Are saddles too high on modern bikes?

[fastpedaller]

In a similar vein to the subject about bar height - When you are a pedestrian, do you see riders going past and you think "crikey that saddles far too high?"
Sorry, I don't know how to do the survey thing

[Nearholmer]

Only if you’ve set the handlebars too low.

[Dingdong]

Or your legs are too short.

[Dingdong]

Or the rain is too wet

[rogerzilla]

I more often think, "that saddle's too low - they'll wreck their knees "

[Nearholmer]

Yes, I sometimes have to stop myself coming over all ‘helpful’ and flagging people down to tell them they’ve got their saddle too low. You see people struggling along, and it’s obvious that they’d be a lot faster/less tired/happier with the seat a few inches higher.

[reohn2]

^^^ me too,I'm always concerned about their knees,I saw a lady last week who looked comical the saddle was so low.
Another one is having the saddle set to far forward.

[simonineaston]

It's a well-known fact that modern people are a lot bigger than they were. So, if anything, the saddles on modern bikes are set too low. Manufacturers have not kept up with developing trends and stick to their old ways, without taking the taller person into account. I imagine that they have the same old staff at the factory who just keep doing things just like they always used too. This will not change until there is some sort of revolution...
On the plus side, I have seen the bikes of some young people and I would say that it looks many of them have taken ownership of the issue and, throwing caution to the winds, have adjusted the saddle to suit themselves. I take this as a Good SIgn.
Or I may have just been dreaming...

[mattsccm]

Even my wife regularly comments that some ones saddle is too low. As an infrequent cyclist, but a great watcher of it on the telly, she can spot one . Despite this , hers is too low.

[Vorpal]

I more often think, "that saddle's too low - they'll wreck their knees "

yeah, me, too

[531colin]

In a similar vein to the subject about bar height - When you are a pedestrian, do you see riders going past and you think "crikey that saddles far too high?"
Sorry, I don't know how to do the survey thing

The current fashion is to set the saddle so that you have to be on tiptoe to reach the pedal at the bottom.
Not everybody is convinced its a good idea.
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... n-it-be-2/

[gcogger]

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.

[Pebble]

may be bottoms are just getting higher - they're certainly getting bigger.

[PedallingSquares]

In a similar vein to the subject about bar height - When you are a pedestrian, do you see riders going past and you think "crikey that saddles far too high?"
Sorry, I don't know how to do the survey thing

The current fashion is to set the saddle so that you have to be on tiptoe to reach the pedal at the bottom.
Not everybody is convinced its a good idea.
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... n-it-be-2/

I've always gone by the leg straight at 6 o'clock with my heel on the pedal.This gets me pretty close then it's minor adjustments until it feels right.

[rogerzilla]

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.

It's important to tweak saddle height for crank length. I use 30.25" for 170mm cranks, but 30.5" for 165mm cranks and 30" for 175mm. Excuse mixed units.