Saddle Height Woes

[S.Giles]

Hello,


This is my first post here.

I'm wondering if any other forum members have had the experience of being asked to show a beginning (adult) cyclist how to set up their bike correctly (109% saddle height method [or similar, but let's not get into that here], along with a demonstration of the correct starting/stopping method), only to hear the 'I don't feel safe unless both my feet can touch the ground when I'm sat in the saddle' chestnut. This has happened to me twice recently. Apparently, this concept is so seductive to the beginner, that no amount of careful explanation is able to counter it. The session usually ends with the saddle at the wrong (much too low) height, a cyclist on the road to bad habits and knee problems, and me looking like I'm making stuff up just to be difficult!

I think I'm about to give up trying to help beginners. The ones I've met are too headstrong and argumentative (as am I!). Bicycles are ubiquitous and so people seem to think there's no technique involved - you just jump on and go. I don't need the hassle, but I'm helpful by nature, so I'm easily roped in!

I'm surely not the first person to suffer this frustration? I really love passing on information, but would like to avoid having any more daft arguments I'll never win.

Thanks for listening!

Steve

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@S.Giles Its like most walks of life "some folk can't/wont be told", I tried explaining the difference between 100Mb 1Gb and our download speed from the internet (about 76Mb/s) and that the T.V. and vision box connected to 100Mb switch box would not suffer any loss of speed to the net, the rest of the household network 6 rooms is all 1Gb, just falls of deaf ears.

 

[BSRU]

Maybe you should just state it is the recommended seat height which will avoid knee problems but the cyclist is free to set the saddle height to whatever they want to.

 

[S.Giles]

Hello, and thanks for the welcome!

Yes, I'm not their boss, and they are free to do anything they like. The dismissive attitude gets to me, though (although I know it shouldn't). These are people I know and who want to come out riding with me, so I feel some responsibility.

Once the habit of sitting on the saddle of the stationary bike has been formed, it'll be difficult (and dangerous) to change at a later point. It's very hilly around here, and I can't imagine tackling hills with the saddle that low (but luckily I'll never need to).

I'd be interested to know if there's anyone on the forum who has ever had their saddle set low like that. What induced you to 'go straight' (if you have)? Was it a difficult process?

Steve

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@S.Giles when I started mine was too low, though not that low, the old adage tiptoe on one foot, but it turned out it was still to low, and it was reading forums like this that induced me to set it higher.

 

[Kies]

My wife will not listen to me re: saddle height .... So is keep adjusting it by a mm each time i put the bike away. She insists both feet need to be flat on the floor when stationary,but has begrudgingly allowed me to raise it so the balls of her feet are able to touch the floor.
A lot of this comes from being nervous or wobbly cyclists .... Give it time and keep plugging the right messages. It is ultimately up to an individual if they wish to heed good advice.

 

[BAtoo]

@S.Giles when I started mine was too low, though not that low, the old adage tiptoe on one foot, but it turned out it was still to low, and it was reading forums like this that induced me to set it higher.

Me too!

Last evening I went for a ride on my old bike (which I'm changing to a "touring" bike) and it's saddle is somewhat lower than my current bike and boy did I notice the difference! Much harder to pedal.
Also had flat pedals on as I'd swapped out the clipless pedals (to check for a click on my other bike) and that felt very odd - feet slipping off and not pointing properly.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I wouldn't worry about people not taking your advice.

They asked, you answered, they ignored - that's it.

Up to them what they do.

PS: presume you haven't had teenage children?

 

[flyingfish]

i had my bike set up at the LSB where i bought it. The saddle was higher than i would have set it but it's just so comfy to ride. I have an arthritic knee but this makes riding possible
Pete

 

[simon.r]

My wife will not listen to me re: saddle height .... So is keep adjusting it by a mm each time i put the bike away. She insists both feet need to be flat on the floor when stationary,but has begrudgingly allowed me to raise it so the balls of her feet are able to touch the floor.
A lot of this comes from being nervous or wobbly cyclists .... Give it time and keep plugging the right messages. It is ultimately up to an individual if they wish to heed good advice.

I have exactly the same situation.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'd be interested to know if there's anyone on the forum who has ever had their saddle set low like that. What induced you to 'go straight' (if you have)? Was it a difficult process?

Steve

My saddle was too low when I started. Not extremely like you see some beginners, but when a picture of me on my bike ended up on here it got comments.
Got excellent advice on how to start/stop without my feet not touching the ground at all when on the bike (I thought tiptoes where the correct way), practiced a bit, raised the saddle in small increments over time.
Have since then dished out the same advice to many beginners, usually starting with the sentence "do you think you could benefit with the saddle up a bit, because ..."
Mostly people listen to me because I have a way
Thanks to @Rickshaw Phil and to @Arch for pointing me in the right direction: up!

 

[S.Giles]

I believe that with a beginning (or returning after a long absence) cyclist, it's important to start off right and foster good habits. That involves first learning the correct starting and stopping techniques (10 mins?), and therefore realising why it is not important to be able to touch the ground whilst sitting on the saddle ie, because you'll never be sat on the saddle whilst the cycle is stationary, so the saddle-to-ground distance is totally irrelevant.

With the above in mind, I'm not sure that raising the saddle slowly is such a good idea. At what point in the saddle-raising process does the beginner stop tip-toeing along? When they start falling off? The fact is that correct saddle height coupled with incorrect technique will lead to falls when starting and stopping. Both things need to be in place for a successful outcome. Low saddle height encourages poor technique, so should not be part of the learning process at all, IMO.

Steve

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I believe that with a beginning (or returning after a long absence) cyclist, it's important to start off right and foster good habits. That involves first learning the correct starting and stopping techniques (10 mins?), and therefore realising why it is not important to be able to touch the ground whilst sitting on the saddle ie, because you'll never be sat on the saddle whilst the cycle is stationary, so the saddle-to-ground distance is totally irrelevant.

With the above in mind, I'm not sure that raising the saddle slowly is such a good idea. At what point in the saddle-raising process does the beginner stop tip-toeing along? When they start falling off? The fact is that correct saddle height coupled with incorrect technique will lead to falls when starting and stopping. Both things need to be in place for a successful outcome. Low saddle height encourages poor technique, so should not be part of the learning process at all, IMO.

Steve

Well, I went on a course to teach bikability 1, instructor said to lower the saddle when teaching absolute beginners, raise it after the starting and stopping techniques have been mastered.

 

[S.Giles]

Well, I went on a course to teach bikability 1, instructor said to lower the saddle when teaching absolute beginners, raise it after the starting and stopping techniques have been mastered.

I'm no expert at teaching beginners, but I struggle to see how that philosophy fits in with the points I made in my previous post. How long does it take to master starting and stopping techniques (I would stand by my estimate of 10 mins to learn, but concede that it would possibly take longer to master them)? Would having a low saddle aid or inhibit the mastering of those techniques?

If pushed, I could agree that keeping the saddle low for about the first ten or twenty minutes may have some merit, but struggle with the concept of keeping it low for hours, days or more (or long enough for bad habits to form).

At any rate, there's nothing in your last post to suggest that edging up the saddle little-by-little is a good idea.

This is certainly an interesting subject, IMO.

Steve

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Not that interesting imo.

Might be to you as you are sounding like someone on a mission.