Are You Riding With the Wrong Saddle Height? The Science

How much does your saddle height effect your cycling performance and how do you determine your optimal saddle height?


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Studies I used in this video:

[gregrobidoux]

Dylan, I am the Executive Director of the Serotta International Cycling Institute. I just wanted to reach out and say that this was a great video. It’s tough to digest some of those older studies because there were often poor methods, small sample sizes, or untrained cyclists. With that said I think you summarized well and pulled the most relevant data. This was the first of your videos that I have seen but I will subscribe. Well done!!

[CamNicholls]

I got to say Dylan, your backdrop videos are A+! Cam

[DylanJohnsonCycling]

I've already gotten quite a few questions about how to measure the 25 degree knee angle. I should have explained it in the video. You want to measure your knee angle when it is fully extended, so the downward crank position. Technically in this position if you have a "25 degree" knee angle your actual knee angle with respect to your femur and tibia will be 155 degrees (180-25=155). All the studies I referenced and bike fitters use this angle when talking about knee angle. A goniometer will show you both (25 and 155). As many have mentioned a dynamic fit is better than a static fit. I talked about this at the end of the video. See a bike fitter who uses a dynamic fit system if you are unsure. Thanks for watching!

[Vam]

Does “excessive discomfort on long rides” include getting dropped over and over? Asking for a friend....

[Nicoya]

My flawless technique for finding the correct saddle height is the one I call the "I bought the wrong size frame and ran out of seat post adjustment" method.

[tfab]

Do a video on saddle positioning (forward and back)

[sventice]

I've had way more success with the heel-on-the-pedal method than any other saddle adjustment method I've tried. (I actually tired the 109% method once, and seriously injured myself.) I like your straightforward, research-based videos. I don't always hear what I want to hear, but I almost always hear something useful.

[EngBlanco]

I just wanted to add a little tip for measuring your knee angle. I took a small air bubble level and drew a near perfect straight line at the middle of my leg. Draw the line where you can clearly see it on the outside of your leg where the bending angle can be appreciated. I then drew angles from 25 to 35 on a piece of letter paper with a protractor and a ruler. While on the bike I had help holding the paper on my leg to see how far off from the angle range my knee was bending. It was really cool to see my leg falling within the range afterwards, at home and no money spent.

[UK]

It was simple to make a Goniometer device with a 23.5degree angle out of thick cardboard. This has helped me improve my comfort on the bike.

[apit_zixxer]

Timing is never been better than this.. really need this tips

[GB-foce]

Very good video. Thanks! I am surprised at how different knee angles are among pro cyclists. In the end, i am starting to believe that everyone needs to figure this out for themselves, without a bike fitter, because everyone has different confounding factors. Raising my saddle by ~1.5 cm stopped my knee pain. My knee angle might be off now technically, but i feel much better. Yes to small changes at a time!

[PeterPutz]

Hmmm, this is why bike fitters are in business. There are many factors to a bike fit. Knee angle as a single parameter may get you in the ball park, but unlikely to dial in an accurate position as factors such as seat layback, foot angle (toe down/heel down), or even leg length discrepancies won't be indentified. Using generic bike fitting tools like Retul also only give a generic output. A bike fitter who takes into account your personal issues/measurements/ability will truly put you on the path to dial in a great position. At very least you will learn a lot and be able to adjust it yourself to fine tune. Fitting a non-symetrical human to a perfectly symentrical bike will always present challenges that a generic 'rule of thumb' cannot hope to solve.

[alexanderSydneyOz]

After watching a number of Dylan's videos, I wouldn't personally bother looking elsewhere for informed opinion. The unwavering focus on proper experimental study leads to credibility I've not seen elsewhere on YT. Thanks

[fhowland]

It’s absolutely crazy how much of a difference a small adjustment in saddle height can make. I dropped mine .25” and my entire bike feels better and I feel stronger.

[johnnydoe]

I have taken almost a full year to dial in my seat position. I always tell people when they make adjustments, not to exceed 2mm in movement and ride the bike at least 6x's for at least 10-20 miles each before making any other adjustments. Listen to your body, it will tell you if something isn't right.

[EJPalmer]

"60% of the time, it works every time"

[DanBeresford]

Pes Anserinus Injury
Thanks for this video!
Ive been off the bike for a couple of months but decided to start training again.
I had knee pain that crippled me from walking last week. After riding for 3 days in a row I eventually was finding it hard to even lift my leg in the air and it put me tollally off the bike. I went to the emergancy department because I had fliud siiting on my shin bone but my upper part of my bone was painful.
Turns out I have PES ANSERINUS INJURY!
Turns out my saddle was too hig by 1cm. My method was heel toe! How wrong I was!
I look back now over the years and I remember I get a dull ache from that part of my bone.
Wrong saddle height for years. Never happend on my MTB. Only road.
Cheers

[trevorgannon]

I had a bike fit sometime ago but with the help of my coach recently, we discovered using a Moxy SmO2 sensor that my position was restricting oxygen flow in my muscles, and overloading my vastus lateralis (VL) muscles. With a slight adjustment in saddle height and moving the saddle forward, I've seen a big improvement, increased oxygen muscle uptake and better engagement of my hamstring and glute muscles - these had nodded off and allowed the VL to take-over. This suggests saddle height is dynamic to each person and there are other variables to consider. Great video as always Dylan.

[ilanpi]

I used to use a goniometer to adjust my saddle height. However, this is a static measurement. I now film myself on my trainer and then do screen captures and measure the angle on the computer screen. This gives a dynamic evaluation. I found a 5 degree difference between these measurements. This is a better method than the one you suggest.

[coryknight]

Thanks for the advice Dylan. I set a new PR that stood for 6 years after dropping my post a bit.