Proper bike seat height—along with overall bike fit —is paramount. And that’s true whether you’re gunning for the yellow jersey at the Tour de France or bragging rights at your local Tour de Coffee Shop. The fact is, an ill-fitting bike is an invitation to pain, injuries, frustration, and poor performance.
Remember: Your ideal riding position results from adjusting your bike to fit your body, not the other way around. Saddle-height adjustment has always been a bit of a dark art, but in general it is the amount of distance between the center of the bottom bracket and top/center of your bike saddle, Your local bike shop can determine your bike seat height scientifically, but here’s a quick and simple way to estimate it.
Once you are dialed into your fit, you’ll become more comfortable (and maybe even faster) on your bike. Position your stem so that the top of your handlebar is about an inch below the top of your saddle. Aspiring racers may want a slightly lower position for aerodynamics, while touring cyclists may opt for a more upright posture to take some pressure off the lower back.
- As always, listen to your body and adjust your bike accordingly.
- There are various formulas for determining bike saddle height, but you needn’t be a mathematician to achieve the correct height.
- Your knees should be slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke, and when pedaling, your hips should not rock on the saddle (when viewed from behind).
To determine this, we recommend mounting your bike in a trainer or leaning it against a wall (as shown in the video above). If your saddle height is correct, your heel should just graze the pedal at the bottom of the pedal stroke (in the 6 o’clock position).
If you are using clipless pedals, you can also use a mathematical formula. Here’s how: Stand barefoot on a hard floor, back to a wall, with a book snugged up between your legs, spine facing away. Measure from the floor to the top of the book spine. Multiply that number by 0.883, and subtract 4mm (1/8th inch). The result is your proper bike seat height, measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat, along the seat tube.
To determine fore/aft saddle position, sit comfortably in the center of the saddle with the crankarms horizontal. Drop a plumb line from the front of your forward kneecap. It should touch the end of the crankarm. This is the neutral position, and you should be able to achieve it by loosening the seatpost clamp and sliding the saddle fore or aft.
How do you know if your bike seat is too high?
How to know if your saddle height is correct – A correctly placed saddle should result in: – A stable pelvis with your sit bones supported – tilting of the pelvis from side to side may indicate the saddle is too high. – A stable foot – there should not be excessive toe down or heel down.
– A smooth pedal stroke – a “dead spot” or a feeling of losing contact at the bottom of the pedal stroke may mean the saddle is too high. – Not continually moving on saddle – we often move forward or back on the saddle to find ideal knee extension. – Balanced recruitment of muscles with an even load and tension through the muscle groups eg.
not quad dominant – Minimal discomfort, particularly in the knee (front, back or side) The repetitive nature of cycling means it is important to have the correct saddle height to help prevent injury, Common issues resulting from an inappropriate saddle height include knee pain, saddle discomfort (pressure, numbness, sores), hip pain/impingement, hamstrings tendiopathy, back pain, achilles issues, neck pain, and hand and wrist pain /numbness.
How high should my bike seat and handlebars be?
Handlebar position – You will now set the handlebar height and fore/aft. It is best to set the height first, then adjust the stem for length.1. Place the 4 foot spirit level on the middle of the saddle and extend it outwards over the top of the handlebar. 2. For a competitive or racing road bike position, the top of the handlebar should be at least a full fist width below the mid-point of the saddle (most fists are about 8cm) 3. For a performance road position, the top of the handlebar should be about 5-6 cm below the mid-point of the saddle.4.
For a recreational road bike position, the top of the handlebar should be level with the mid-point of the saddle, or maybe a couple of centimetres below.5. For a cross country MTB position, the grip should not be above the mid-point of the saddle.6. For aggressive cross country MTBing, the saddle to grip drop should be in the range of 2-5 cm.7.
Remember, most stems are able to be flipped upwards. So if you cannot get your bars high enough with the headset spacers, you can flip your stem upwards.8. Once you have set the bar height, mount the bike and ride with your hands positioned at all of the contact points of the handlebar.9.
What is a good saddle height?
