising the saddle: you'll like it. I recently raised the saddle
on my little brother's superheavy Huffy, and the grin on his face when
he could actually *move* the bike down the road at a decent clip was
proof enough of the efficiency and effectiveness of good position.

-Luigi

06-16-2004, 08:46 PM

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:36:10 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

<Snip>

>The LBS claims I should get more power on the stroke and maybe less fatigue
>while riding (that would be great!). Some older fellow said something
>similar as he dropped me on the road trying to catch up to his wife on her
>recumbent.
>

Proper leg extension is one of those things that really makes a
difference. at the bottom of the pedal stroke, there should only be a
very slight bend in your knee--it should be extended, but not
overextended.

On a road bike, the saddle will probably be high enough off the ground
to preclude being able to put your feet down on the ground while
sitting on it.

Try raising the saddle: you'll like it. I recently raised the saddle
on my little brother's superheavy Huffy, and the grin on his face when
he could actually *move* the bike down the road at a decent clip was
proof enough of the efficiency and effectiveness of good position.

-Luigi

06-16-2004, 09:09 PM

Roger Zoul wrote:

> Anyway, since folks have been telling me to raise my saddle (including the
> cute lady who sold me my bike

;-) I think it's time you posted the cutie's picture.

> -- I think she was afraid for me at first so
> played it safe), I thought to ask for some assistance on getting it close
> (they're pushing me to pay the $100 for a professional fitting). Anyway,
> one of the guys (a mechanic and one of the two people there who does the
> fittings) decides to help me out...puts the bike on the trainer and has me
> start riding. By then end of 30 minutes or so, he has raised the saddle
> hight by 2.5 inches!!
>
> I'm wondering what practical difference this will make?

2.5 inches will make a huge practical difference!

Riding a saddle that's too low is like doing a Groucho Marx duck walk
all day long. It puts lots of unnecessary strain on your knees.

You mention doing leg presses. You should be able to verify the idea
with that machine, if it's got enough adjustment. See how much you can
raise with your leg nearly extended, versus how little you can raise
with your knees deeply bent.

One way of setting saddle height is to lean against a wall to support
yourself, unclip, put your _heels_ on the pedals, and backpedal. Your
seat should be high enough so you can barely contact the pedals at their
lowest point. (Hip rocking to "stretch" is not allowed.)

If you set your seat height this way, then when you clip in properly,
you'll have about the right bend (i.e. pretty slight) in your knees.

Of course, nothing's perfect. This works pretty well if your body -
especially shoe size - is all "normal." Feel free to make slight
adjustements to fine tune things.

With the seat high enough, you'll ride _much_ stronger.

(With the seat too high, your hips might rock and cause saddle problems,
or you may get pain in the back of the knee from over-extending.)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

06-16-2004, 09:09 PM

Roger Zoul wrote:

> Anyway, since folks have been telling me to raise my saddle (including the
> cute lady who sold me my bike

;-) I think it's time you posted the cutie's picture.

> -- I think she was afraid for me at first so
> played it safe), I thought to ask for some assistance on getting it close
> (they're pushing me to pay the $100 for a professional fitting). Anyway,
> one of the guys (a mechanic and one of the two people there who does the
> fittings) decides to help me out...puts the bike on the trainer and has me
> start riding. By then end of 30 minutes or so, he has raised the saddle
> hight by 2.5 inches!!
>
> I'm wondering what practical difference this will make?

2.5 inches will make a huge practical difference!

Riding a saddle that's too low is like doing a Groucho Marx duck walk
all day long. It puts lots of unnecessary strain on your knees.

You mention doing leg presses. You should be able to verify the idea
with that machine, if it's got enough adjustment. See how much you can
raise with your leg nearly extended, versus how little you can raise
with your knees deeply bent.

One way of setting saddle height is to lean against a wall to support
yourself, unclip, put your _heels_ on the pedals, and backpedal. Your
seat should be high enough so you can barely contact the pedals at their
lowest point. (Hip rocking to "stretch" is not allowed.)

