New Bike have questions..

I bought a Giant Escape City today and I love it, but it feels so much smaller then my 26' Schwinn Admiral. On my Schwinn I always kept the seat way high so that I had a good leg extension and my knee was just slightly bent at the down turn. They sized me with a machine to get proper measurements. When I first got on my bike the saddle seemed too low and my legs were really bent but the guy said that that is where it should be. When I got home I raised the saddle anyways because I didn't feel like my legs should be that bent. My question is how bent should my legs be?

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Originally Posted by karaboss88

My question is how bent should my legs be?

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At the bottom of the pedal stroke you shouldn't be having to "reach" for the pedal. In other words, if you are having to consciously point your toes down to keep your foot on the pedal, then the saddle is too high.

Your legs should have a slight bend to them when the crankarms are vertical. The old adage of checking by placing the heel of your foot on the pedal- and setting the seat height so that you leg is straight with no rocking of the hips with the foot horizontal, will get you in the ballpark. It may not take into account if you have a thicker sole like an MTB shoe vs a road shoe, but it will be close and your legs will not be overextended when the balls of your feet are over the spindle. You should not have to rock your hips or strain.

I would set it back to where bike shop had it and ride it for a bit. If you rode with the saddle too high and are used to it, setting it correctly will feel odd at first.

Kara what size is your Escape and how tall or even better what's your inseam? Maybe we can help you a bit better that way ;)

You know, I'm going to sound like a complete tard but I really don't know the exact size.. It's a medium frame I do know that. I had my two year old with me so when I purchased it so there was so much going on at one time and my finance wasn't much help with him..lol . I had researched all the bikes before I went in so I knew what I was looking for though. I measured my inseam at 29.5

The size is likely written somewhere on your bike. Also, you can call the bike shop and ask THEM what size it is.

I found it it's 18inches or 46cm. I did the calculator for the saddle too so now I have it set to my height. I knew he couldn't be right about my saddle needing to be that low but I just had to make sure I wasn't crazy, figured he SHOULD know best. I seriously felt like I was on my sons tricycle. I think I may need to find a better LBS. He also tried to put me on a small frame and I had to tell him I thought he was wrong..