Seat Position
Bicycle Tips
YOUR SEATING POSITION - SADDLE PLACEMENT
* How and where you sit on a bike saddle affects your comfort.
* Bike saddles are adjustable, and most seat discomfort problems can be solved. ASK any bike shop for help!
* Saddle height:
NEARLY EVERYONE RIDES WITH HIS OR HER BIKE SEAT TOO LOW!
* You should HARDLY be able to touch your feet to the ground when your seat is at its correct height in relation to your leg length. You should barely touch ground with the ends of both your ?tip-toes? at the same time.
* The ?perfect? seat height (where you can touch your feet to the ground AND get proper leg extension) DOESN?T EXIST!
* Your leg length in relation to the pedals (NOT the ground!) determines comfortable seat height.
* Saddle height is adjusted by raising or lowering the seat on its mounting post in the bike frame, and changes the amount of bend in the leg at the bottom of the rotational pedal stroke.
* Knees should bend slightly at the bottom of the pedal stroke so leg muscles extend and relax before contracting again.
* With saddles too low, leg muscles stay contracted, don?t stretch out, cramp more easily, and fatigue more quickly.
* With saddles too high (or on bikes too large for the rider), the leg can hyper-extend, painfully stretching knee ligaments, forcing you to ?rock? side to side as you pedal.
* When mounting a bike, use a lower pedal as a ?step? to raise yourself up onto the seat. When stopping and dismounting, use a lower pedal to step down off the saddle (rather than ?leaning over? and losing your balance.
