Very, very new rider. I’m 5’2 (157cm). This is the highest I can put my seat before I can’t touch the ground standing over my seat anymore. This is also the lowest my bike seat goes. The bike claims to be short and people-friendly, but even when it arrived, I was like, “Wow, this is kind of a big bike.” Riding is OK, but I just don’t feel like my legs should be going up this high when I pedal.
by vanillancoke
16 Comments
Thighs shouldn’t be parallel to the ground when riding. You need to raise your seat and just get used to leaning on one leg when stationary.
That’s way too low. Ideally you want to be able to stretch your leg almost fully when you pedal down, and you should’t be able to put your feet on the ground when sitting on the saddle. You’d come off of the saddle and stand on one pedal when coming to a stop. Google some images of how high a bike saddle should be for a better picture.
As a new rider, you’ll want to start off with it lower than ideal for stability and comfort, but the way you have it now is probably pretty unridable.
Max efficiency will have your leg almost totally straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Raise your seat and work on getting used to leaning at stops.
Your seat is too low – the legs bending up so high is because you aren’t getting good extension, so you’ll always wear your knees down til they’re sore.
As a general rule you should not be able to stand over your bike seat either your feet flat on the ground.
Since you have a step through frame, when you’re stopped you can stand right in front of your seat over that swoop in the frame, and then get back on by stepping on the pedal that’s most forward to push yourself back up on the seat. You can hold the brakes so the wheels/pedals won’t move while you do it if you aren’t comfortable starting riding and mounting the bike at the same time.
i hope this helps!
Yup to low, it’s how I ride but it’s much harder on the leg 😂
Yes, when you pedal at the bottom of the rotation, your leg should be almost straight, but not quite.
[Here ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh5Zv6Dcn6k)is a video on how and where to set your seat hight. So that you can fit it yourself.
In short. Your seat is far to low and you could hurt your knees riding like that while also putting in way more effort than you need to.
If you can set it higher, you will be more comfortable while pedaling. It might be scary at first if you can’t touch the ground. It will help if you can learn to get on like this: https://youtu.be/R0CJk5UpY4w?si=BKtqZQ55wW-vKCqI
Ideally, your leg will be only slightly bent when your pedal is at the bottom. That’s the ideal for maximum efficiency if you’re trying to go really fast like the racer-boys do.
But as a commuter, the boy-racer ideal isn’t really the goal. The goal is comfort, safety and efficiency combined.
As a new rider, it can be a challenge to get comfortable while you’re learning the ins and outs of navigating a safe commute with all the stopping and starting and all the rest of it.
Perhaps raise the seat a bit, so that your leg isn’t bent so sharply when you are at the top of a pedal rotation and get comfortable with that, and after a few weeks raise it a bit more and get comfortable with that.
As your confidence builds keep raising it bit by bit until you get something closer to the ideal but you still feel comfortable and safe.
Yup
Sweet ride, love how slack the head tube is
If you can flat foot it while sitting on the seat more than likely yes, but to really know for sure, I would need to see your opposite leg at the bottom because if your leg is practically straight when your foot is on the bottom part of peddling, then it’s correct.
I rode for my first couple of years with my seat too low. I developed a mal-tracking patella on one side, and it took me off the bike for five weeks. I couldn’t even rotate my foot from the gas to the brake pedal in the car without pain.
The main mechanic at the bike shop where I bought the bike saw me limping and asked what happened. I told him I had no idea, but o had been off the bike fit a while. He asked me to bring it in when I was feeling better.
About two weeks later, I rode the bike, with some pain, to the shop. He told me to get on it and said, “We have some adjustments to make.” While he raised my seat (nearly four inches!) He complained about the salesman selling me the bike but not fitting it for me. He made a few other minor adjustments and sent me on my way.
The ride home was nearly pain-free by comparison. Putting two and two together, evidence says it was the bike that caused my knee grief. A poor setup can hurt you in the long run. I feel that this seat position puts you in similar danger.
Raise the seat, as others suggested. I don’t lean at a stop, myself. I come off the saddle altogether, usually leaving one foot on a pedal and the other on the ground or a curb, and jump back on when it’s time to go.
It’s normal to not be able to reach the ground from the saddle. Hop off at stops, or (what I do) use the curb.
Your leg should be almost-but-not-quite fully extended at the bottom of your pedal stroke. This will give you maximum power for the work your legs are doing.
I’d try raising the seat until only the tips of your toes touch the ground. That’ll help you get used to having a higher seat and still give you the ability to keep your balance when you stop.
Yes.
Wrong saddle height can wreck your knees.
Google “Lemond Method” to find a pretty good rule for determining seat height.
I found mine via trial and error years ago then compared it to the Lemond method when I read about it and found it pretty spot on.
Also, either tue cables are routed wrong or you’ve spun the handlebars 360 degrees. Make sure they’re correct before you head out again.
Kewl bike though.