|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Road bike seat height?
I have the following bike setup:
Bianchi Limited 12 speed, circa 1990 ($35 at the Salvation Army) Derailurs & Shifters - Shimano 105's Brakes - "Dia Compe" Seat - FEC Alloy SX (Very light but nice) Gooseneck - SR Royal Handlebars - SR Road Champion Crank arms - SR 170mm Front gear - Sugino 52-42 Rear gear - 25-23-20-17-15-13 Rims - Sun Mistral USA 700mm - 36 spoke alloy Tires - Discovery Kevlar CyclePro 700x25 Tubes - Slime 700x self healing ($15 for 2 tubes) Skewers - Suzue Wheel hubs - Suzue 36 spoke Valve stems - Presta (bought an adapter for $2) Computer - Cateye Astrale CC-CD100 N ($25) GPS - Garmin Etrex Vista ($339) Communications - Yaesu VX-7Rb handheld ($319) How do I adjust the seat height? I'm thinking the formula would be frame size + crank arm + distance from top of frame to top of seat should equal my inseam, right? Or not? Measuring my inseam is with my feet flat on the ground - I don't ride flat footed but with the base of my toes on the pedals. Should I figgure this in? Also, how do I measure the frame size? Is it from crank centerline to top tube centerline (at the seat post)? I got exactly 50cm this way Frame size = 50cm? Crank arm = 17cm Seat height= 10.5cm Total = 77.5 cm I measure 29" from crotch to floor = 73.66cm. If I add my feet that's another 3.25" or 8.255cm for a total of 81.915cm. By that measure I need to raise my seat 1.738" or 4.415cm My seat is currently as far down as it can go. I can just reach the street with both toes when sitting on the seat but when riding, at the bottom of each stroke, my legs are still bent and at the top of each stroke I feel a bit cramped......help? Ken |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Road bike seat height?
"Ken Bessler" wrote:
How do I adjust the seat height? There are a couple of methods to get you in the ball park: 1) Center of BB to top of saddle = 0.883 x inseam. 2) Pedal axis (pedal down, aligned with seat tube) to top of saddle = 1.09 x inseam. 3) Raise saddle in 1/8" increments until your hips just start rocking when you pedal, then lower it until you stop rocking. You also want to set the fore/aft position of the saddle properly. A good starting place is to have the front of your knee directly over the pedal axis with the pedals horizontal (3 o'clock position). Have someone help you using a plumb line. See: http://www.sbraweb.org/setup.htm Also, how do I measure the frame size? Is it from crank centerline to top tube centerline (at the seat post)? I got exactly 50cm this way Unfortunately, there is no established standard. There are at least three ways of specifying frame size: 1) Center of BB to center of top tube 2) Center of BB to top of top tube 3) Center of BB to top of seat tube (all measured along the seat tube.) Take your pick. I prefer #1. I measure 29" from crotch to floor = 73.66cm. If I add my feet that's another 3.25" or 8.255cm for a total of 81.915cm. By that measure I need to raise my seat 1.738" or 4.415cm My seat is currently as far down as it can go. I can just reach the street with both toes when sitting on the seat but when riding, at the bottom of each stroke, my legs are still bent and at the top of each stroke I feel a bit cramped......help? Try 29" x .883 = 25.6" (25-5/8") from center of BB to saddle as a start. Art Harris |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Road bike seat height?
