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Saddle Height

SK6

Turbo Monkey
Jul 10, 2001
7,586
0
Shut up and ride...
Ok, This has been a burning issue that I believe would really help out not only Newbies, but experienced rider as well.....

What would be technically the proper height of the Saddle, knowing full well that with the different type of MTB'ing there is, that the height can vary.......

XC

Downhill

Freeride

etc......
 
I blew out a ligament in my knee last winter playing snow softball, we play a one pitch tournament up here to benefit the Special Olympics, it is great we get together drink and raise money for a good cause. But back to the subject at hand, I just found to take the pressure off my knees I had to keep raising and lowering until I found a height comfortable to me. I searched on line and came up with different adjustments for every site. So my advice is where it is comfortable.

DBC
 

Keri

Chimp
Aug 14, 2001
2
0
Ft. Collins, CO
I don't really know what I'm talking about, but being a newbie here is what I've heard/experienced:

Bike shop guy says that while in the saddle your legs should never extend all the way or straight. So I did that.

However, then it's so high that it's hard to get off the saddle and lean way back on the downhills, so I put it a little lower.

But I'm still high enough in back that my arms have to support part of my weight because I'm leaning forward so much. I guess if you feel you are leaning forward too much you could get a shorter stem or bent handlebars instead of lowering the saddle even more.
 

jaydee

Monkey
Jul 5, 2001
794
0
Victoria BC
A good starting point is to set the height so that if you are sitting with your pelvis level and the pedals at top and bottom, your downside heel should just graze the pedal with the leg straight. Then mark the post. Then you should position the saddle on the rails so that, with the pedals level, a plumb line from the surface of your forward kneecap should go through the pedal spindle. Then use your QR to play with the seat height for steep descents. Bar position is a preference thing, depending on what kind of riding you do, down and stretched out for XC racing and way up and close for DH and somewhere in the middle for "freeriding", whatever that is.
 

norimania

Chimp
Sep 9, 2001
4
0
let me preface this post by saying that saddle height is largely a matter of personal preference. in compound with the issue of personal preference is the type of riding that you do. with XC (single track and general trail riding) where most of the time is spent in the saddle, a high saddle can deliver more endurance (the legs get better leverage and can extend more fully), but even in XC the legs really shouldn't extend completely straight. then again, the general rule XC=relatively high saddle position must be amended when it comes to a trail with a large number of steep decents. when you are on a steep decent you want to move your center of gravity to the back of the bike, allowing the front to roll over obstacles without the threat of redirecting your momentum while stopping the bike's (flying over the bars or smacking the pubis bone on the stem). surely it is annoying to stop and adjust the saddle height, so pick one that is appropriate for the topography and gradient of the ride.

for strict downhill or dual slalom, most if not all of the ride is spend out of the saddle, so it may as well be lowered out of the way. now it wouldn't be practical to put it all the way down of course, as it can be a tool in cornering and maneuvering the bike. so put it at somewhere between 25% and 50% of what you would have at for an average XC ride.

what it boils down to is that there is no quantitative data or measurement for deciding where to put the saddle, and thus no clear cut calculus for deciding its position. experience is the best teacher.

on a side note, i've noticed that a large number of american riders seem to prefer a saddle height extremely high (reletive to my own preference, that is). this observation is in the context of freeriding on a hardtail. with the knee set as the center of the angle, and a fully outstretched leg being 180 degrees, then i prefer a saddle height that results in a leg angle at the bottom of a pedal stroke of something like 125 to 135 degrees. this gives me plenty of room when out of the saddle to maneuver the bike without skimming the underside of my crotch or performing the Heimlich maneuver on myself when way back on the bike. of coarse this would be a rather uncomfortable height for a long XC ride, in which case i would like an angle closer to 150 or 160 degrees.

hope this helped a bit
 
I seem to have a good set up on my bike I'm a DHer so my seat needs to be low but I live on the top of a hill so I do alot of hill climbing.
I've got a 12" frame and a smaller than usual seatpost and I've got it positioned in the middle of the DH and XC height it doesn't hurt my knees while climbing or xc riding and then when I come to the DH it's easy to slip off behind the seat.
 

Scotty

Chimp
Jul 9, 2001
89
0
Delaware
I've been playing with my seat height for months but I finnaly think I've got it. I've only ever riden a hardtail but it sems to be most comfortable if I have just a slight bend in my knee my pedal reaches the bottom of the revolution.
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
Acadian said:
XC = as a rule of thumb, when you are sitting with riding position, put your heal of your foot on the pedal at it's lowest position (at 6 0'clock). Your leg should be straight (no bend in the knee). This works for most people.
Emphasis that you're using your heal to find the length, by using your heal when you pedal normally (mid/front of your foot) you'll find that you do have a little bend in the knee and you definately want that.
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
i use three positions of seat height.

First is the way Acadian mention when i'm climbing a forest road or singletrack exclusively and not doing much technical work.

Drop the seat 2" for climbing where the singletrack is trickier, light stunts, descents, rock gardens, etc... Just a happy medium where i can still get off the saddle and manuever for technical riding, but also sit back down and not have my knee's hit me in the forehead for some good pedal action.

