Moving seat

[SueSue]

Now that I've been riding my Trek Navigator for a few days around my neighborhood near Richmond VA, I realize I need to move the seat back as I'm too close to the bars. I can't undo the screw thingy though....it's really tight. How many inches should my knees be from the bars? Should my arms be completely extended? Thank you!

[Blueberry]

Generally speaking, your saddle should be positioned so that when your pedals are horizontal, your knee (the bony, front part) is directly over the pedal spindle.

If the bike feels too short, I would talk to the shop where you bought it to see if you need a longer stem (I think the Nav has a stem that can be changed out).

There's no set number of inches - we're all different

[SueSue]

And the pedal spindle is the pedal turny thingy? : )

[Blueberry]

Yep - it's the little round bit that actually goes into your crank arm

CA

PS - if you're having trouble with a bolt, sometimes it helps to try an allen key with a longer handle. More leverage (though I've been known to whine to my LBS for them to get something out that was particularly stuck).

PPS - Just re-read the original post - you generally do not want your arms locked. They should be somewhat loose, and (at least on a road bike), there should be about a 90 degree angle between arms and torso when riding (hard to measure for yourself) In my experience, you have a little more room to play on a hybrid because not so much weight rides on your hands.

[boy in a kilt]

One thing that always seems to help is do the adjustments a little bit at a time. I'm guilty of making major changes, then moving things back to where they were only to find the original change was right but I did it too fast.

[OakLeaf]

What CA said. Moving your seat will tend to either change what part of your butt you're sitting on, or change your knee-over-pedal position, or both. Getting the knee-over-pedal position wrong can give you knee trouble; sitting on your forward soft tissues instead of your aft sit bones is just painful. If what you want is to change your upper body position, you probably want a different stem. Your LBS should be able to help!

ETA: On the Navigator, changing the angle of the stem is an option, but keep in mind that this will change the steering as well.

[tulip]

PM me if you want me to come over and help you (or go for a ride!)