If you set your seat height this way, then when you clip in properly,
you'll have about the right bend (i.e. pretty slight) in your knees.

Of course, nothing's perfect. This works pretty well if your body -
especially shoe size - is all "normal." Feel free to make slight
adjustements to fine tune things.

With the seat high enough, you'll ride _much_ stronger.

(With the seat too high, your hips might rock and cause saddle problems,
or you may get pain in the back of the knee from over-extending.)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

06-16-2004, 09:09 PM

Roger Zoul wrote:

> Anyway, since folks have been telling me to raise my saddle (including the
> cute lady who sold me my bike

;-) I think it's time you posted the cutie's picture.

> -- I think she was afraid for me at first so
> played it safe), I thought to ask for some assistance on getting it close
> (they're pushing me to pay the $100 for a professional fitting). Anyway,
> one of the guys (a mechanic and one of the two people there who does the
> fittings) decides to help me out...puts the bike on the trainer and has me
> start riding. By then end of 30 minutes or so, he has raised the saddle
> hight by 2.5 inches!!
>
> I'm wondering what practical difference this will make?

2.5 inches will make a huge practical difference!

Riding a saddle that's too low is like doing a Groucho Marx duck walk
all day long. It puts lots of unnecessary strain on your knees.

You mention doing leg presses. You should be able to verify the idea
with that machine, if it's got enough adjustment. See how much you can
raise with your leg nearly extended, versus how little you can raise
with your knees deeply bent.

One way of setting saddle height is to lean against a wall to support
yourself, unclip, put your _heels_ on the pedals, and backpedal. Your
seat should be high enough so you can barely contact the pedals at their
lowest point. (Hip rocking to "stretch" is not allowed.)

If you set your seat height this way, then when you clip in properly,
you'll have about the right bend (i.e. pretty slight) in your knees.

Of course, nothing's perfect. This works pretty well if your body -
especially shoe size - is all "normal." Feel free to make slight
adjustements to fine tune things.

With the seat high enough, you'll ride _much_ stronger.

(With the seat too high, your hips might rock and cause saddle problems,
or you may get pain in the back of the knee from over-extending.)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

06-16-2004, 09:09 PM

Roger Zoul wrote:

> Anyway, since folks have been telling me to raise my saddle (including the
> cute lady who sold me my bike

;-) I think it's time you posted the cutie's picture.

> -- I think she was afraid for me at first so
> played it safe), I thought to ask for some assistance on getting it close
> (they're pushing me to pay the $100 for a professional fitting). Anyway,
> one of the guys (a mechanic and one of the two people there who does the
> fittings) decides to help me out...puts the bike on the trainer and has me
> start riding. By then end of 30 minutes or so, he has raised the saddle
> hight by 2.5 inches!!
>
> I'm wondering what practical difference this will make?

2.5 inches will make a huge practical difference!

Riding a saddle that's too low is like doing a Groucho Marx duck walk
all day long. It puts lots of unnecessary strain on your knees.

You mention doing leg presses. You should be able to verify the idea
with that machine, if it's got enough adjustment. See how much you can
raise with your leg nearly extended, versus how little you can raise
with your knees deeply bent.

One way of setting saddle height is to lean against a wall to support
yourself, unclip, put your _heels_ on the pedals, and backpedal. Your
seat should be high enough so you can barely contact the pedals at their
lowest point. (Hip rocking to "stretch" is not allowed.)

If you set your seat height this way, then when you clip in properly,
you'll have about the right bend (i.e. pretty slight) in your knees.

Of course, nothing's perfect. This works pretty well if your body -
especially shoe size - is all "normal." Feel free to make slight
adjustements to fine tune things.

With the seat high enough, you'll ride _much_ stronger.

(With the seat too high, your hips might rock and cause saddle problems,
or you may get pain in the back of the knee from over-extending.)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]