Slammed for the sections where i don't wanna die because the seat got in my way deal, jumps, drops, steep techy chutes etc.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
i actually ride my dh bike with the seat pretty high. not full-on xc height, of course, but running the seat as high as you can stand it is the ticket for dh efficiency imo
 

RATM

Monkey
Aug 5, 2004
210
0
Washington DC area
Depends on the terrain you are getting ready to ride. If you are climbing to your favortive downhill run, you height should change. If you are in Lycra it should be high. If your dirt jumping, lower that bad boy.

If I am climbing or riding flat where I am pedling a lot, I raise it to where I need to be on the balls of my feet to touch the ground while seated.

If I am hitting a downhill section that requires a little pedling but the tarrain is not that bad, go with something in the middle, where your feet are flat on the ground while sitting on the seat.

If it's about to get nasty, where knobbies might be hitting the ass crack, then slam the seat all the way down, it will give you more control and lower your center of gravity, also if your DJ, take it all the way down.

Others may choose their seat hieght differently, but what ever feels comfortable is always best.
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
LordOpie said:
Once the crank length is determined, (by whatever means), the saddle should be set at a nominal height. There is no objectively determined ideal saddle height for any rider based on leg length alone. Some riders naturally pedal toes down, while others have the foot in a more level position. For starters, sit on the saddle with one leg hanging free and your hips square, (not tilting to either side). Set the saddle high enough so that your other heel can just touch the pedal with your leg straight, and with the pedal at the bottom of the stroke, in line with the seat tube. For most people this results in a saddle height that leaves some bend in the knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke, when you’re pedaling with the balls of your feet over the axle of the pedals. It also should prevent you from having to rock your hips through each crank rotation. This gets you close enough to your optimum saddle height that you can go through the rest of the fitting process and fine tune saddle height later. Any later saddle height adjustments shouldn’t be enough to throw off the other adjustments.
Pretty much what Acadian said, but i just wanted to add that not only will you get better pedal efficiency, but keeping your hips from rocking which is brought up here, and which puts stress on joints and muscles which screws you up......
 

Kornphlake

Turbo Monkey
Oct 8, 2002
2,632
1
Portland, OR
johnbryanpeters said:
Hurricane components looked into rebirthing the hite rite and found that somebody actually patented it. Well the contacted the owner and inquired if they could liscence the patent and they said no. I know from time to time the question is asked if they exist, it appears that there is some demand, for some reason the inventor doesn't make them and won't allow others to make them either.
 

hardtailer88

Chimp
Jul 11, 2004
90
0
Bethesda MD
ok here it is:

xc: raise the saddle to where your leg is almost fully extended as the pedal is at its lowest point. This gets the most possible efficiency and is comfortable, taking the stress off of your knees.

dh: Keeping the saddle fairly low is always good in downhill, considering that you need more freedom to move and transfer your weight back in the steep sections. On my dh rig, i need a medium seat height however, since my swingarms swing into the seatpost when I bottom the travel.

freeride: As low as possible! period. You need as much room as you can to transfer weight and be able to absorb big drops with your body.

dirtjumping: I prefer my saddle all the way down DJing because it gets in the way when its up high. There is no way to do no footers or anything really if that seat is up there.

I find that when im riding my heavier bikes either to the jumps, on the way to ride urban, or commuting anywhere, raising the seat is really necessary because its efficient and hurts after long distances when you dont. Or just suck it up and keep it low all the time like most my friends do. But you really have to figure what works for you and your specific bikes...
 

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
Kornphlake said:
Hurricane components looked into rebirthing the hite rite and found that somebody actually patented it. Well the contacted the owner and inquired if they could liscence the patent and they said no. I know from time to time the question is asked if they exist, it appears that there is some demand, for some reason the inventor doesn't make them and won't allow others to make them either.
http://www.gravitydropper.com/

:)

Welcome to 1993!

I personally don't like dropping the seat on techy stuff...I just learn to work around it. I tend to stick to the "Same setting no matter what riding" mantra.
 

Dartman

Old Bastard Mike
Feb 26, 2003
3,911
0
Richmond, VA
Toshi said:
i actually ride my dh bike with the seat pretty high. not full-on xc height, of course, but running the seat as high as you can stand it is the ticket for dh efficiency imo
It also gives your legs something to push against to control the bike side to side while standing.

Mike
 

B_A_MTBIKER

Monkey
May 4, 2004
170
0
Where the wild things are
I agree with alot of the people here in that saddle height is preference and comfort...adjust it to where it is a comfortable ride and not awkward then look at the different ways you ride (such as out of the saddle, or leaning back) then adjust it so you can do those things.
 

flatulant_man

Monkey
Jun 19, 2004
396
0
Food Fondlers' Convention
you should probably get a quick release seat tube collar. and i go with having my legs just about at a 65 or so degree angle. enough to stand up and lean back. however, this does make it harder to pedal. there really is no ideal seat hight for harder-core cross country and heavier-duty trail riding.