Very impressed with the effort some of you put into finding optimal seat height.
I eyeball it when setting up the bike then make sure I have the appropriate seat post adjusting tool with me the first few rides (usually have this in any event - cepting the bike with the Pitlock binder.) On Sep 27, 9:12 am, sjauch <sja...@gmail.com> wrote: > Saddle height is very person specific. I went with Riv method of PBH > minus 10 for a saddle height of 72cm. Earlier this year I developed > knee pain that prevented me from riding for 2 months. I went to a > fitter who raised my saddle by 1.5cm and it has made a world of > difference. This was in addition to adjusting the cleats on my shoes. > > It can't hurt to play around. The fitter had my bike hooked up to some > fancy trainer that measured watt output and noticed an increase with > the changed made. It was a pretty interesting experience. > > On Sep 27, 5:55 am, Ken Freeman <kenfreeman...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Another thing is that triathletes usually have their saddles placed farther > > forward and higher up than do road riders - different strokes for different > > sports! His advice might not be right for you. > > > On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 5:53 AM, Ken Freeman <kenfreeman...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > > I start with my PBH measurement, then multiply by 1.09. I set the saddle > > > to this height measuring along the seat tube from the axis of the pedal to > > > the top of the saddle with the lower crank arm in line with the seat tube. > > > I do this with the saddle level and centered on the saddle clamp. Then I > > > ride-test it. > > > > Usually the bars are already in the correct position for me, which is > > > about > > > 2 cm below the saddle. If not, I change them. > > > > After this I have some rules for troubleshooting. I don't know if I > > > should > > > go into detail. > > > > The best shop fitting I had was when the coach used a goniometer to > > > measure > > > and set my knee angle at pedal bottom - between 25 and 30 degrees is the > > > usual convention. This fitter used KOPS to set the saddle fore/aft > > > position. > > > > The most critical thing is to get as much leg extension as you can without > > > causing your hips to rock painfully. > > > > Will the simple knee extension rule do it for you? Only you can find out, > > > but if another good rider says, "you look a little low," it's reasonable > > > to > > > see if going up, maybe 1/8 inch at a time, does you any good without > > > adding > > > negatives - there are a lot of ways to look at it these days. > > > > Sometimes it takes a few hours or days to tell if a change brings negative > > > effects with it. Try to mark or record your old position to be able to go > > > back to the old position if it doesn't work. There is such a thing as > > > going > > > too far too fast with a change, having some pain, and needing to go back > > > to > > > where you were. Sometimes you need to do this while out on a ride. Think > > > of that classic professional rider (forgot who!!!!) who carried wrenches > > > to > > > set his saddle in the middle of TdF stages! > > > > On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 3:16 AM, travis.ha...@gmail.com < > > > travis.ha...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> 2 centimeters, 4/5 of an inch? That's quite a bit. Did anyone ever > > >> offer observation to you that your hips were rocking when you > > >> pedaled? > > > >> The other rule of foot-length is that heels just touching the pedals > > >> when the leg is fully extended implies the "right" bend at the knee > > >> when the distance from heel to place-of-foot over pedal is added. That > > >> said, common advice is that for many riders, moving cleats a bit > > >> behind the ball of the foot instead of under them is a better, if not > > >> most powerful position. That would imply a lower saddle, but just > > >> several mm. lower. > > > >> On Sep 27, 10:28 am, Jeremy Till <jeremy.t...@gmail.com> wrote: > > >> > If you want to double check, you could measure your pubic bone height > > >> > (PBH) using the method on the rivendell site and then apply their > > >> > formula for seat height, which is PBH minus 10-10.5cm. I did this > > >> > recently and ended up lowering my saddles about 2 cm. So far, my > > >> > hamstrings are thanking me. It also has the added advantage of > > >> > raising my bars by 2cm relative to my seat, making everything just > > >> > slightly more comfy cockpit-wise. > > > >> > On Sep 26, 6:29 pm, GeorgeS <chobur...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> > > I rode my club's century today and as I was toiling up a hill, a > > >> > > young > > >> > > triathlete sort on a plastic thing (the tubes were not even round!) > > >> > > came by me and he said "Sir, you might want to raise your seat a bit > > >> > > so you'll get more leverage." Unsolicited advice is so cool. My > > >> > > immediate thought was to tell him that I had been riding bikes since > > >> > > before he was born, but I've been trying to keep my mouth out of gear > > >> > > so I didn't say anything. But then I started thinking that back in > > >> > > the day, the rule of thumb, at least as it was passed down to me, was > > >> > > that when the pedal is in the 6 o'clock position, the knee should be > > >> > > very slightly bent. I've been doing that with every bike I've set up > > >> > > for lo these many years. Was that wrong? Has there been any > > >> > > progress > > >> > > in thinking on this subject? > > >> > > GeorgeS > > > >> -- > > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > >> rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscrib...@googlegroups.com> > > >> . > > >> For more options, visit this group at > > >>http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > > -- > > > Ken Freeman > > > Ann Arbor, MI USA > > > -- > > Ken Freeman > > Ann Arbor, MI USA- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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