Ken Bessler asked:
How do I adjust the seat height? Art Harris replied. There are a couple of methods to get you in the ball park: 1) Center of BB to top of saddle = 0.883 x inseam. 2) Pedal axis (pedal down, aligned with seat tube) to top of saddle = 1.09 x inseam. These numerical "systems" are pure snake oil. The first doesn't even take crank length into account! Neither of them regards foot length or foot position on the pedal. They also presume that it is possible to make a meaningful measurement to an unspecified type of saddle to three significant digits, which is pretty meaningless, given the range of shapes and flexibilities of saddles. 3) Raise saddle in 1/8" increments until your hips just start rocking when you pedal, then lower it until you stop rocking. That's the best way. See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html You also want to set the fore/aft position of the saddle properly. A good starting place is to have the front of your knee directly over the pedal axis with the pedals horizontal (3 o'clock position). Have someone help you using a plumb line. See: http://www.sbraweb.org/setup.htm See also http://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html Also, how do I measure the frame size? Is it from crank centerline to top tube centerline (at the seat post)? I got exactly 50cm this way Unfortunately, there is no established standard. There are at least three ways of specifying frame size: 1) Center of BB to center of top tube 2) Center of BB to top of top tube 3) Center of BB to top of seat tube (all measured along the seat tube.) More than that, actually! Some sloping-top-tube frames are measured by where the seat tube would end up if the top tube didn't slope down from the head tube! Take your pick. I prefer #1. I prefer #3, but to me the top tube length is the much more important dimension, see: http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html. Sheldon "Traial And Error" Brown +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | We engaged in innumerable discussions, and often after an hour | | or so of heated argument, we would discover that we were as far | | from agreement as when we started, but that both had changed to | | the other's original position in the discussion.--Orville Wright | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Road bike seat height?
"Harris" wrote in message . net... Try 29" x .883 = 25.6" (25-5/8") from center of BB to saddle as a start. Art Harris I tried the butt rocking meathod and with slight rocking, I measured 25.625". Backed off 1/4" and it feels fine. Adjusted the seat position back for knee alignment - all the way back gave me almost perfect alignment...... Thanks, Art! P.S. 72's es 73's OM es gl de Ken KG0WX/QRP DM79nr sk sk k Ken |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Discovery Tires...was...Road bike seat height?
From: "Ken Bessler"
I have the following bike setup: snip Tires - Discovery Kevlar CyclePro 700x25 First time that I've seen these tires mentioned here. I've been buying them for years from REI but they've since been replaced by the Avenir Discovery Kevlar Belted 700x25c which are said to be identical (same tire) to the Cycle Pro albeit now made in Korea. I can't tell the difference. At $15.00 per, it might be a tire to consider for those who ride city streets like I do and often lose tires to cuts. Had to give up $30.00+ tires...too expensive. I obviously like them and wouldn't mind seeing a review from someone more knowledgable than me. I wish they still made the Schwinn Record, a good, expendable tire, I thought. Sig Chicago |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Road bike seat height?
First off, you should slide forward off the seat when you stop. Otherwise
you could possibly entertain anyone in the area when you fall over. Read the other replies and goto Sheldon's site. Ken Bessler wrote: I have the following bike setup: Bianchi Limited 12 speed, circa 1990 ($35 at the Salvation Army) Derailurs & Shifters - Shimano 105's Brakes - "Dia Compe" Seat - FEC Alloy SX (Very light but nice) Gooseneck - SR Royal Handlebars - SR Road Champion Crank arms - SR 170mm Front gear - Sugino 52-42 Rear gear - 25-23-20-17-15-13 Rims - Sun Mistral USA 700mm - 36 spoke alloy Tires - Discovery Kevlar CyclePro 700x25 Tubes - Slime 700x self healing ($15 for 2 tubes) Skewers - Suzue Wheel hubs - Suzue 36 spoke Valve stems - Presta (bought an adapter for $2) Computer - Cateye Astrale CC-CD100 N ($25) GPS - Garmin Etrex Vista ($339) Communications - Yaesu VX-7Rb handheld ($319) How do I adjust the seat height? I'm thinking the formula would be frame size + crank arm + distance from top of frame to top of seat should equal my inseam, right? Or not? Measuring my inseam is with my feet flat on the ground - I don't ride flat footed but with the base of my toes on the pedals. Should I figgure this in? Also, how do I measure the frame size? Is it from crank centerline to top tube centerline (at the seat post)? I got exactly 50cm this way Frame size = 50cm? Crank arm = 17cm Seat height= 10.5cm Total = 77.5 cm I measure 29" from crotch to floor = 73.66cm. If I add my feet that's another 3.25" or 8.255cm for a total of 81.915cm. By that measure I need to raise my seat 1.738" or 4.415cm My seat is currently as far down as it can go. I can just reach the street with both toes when sitting on the seat but when riding, at the bottom of each stroke, my legs are still bent and at the top of each stroke I feel a bit cramped......help? Ken -- Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6 8C71 Lottery: the closest thing we have to a tax on stupidity. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Discovery Tires...was...Road bike seat height?
