(This post didn’t seem to garner much attention in the thread in which it was originally posted, so I thought I’d repost it here since so many people seem to ride with their saddle too high.)
This is what a saddle set at 96% of greater trochanteric height looks like when one is not pedaling - note that the bottom of the sole of my shoe is almost, but not quite, parallel to the ground. If I raised my saddle to the maximum of the optimal range (i.e., 100% of greater trochanteric height), my foot would be angled down more, but still not nearly to the same degree as seen in most pics posted here.
BTW, also check out the Peaks Coaching Group kit that Hunter sent me (sans the gloves, which I forgot to put on). What you can’t see is the really cool graphic that depicts a copy of the book “Training and Racing With a Power Meter” protuding from the center back pocket!
The neat thing about the hat is that it is synthetic, rather than the traditional cotton. It therefore doesn’t end up feeling so much like a washcloth on your head when you wear it under your helmet in the rain.
According to my trusty protractor, and ofcourse guessing at the anatomical landmarks, I get your knee angle at about 149 degrees, which is actually the same measurement I get on photos of myself.
According to my trusty protractor, and ofcourse guessing at the anatomical landmarks, I get your knee angle at about 149 degrees
I got 151 deg, but I’m probably better at guessing my own landmarks.
EDIT: I should add that I’m not all that keen on the idea of setting/evaluating saddle height based on knee angle measurements, or at least based on knee angle measurements alone. First, unless the measurements are made when the person’s actually pedaling (i.e., from a video), there is a tendency for the rider to “reach” for the downside pedal, thus potentially biasing the measurement. Second, and perhaps more importantly, changes in ankle angle tend to compensate to a larger degree for changes in saddle height than do changes in knee angle, i.e., your knee angle can be fine even if the saddle is too high. Experienced individuals of course know how to deal with such issues, but less experienced individuals may not. OTOH, trochanteric height is fairly easy to measure, and is done with legs extended, i.e., you can’t really bias the measurement. What it does not take into account are differences in pedal/cleat/shoe stack height, foot length, flexibility, etc., but when you consider that optimal saddle height actually spans a fairly wide range (e.g., I could raise my saddle almost 4 cm), I don’t think such limitations are critical. At the very least, calculating saddle height as a percentage (i.e., 96-100%) of greater trochanteric height provides a useful “working range”, against which other approaches (e.g., use of a goniometer) can be compared.
I like your fit and saddle height. Problem is, that when you set people up like this, they invariably say it feels or is too low!
Understandable, since they are usually used to something higher.
What are your feelings on the Specialized Boa shoes?
I’ve only had them about a month, but based on that I’d say that they are the best shoes that I’ve ever owned. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone with a narrow or low volume foot.
Great choice for a road bike. It is a shame that Specialized quit making that frame. It was an incredible bargain for a quality steel frame. I am riding the same frame. Love the ride. I find the frame to be plenty stiff, yet comfortable. Frankly, it is stiffer than I expected for a steel bike. Picked mine up on e-bay for 170 bucks (with a new Ultegra crank and bottom bracket installed!).
It’s getting hard to find a good quality steel frame on a production bike these days.
…many people seem to ride with their saddle too high.
I actually came across a cyclist with his* saddle too low the other day. First time that’s happened in years and I realized how rare it is. Back when Lemond’s book was popular, he was imploring people to raise their saddles because most people *were *too low in the late 80’s. I think the message has gone a little too far.
half-serious I didn’t realize the Velodyne ‘interfaced’ with the rear tire … that being so it must suffer a little from the small drift I see with the CT (versus PT) in ergo mode. I originally thought it was 100% due to the electric generator heating up but can also see the decrease in rolling resistance as the tire heats up being an issue. I thought the Velodyne eliminated that interface.
Then again, I really have only noticed it lately as my L4 intervals are getting to a decent power level compared to last year
What’s with the non-aero tubed bike? Must be dedicated to indoors like my FAT tube C’dale CAAD3 circa '98.
So, should I assume that, in a steep TT/Tri, position, and the whole set up is rotated 8-12 degrees, the feet would also be pointed down by a similar amount?