Step 4 – Calculating your ideal saddle height based on your inseam is easy. On average, the seat height should be 109% of your inseam. You can thus use your calculator to multiply your inseam in millimetres by 1,09. Multiply by 1,09 and you know your correct saddle height. The result is your seat height in millimetres.
How high should your knees go on a bike?
How to use an app to determine your saddle height – Leave the ‘heel method’ in the rear-view mirror and try putting your foot on the pedal as you would when riding. If this means clipping into clipless pedals, then go for it. If you prefer to ride with flat pedals, then put about 1/3 of your foot in front of the pedal axle, and 2/3 behind.
At this point, a stationary trainer is pretty much a necessity if you want to give a proper evaluation of your seat height. If you don’t have one, it’s still certainly possible, but requires help from a friend and some fancy smartphone camera action. With the bike in a trainer, it’s time to snap a few photos/videos.
I recommend downloading any one of a number of free apps for capturing and analysing motion. The app I prefer is Hudl Technique, but there are plenty to choose from. Any app that can create still images from action will suffice. 
As a starting point for fore/aft adjustment of the seat, the centre of knee rotation is vertically above the pedal axle – experiment from there to find what feels best. Thomas McDaniel / Immediate Media Ride your bike for a few minutes, as you would on any daily rides, adjusting your position on the seat until it feels comfortable.
Once in position, you can begin capturing some imagery. The goal is to be able to quantify how much bend is in the knee throughout the pedal stroke, and to the approximate location of the centre of your knee. Generally speaking, at full extension (which is not 6 o’clock – more like 5 o’clock) 30 to 40 degrees of knee bend is the generally accepted range.
If you’re feeling tension at the front of the knee or a large amount of work only from your quads, the seat height is a bit low. If you feel a dull ache at your low back, or you can feel your hips rocking a bit, the saddle is likely too high. Using the same images track to a point where the crank arm is forward-horizontal and look to the knee. 
Determining seat height should be an active process – use ‘Technique’ or other motion capture apps to estimate your leg angle at maximum extension. Thomas McDaniel / Immediate Media Approximate the centre of your knee, or the point where it appears to hinge.
How far back should bike seat be?
Saddle Position: Rules for pros – 
‘The UCI has its “five behind” rule, and if you want to be more powerful you want to run right up to that line where possible. And not just forward, but higher too, to open up the hip angle. ‘I regularly see riders who have their seat setback at around 80mm behind the BB, but they’re struggling to reach the bars so they go and buy a shorter stem.
In most cases what they actually need to do is run the seat much further forward. The result is a better position with your weight further forward over the front, which will benefit handling as well as power generation from your legs. ‘Think about this: if you try to stamp on something that’s directly by your foot, you can crush down on it with a lot more force than if the object is half a metre in front of you.
‘You’re just way more powerful when you’re applying force directly underneath you, and it’s the same with pedalling.’
What happens if your seat is too high?
How to tell if your bike saddle height is too high – A saddle that is too high will cause the hips to rock back and forth. Not only does this detract from pedalling efficiency, but it can also be extremely uncomfortable. Discomfort can show up in your lower back or as knee pain (especially in the back of the knee).
Have someone watch you ride from behind, whether out on the road or on a stationary trainer. The hip wobble should be easy for them to see, and you’ll want to bring your seat down a little. Or, if you bring your foot to the bottom of the pedal stroke, your heel should barely be able to touch at the bottom when your leg is fully extended (see photo above).
If you can’t touch the pedal at all, then lower the seat.
How high should my saddle be?
Step 4 – Calculating your ideal saddle height based on your inseam is easy. On average, the seat height should be 109% of your inseam. You can thus use your calculator to multiply your inseam in millimetres by 1,09. Multiply by 1,09 and you know your correct saddle height. The result is your seat height in millimetres.
Should a road bike seat be higher than handlebars?
In general, most recreational riders will do well when the handlebar on their road bike is 1-2 inches below the top of their saddle. Remember, your hands will most likely be resting on the brake hoods, which are a bit lower than the top of the bar.