"Scic" wrote in message
... From: "Ken Bessler" I have the following bike setup: snip Tires - Discovery Kevlar CyclePro 700x25 First time that I've seen these tires mentioned here. I've been buying them for years from REI but they've since been replaced by the Avenir Discovery Kevlar Belted 700x25c which are said to be identical (same tire) to the Cycle Pro albeit now made in Korea. I can't tell the difference. At $15.00 per, it might be a tire to consider for those who ride city streets like I do and often lose tires to cuts. Had to give up $30.00+ tires...too expensive. I obviously like them and wouldn't mind seeing a review from someone more knowledgable than me. I wish they still made the Schwinn Record, a good, expendable tire, I thought. CyclePro was the house brand* of West Coast Cycle ( Nishiki, nee American Eagle; also Azuki). That company and many others were acquired by Raleigh. The classic CyclePro tires were made by IRC as were the house brand Avenir/TourMate tires from WSI/DiamondBack (Centurion). That company was also folded into the Raleigh organization. Last year after yet another corporate reorganization at Raleigh (will it just be annual?) , the many carryover brands were "rationalized" so they weren't selling twenty versions of the same product. Many line items/labels were dropped or rebadged. Sounds to me as if your vendor is a Raleigh customer. If you look around you'll find that tire available under various labels both from IRC/Korea and still from IRC/Japan at a higher price. Your Schwinn Puff, SuperSport and Record were by Panasonic/Matsu****a/Panaracer in Japan. Equal quality to IRC if not better in some cases. IRC/Korea tires at $15 "expendable"? OK. IRC/Indonesia tires sell for $7.50. That's expendable! (only in 27", not 700C) *WCC also had a very cute brand name, "MIJON" , that was an acronym of "Made in Japan -Or Nearby" . WCC used that for econo second-quality parts at one time. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Discovery Tires...was...Road bike seat height?
From: "A Muzi"
CyclePro was the house brand... snip If you look around you'll find that tire available under various labels both from IRC/Korea and still from IRC/Japan at a higher price. Thanks... and for the history as well. Very informative, as your replies always are. Sig Chicago |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Discovery Tires...was...Road bike seat height?
From: "A Muzi"
CyclePro was the house brand... snip If you look around you'll find that tire available under various labels both from IRC/Korea and still from IRC/Japan at a higher price. "Scic" wrote in message ... Thanks... and for the history as well. Very informative, as your replies always are. However, getting senile such that memory is less reliable now.. A kind soul pointed out that although many Schwin label tires were Panaracers, the Puff wasn't among them. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Road bike seat height?
On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 08:36:39 -0600, Ken Bessler wrote:
I have the following bike setup: How do I adjust the seat height? I'm thinking the formula would be frame size + crank arm + distance from top of frame to top of seat should equal my inseam, right? Or not? I can just reach the street with both toes when sitting on the seat but when riding, at the bottom of each stroke, my legs are still bent and at the top of each stroke I feel a bit cramped......help? See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html Mostly, put it up as high as is comfortable. You probably won't be able to touch the ground with a toe if it's at the most efficient height. Your legs should be almost straight at the bottom of the stroke. You seem to already know when it's too low; it's too high when you're uncomfortable, or when your hips rock side to side while you pedal. Somewhere in between those extremes is your comfort zone. Ken -- Rick Onanian |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Buying A Bike - Inquiry | James Lynx | General | 4 | May 14th 04 07:43 AM |
so many bike types - which is which? | tsp | General | 11 | October 15th 03 10:02 PM |
First road bike: braking? | Alan Hoyle | General | 47 | September 28th 03 11:40 PM |
Considering a Road bike for commuting... good idea? | Mike Beauchamp | Techniques | 95 | August 18th 03 11:44 PM |
One for the Economists: inflation, road bike pricing, etc | S. Anderson | General | 18 | August 14th 03 04:53 PM |