The Correct Saddle Height?

Giovanni Francisca is having problems with bouncing around on the saddle and thinks the saddle needs to be risen. We run through what needs to be done and some suggestions on how to know the correct position to put the saddle

Question:
I have a problem where I am bouncing around on my saddle and it becomes uncomfortable. What can I do to correct this? Should I raise my saddle height?

Hi Giovanni,

This doesn’t sound very comfortable, as you suggested it could be that your saddle is too low. You don’t say if you are riding a road bike or Off-road? If you have full suspension then you do tend to bounce about a bit, or if you are riding a fixed wheel bike then when the gear is too small on a descent you will bob up and down a little.

There are a few different ways to check if you are sitting properly and that your saddle is at the correct height. First sit on the saddle with you’re cycling shoes on and put your heel on the pedal and turn the pedal backwards you should be able to do this with your legs fully extended at the knee. You can also click your feet into the pedals and with your foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke, you should have a little flex in the knee and your knee should be over the pedal when your pedal is forward and the cranks are horizontal.

If you saddle is too high this could cause damage to the knees, hips and back and strain the muscles and tendons. If you need to raise the saddle, do it by small amounts (2mm) at a time until you have it at the correct height.