How to Determine the Correct Saddle Height for Your Bike

Video Transcript

"Once you pick out the right sized bike, the most important thing is to get your saddle height set. I'm Moochi from Gregg's, Gavin's joining me, and we're going to give you a quick tutorial on how to set your saddle at a good height so you can be comfortable and get the most highland efficiency out of your new ride. We've already decided that Gavin, here, is on a 56 centimeter bike. Once again, determining the right size is the most important thing before you set your saddle height. Gavin, won't you take a hop on here. Now, what we're looking for is not fully locked, but not extremely bent. Obviously, Gavin here, his leg is looking a little too bent. So we're going to have him hop off and we're just going to set this saddle at a good starting height to get things going. Alright. Now go ahead and stop at the bottom, here, Gavin. That's a lot closer to where it's going to be. So, the easiest way to set your saddle height is to place the heel of your foot over the spindle of the pedal and then bring your foot around till it's at the furthest point from the saddle. When your foot is in this position, you want your leg to be pretty much fully locked. Gavin's leg, here, is still a little bent, so we're just going to move his saddle height up a little bit and see how that looks. Adjusting your saddle height can sometimes be an ongoing thing and you can't always get it right the first time. So, don't be afraid to make small adjustments and go for a ride and try it out and come back and change it if you have to. Gavin's been riding bikes for nearly ten years and he's always changing his saddle height by fractions of a millimeter. Once again, heel on the pedal, over the spindle of the pedal, and at the furthest point from the saddle, which is a little bit past six o'clock, we are looking for a straight leg. That looks pretty good. Once you get your saddle height set, the best thing to do is to go out for a ride, see how it feels, and go from there. I'm Moochi, this is Gavin from Gregg's Green lake, have fun out there."