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Seat height
I've tried doing a search of my own, but I'm not coming up with the answer on here.
My question is how do you determine the correct seat height for you? My knees are slightly bent when the pedals are close to the ground. Should my legs me straighter? Do I simply experiment until it feels right? I feel okay now when riding, but what to have as good a form as possible.
Thanks!
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Legs almost straight at the extension. Thighs parallel or lower at the top of the pedal stroke. But yeah, get it to what feels right. If the front of your knees hurt, raise your seat higher. I kept having to go higher, higher, higher, a couple millimeters at a time, finally got it high enough. If the back of your knees hurt, lower it.
You can also adjust the tilt of your seat, and you can make it a little closer or further away from your handlebar.
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As a starting point, you can set the saddle height with the following easy procedure:
-- If you have one bad leg, hip, or knee, set the saddle height using that leg. Otherwise, set the height using your dominant leg.
-- Sit on the bike with your upper body in your usual riding posture.
-- Place the pedal at the lowest point, in line with the seat tube.
-- With your leg straight, but not locked, your bare (i.e., shoeless) heel should be able to lightly touch the center of the pedal. If your heel can only graze the pedal center with your leg locked straight, lower the saddle a bit. If your heel is firmly resting on the pedal center, raise the saddle a bit. (Note: The leg that is not being used to set the saddle height should just be hanging down freely.)
-- Test this position by removing the shoes from both feet and making sure that both bare heels can maintain light contact with the pedal centers throughout the pedal stroke.
After trying this saddle height for a while, you may want to adjust it up a bit, but do so in small increments (like 1/4" at a time).
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Thanks! This was just the information I needed.