Racing roadkill
Guru
Not this, if your knackering your knees, there's much more wrong with your positioning than just saddle height / stroke length.
Fully extended or not?
- Thread starter gavroche
- Start date
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Kajjal
Guru
- Location
- Wheely World
Slightly under extending you legs is fine, over extending them causes all kinds of aches and pains. If your feet are pointing down as you stretch to reach the pedals and you are rocking on the saddle it is likely you are over extending. I Had my saddle too high by mistake and it caused hip and shoulder pain as I was too tense on the bike and over stretching, knee pain is not uncommon for the same reason. Once I dropped the saddle back to normal it quickly went away.
I'm having problems with saddle height too. I've always used the method where I set it so my leg is straight when my heel is on the pedal but I do feel I'm over-extending these days so I'm tempted to drop the saddle 10mm or so. Not as efficient maybe but it will almost certainly be more comfortable. I'm not as fit as I used to be.
Smokin Joe
Squire
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
You'll probably find it is more efficient. The "Straight leg with your heel on the pedal" method is a very old generalisation and I'm sure it is not one that pro riders use. IMO it puts your saddle too high.
Kajjal
Guru
- Location
- Wheely World
When the pedal is down and crank arm in line with the seat tube you need enough flex in your leg so you are not over stretching and are stable on the saddle, you should be able to lift yourself off the saddle a little in line with the seat tube.
