Gravel riding

[Irulan]

Yes, I do tend to over think. In THIS case, however, I can't get to a good pedaling height. That was fine for the trails but not for longer distance riding.

I don't understand unless the seatpost is not long enough. All of my mountain bikes will extend to an appropriate hieght for long distance ( road style) pedaling....11 miles of gravel road climbing for example. I don't think I could ride certain trails without this. I routinely change my seat height - full extension for almost any sort of climbing, about 1/2'-1" lower for extremely rolling terrain, and lots lower for full on descending. There are plenty of trail I ride at full extension, probably 80% of them When I do clinics we mark the climbing height on everyone's seatpost for reference.

What I'm trying to say is I can't imagine anyone having a mountain bike that you can't get to correct pedaling height. If you are riding with your seat generally too low, well no wonder you are having problems. Seat too low can feel awkward and cause knee pain, and it's certainly not very efficient.