Are saddles too high on modern bikes?

[Jdsk]

In my YouTube wanderings, I've seen quite a few experienced bike fitters talking about this. They all say that most people who arrive for a bike fit have the saddle too high.
Of course, that's only evidence that people who get a bike fit done tend to have the saddle too high, and it may be the other way round with normal ( ) people.

That's odd, because generally higher saddle = more power until you get to the point where your hips start rocking and you're overextending your knees - but that's fairly obvious to the rider.

Point well made about who goes for a bike fit.

Many adults set saddles so that they can get one or both feet or toes down when they stop without getting off the saddle. Possibly because that's how we teach children. But for some people on some bikes that puts the saddle too low when riding,

Jonathan

[rogerzilla]

MTBs and smaller frames tend to have very high BBs. With smaller frames this makes "getting a foot down" impossible for shorter riders, i.e. those the frame is intended for, if they have the saddle at the correct height for pedalling. Raising the BB is sometimes the only way to fix other issues when you try to use full-size wheels on a small frame, when the bike should really have had smaller wheels.

[531colin]

........... Raising the BB is sometimes the only way to fix other issues when you try to use full-size wheels on a small frame, when the bike should really have had smaller wheels.

What "other issues" are they?

Jeannie 001 by 531colin, on Flickr

You have seen that photo many times before. Thats my test pilot on a 48cm bike with 700c wheels, toe clearance, and a 70mm BB drop for a suggested 160mm crank. BB drops are 60, 57, and 55 respectively for 165, 170, and 175 cranks.
So you see in the tiny bike I drop the BB an extra 10mm for a crank thats just 5mm shorter....my reasoning is that the shorter leg (and foot) has less opportunity to stretch out to touch the ground.

[gxaustin]

Adjusting saddle height is about the easiest bike fit change we can do so a bit of experimentation should suffice to get a good comfortable position.

[Nigel]

....

You have seen that photo many times before. Thats my test pilot on a 48cm bike with 700c wheels, toe clearance, and a 70mm BB drop for a suggested 160mm crank. BB drops are 60, 57, and 55 respectively for 165, 170, and 175 cranks.
So you see in the tiny bike I drop the BB an extra 10mm for a crank thats just 5mm shorter....my reasoning is that the shorter leg (and foot) has less opportunity to stretch out to touch the ground.

That suggests a bike designer who is thinking about the size of the rider. Which is not necessarily the way all bikes are designed.


- Nigel

[Dingdong]

I've taken my measurements from the same bike in rode twenty five years ago, and it's served me well this far!

[Cyclo2022]

Having your saddle high is just an aggressive position but does look high on a road bike compared to say a Hybrid bike which is due to the height of the handlebars. I use the Lemond method for my saddle height then add about 10cm on top of that for my sweet spot.

[531colin]

Adjusting saddle height is about the easiest bike fit change we can do so a bit of experimentation should suffice to get a good comfortable position.

Also makes it easy to give your bike the fashionable "high saddle low bars look".

[531colin]

Having your saddle high is just an aggressive position but does look high on a road bike compared to say a Hybrid bike which is due to the height of the handlebars. I use the Lemond method for my saddle height then add about 10cm on top of that for my sweet spot.

4 inches higher than Lemond? That will be interesting!
Is it Lemond who measures to the bum bone dent rather than the saddle top?

[531colin]

....

You have seen that photo many times before. Thats my test pilot on a 48cm bike with 700c wheels, toe clearance, and a 70mm BB drop for a suggested 160mm crank. BB drops are 60, 57, and 55 respectively for 165, 170, and 175 cranks.
So you see in the tiny bike I drop the BB an extra 10mm for a crank thats just 5mm shorter....my reasoning is that the shorter leg (and foot) has less opportunity to stretch out to touch the ground.

That suggests a bike designer who is thinking about the size of the rider. Which is not necessarily the way all bikes are designed.


- Nigel

I do my best.

[Cyclo2022]

Having your saddle high is just an aggressive position but does look high on a road bike compared to say a Hybrid bike which is due to the height of the handlebars. I use the Lemond method for my saddle height then add about 10cm on top of that for my sweet spot.

4 inches higher than Lemond? That will be interesting!
Is it Lemond who measures to the bum bone dent rather than the saddle top?

Oops....my mistake that was meant to be 10mm higher. Lemond is measured from the centre of the crank to the top of the seat!

[531colin]

Having your saddle high is just an aggressive position but does look high on a road bike compared to say a Hybrid bike which is due to the height of the handlebars. I use the Lemond method for my saddle height then add about 10cm on top of that for my sweet spot.

4 inches higher than Lemond? That will be interesting!
Is it Lemond who measures to the bum bone dent rather than the saddle top?

Oops....my mistake that was meant to be 10mm higher. Lemond is measured from the centre of the crank to the top of the seat!

Actual quotation from Lemond's book here viewtopic.php?p=1129370&hilit=Lemond#p1129370

[Cyclo2022]

Actual quotation from Lemond's book here viewtopic.php?p=1129370&hilit=Lemond#p1129370

Interesting!.....Thanks for the link!

[Mick F]

When I was riding a bike as a kid, then a yoof, then an adult commuting to work, I cared not a jot about "bike fit".
My bikes were set up so I was comfortable.

As a 15/16yo, me and my mate went on 100mile rides - Tough of Bowland/North Wales/Blackpool/Southport etc.
I/we never thought about bike fit, and just rode them.

[531colin]

Actual quotation from Lemond's book here viewtopic.php?p=1129370&hilit=Lemond#p1129370

Interesting!.....Thanks for the link!

I haven't had the opportunity to check the actual book, but "Samuel D" is a level headed sort of chap; in fact one of a number of people whose contributions on here I miss.
But this takes us right back to the start of the thread; Are saddle heights increasing?
Taking a quick look at my own bike, if I measure to the top of the saddle rather than to my bum bone dent, my saddle ends up roughly 15mm higher than if I follow Lemond's recommendation and measure to the bum bone dent, and you are adding another 10mm to that, so you end up about 25mm higher than Lemond.....an inch in old money, and thats a lot.
FWIW, most people talking about Lemond's method assume you measure to the saddle top; I really should find the book to check it out!

The thread i linked isn't terribly inspiring, but it shows this discussion has been rumbling on for a long time!