Riding a bike is one of the most fun and refreshing activities to do without any doubt. However, to make the experience pleasant, you must make sure that your ride is perfectly aligned to ensure comfort.
The height of a bike seat plays the biggest impact on the comfort level of your ride.
But can you tell how high should bike seat be for the best fit? It’s a pretty simple thing to do, but if you don’t know the right method for it, it might feel very tricky.
To help you with that, let’s have a look at a couple of methods that you can try for determining the correct height for your bike seat for maximum comfort.
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3 Methods to Find out the Perfect Height for Seat
There are many ways that you can find out how high should your bike seat be. But all of these don’t provide the best height, and that might be misleading for some people as well. Let’s check out 3 of the most effective methods that you can use that’ll give you the best results by making your exercise bike seat more comfortable.
Heel method
This is a very commonly used method that gives quick and easy results, and if you don’t want to think too much for it, this is a perfect method for you. However, the drawback to using this method is that it’s not that precise and doesn’t give you the most accurate height adjustment that you crave. But if you want to find out the decent height of your bike seat without spending a lot of time or energy on it, this is a perfect method for you. The following steps show how it goes.
- Raise the Seat
First of all, you’ll need to raise the seat up to the same level as your hips. That will give you the basics to work with the seat properly, and then you can go over how to lower bike seat to make it perfect.
- Sit on the Saddle
Once the seat is up, sit down on top of it, and place your feet on the pedal. You should feel very uncomfortable in that state, but that’s for the minute as you’ll adjust it accordingly in the next step.
- Adjust the Seat
Now slowly work your way through getting the seat at a proper height. Make sure to be slow and steady with it, and adjust the seat 2 to 3 millimeters each time. Then you need to ride your seat and see if it’s comfortable for you, and it’ll tell you the accurate results along the line. Once the leg stays straight on the pedal and doesn’t need to overextend, then you know that you’ve got the right height adjustment.
The 109% method
This method is super popular among bikers, and it definitely gives you more accurate results. You can also use this method on pelotons and find out how high should peloton seat be as well. Let’s check out how to do it.
- Get the Measurements
First of all, you need to stand against a wall and place a book between your legs to get a measurement. Make sure to pull the book upwards until there’s no room left there.
- Mark it
Now that you’ve got the measurement, it’s time to mark it with a pencil. Make sure to mark the top of the book only, and that’s the spot that indicates the inseam.
- Measure with a Tape
Take a tape, and start measuring the mark from the bottom of the surface. Also, remember to be very precise with it and count every millimeter. That’ll give you the number of your inseam that you can work on determining the height.
- Get the Height
After getting the precise measurement of your inseam, it’s time to finally calculate the height of your bike seat. That’s where the 109% rule comes into play, and you’d have to use a calculator to multiply the inseam in millimeters by 1.09, and that will give the accurate height that you should install your bike seat here.
The Holmes method
The final method we are going to discuss in calculating the seat height of your bike is called the Holmes method. It’s probably the most precise method as it directly involves putting your feet on the pedal and making all the adjustments to get a perfect fit.
However, it’s not super easy like 2 of the previously mentioned methods, and it involves some complicated parts. You need to keep your knee angle between 25 and 35 degrees as it’s recommended for the best results. Also, you need to get help from a friend to be able to do this method properly as well. Let’s go over the steps on how to do the Holmes method to determine the right height of your bike seat.
- Mounting the Turbo Trainer
At first, you need to mount the bike on the turbo trainer as you start to apply pressure on the pedals and start riding the bike.
- Get the Recording Going
Now that you are riding your bike stably on the turbo trainer, ask your friend to start recording a video for about a minute or so. He can use his smartphones and you definitely don’t need any fancy gears to capture this basic video.
- Calculate the Measurements
After you have the record of you riding the bike, you can replay the video to see where your pedal was in the lowest position. Then, simply use a set square and use it to measure the angle to get a better idea about the whole thing.
If the angle was more than 35 degrees you’d have to increase the height of the saddle. And if it’s less than 25 degrees, you can lower the seat, and that’ll fix the issue for you.
Adjusting the Seat
You just went through how to measure the correct height of your bike seat with 3 of the most effective methods. However, getting only the height correctly will not give you a comfortable seat on your bike to sit on, and there’s a lot of other factors that determine that. Let’s check out some of the things that you need to take care of to adjust your bike seat properly.
Saddle Fore/Aft Position
The fore/aft of the saddle is one of the most critical things that you need to make sure to get right as it can have the biggest impact on the level of balance you’d have with the seat. You must position it correctly to make your bike riding more pleasant and safe.
You can put the saddle 2 to 2.5 inches behind the centreline of the bottom bracket axle or spindle to get a good position, and it’ll be a great general estimation to use. However, you must go for whatever feels comfortable, and it can have a big impact on your riding experience.
Saddle Tilt
The tilting angle of the seat is also a very crucial thing that you need to get right. A saddle tilted too high or low can make it very uncomfortable to sit on the seat, and that’s why it’s very important that the saddle has a balanced tilt.
Just go for whatever feels right to start off the adjustment phase. If it is too high, you’ll definitely feel it in the gentle areas, and you’d need to lower it a bit. You can repeat that process until you are satisfied with the results, and that way you’ll get the best comfortable seat that you crave.
A Good Saddle Cover Matters!
You might be thinking if you adjust the height of your bike seat and get the alignment correctly, you’ll get a very comfortable ride. Well, it’s actually halfway correct as a bad saddle cover can make it useless. Let’s review one of the best bike seats that you can get from the market that ensures maximum security. As well, whether you want to ensure a better riding experience for your 5 years old child, you can read my latest review about bike seats for 5 years Old child.
Zacro Extra Soft Gel Bicycle Seat
Zacro is the #1 brand that produces some of the best quality seats available in the market. This extra soft gel bike seat is their best-selling seat cover that you can get for your bike. It’s easy to install, comfortable, and lasts you a very long time as well.
It’s made with gel material that provides exceptional comfort and prevents any risk of back pain or such issues. Also, that makes it very durable as well, and you won’t have to waste your money on buying replacements anytime sooner.
Also, this bike seat is super easy to install, and you can literally get done with it in minutes. So, if you’d like to get yourself a comfortable bike seat cover, this is undoubtedly a perfect option for you.
Pros
- Very comfortable
- Provides amazing longevity
- Easy installation
Cons
- The weather resistance has room for improvement
Tips For Adjusting The Bike Seat
Now that you know some methods to find out how high should bike seat be, you can ride your bike more comfortably and safely. However, there’s always a chance that you find yourself having trouble getting the proper adjustments, especially if it’s your first time doing it. Let’s discuss some tips that you can follow to skyrocket your progress, and these will help you to make the ride comfortable as well.
- Never try to adjust your seat super fast as it’ll ruin your process. Try to go for 2 or 3 millimeters each time you go for adjusting it as it’ll help you get more precision.
- You must not adapt to riding a bike seat with extreme shapes as it can have long-term effects on your body. Remember, your body slowly adapts to the seat, which can be an issue if you don’t fix the seat right away.
- If you are having any back pain or anything of that sort, be sure to rush to a specialist for checkups. You really don’t want to risk any issues up in the future, and that’s why it’s super critical to go to a specialist for checkup when you have the time for it.
To Wrap Up
Now you should have a clear idea of how high should bike seat be as you went through a couple of effective methods to determine that. As you saw, some of the methods are pretty simple, but you can get a good idea.
However, you must pick the right height to make sure that it’s comfortable to ride the bike. Otherwise, it can cause irritation and back pain, or all sorts of issues.
