Had a bike fit with James and he lowered my saddle by 15mm. He told me I’d probably stop on the way home to put it back up as it would feel weird. Felt all kinds of weird for a few days but once I’d adjusted my feet to the correct position (no longer heel up to compensate) managed to scoop up some elusive Strava KOMs with ease. Honestly changed my performance in a way I still find hard to believe. Game changer.
Slap a blonde wig on Jimmi, Francis can be the world's shortest Brian May impersonator, find someone to imitate John Deacon and Boom! Queen tribute act
I found my current saddle height by filming myself from behind while on the rollers. I stopped lowering the saddle height when my pelvis wasn't rocking anymore. Kind of worked for me.
Great idea. Film yourself side and rear views on a trainer to see what you body is doing visually, also listen to your what you body tells you, then when you think you have it try out on the road.
I did lower my saddle by 20mm at the start of this season. It also brought my saddle about 10mm forward. It made all the difference in the world. No more numbness in my feet, less disconfort of the soft tissues, I didn't had much rocking in my hips but now it is non existent, feel like my pedal strokes are more efficient, don't feel any pain in my upper back and my shoulders thanks me! There is a lot of bike fitters on RU-vid but after listening to James, is thinking and ways to approach problems are just about logic and it works!
I agree with James - spot on. For years my Saddle was too high but I didn't realise. This meant I ended up toe pointing (particularly with the right foot). I had foot issues with this foot and odd other issues (sores and aches, shoulders, hands etc) A couple of years ago (after a lot of up and down by mm) I lowered my saddle by 40mm. I choose this height as I could pedal at about 110rpm with my heels on the pedals and no bouncing.This was too low - but not by huge amounts. I moved my cleats back and concentrated on feeling the soles of both feet against the shoes throughout the pedal stroke. I tried to feel as if my foot stayed more or less horizontal throughout the pedal stoke. When tired I tended to revert to the old right foot toe pointy style but over time this reduced. I gradually improved - no more issues. After a year or so I raised the saddle height by 10mm. I get more power, no issues, regularly ride for 4 - 5 hours (about 250 miles a week on average). I always like to feel the soles of my feet in contact with the inside of my shoes. when tired this feeling can go as the foot becomes (what seems to me) unstable. The lower saddle also means I'm comfortable in the drops for hours. I'd certainly recommend the high cadence heel pedalling to find a start height for the saddle. I'm don't know if this stacks up with James' view of saddle height. Nick
James - obviously you know your stuff. But you haven't told us how to set the height. A guide on how to get a good starting point would be good; at 5:02 your colleague says "I'm sure you clicked this video because you'd like to find out how to set your own saddle height ..so here's how. But you didn't get round to showing us! Also it would be good if you could speak a bit slower. Sorry to be negative, but I was quite disappointed with the video.
As a mountain biker, I often listen carefully to roadies. They approach seemingly mundane things with in-depth vision that often times MTB'rs don't and these things make HUGE differences in my riding including comfort, endurance, balance, efficiency, skills, etc. Mountain bikers should listen to these roadies more often. ~JSV
Moutain Biking is a totally different ball game mate....Road bike you can sometimes sit in the same position for hours...mountain biking that will never happen...you are moving around the whole time.Hope you understand what I mean
@@truth-Hurts375 Of course, I ride a dropper on my carbon Stumpjumper. www.pinkbike.com/photo/20271214/ That STILL has to be set up, properly, for pedaling, climbing, trail riding, fireroads, when it's UP and I'm riding it, the last thing I want is to lose efficiency or create long term physical issues. There's a lot that gets done on a FS bike while the rider is seated. So I take some of the advice from these rodies. If MTBrs take SOME advice from these guys they'll learn something that can improve their experience--that's all I'm saying. It's even more important for my hardtails, and there's a lot of riders on hardtails not expecting to learn from these rodies. ~JSV
I have no idea how you've got that many subscribers!! 10Minutes video, still no idea what to do with my saddle. Stop talking so much man! This is not some theory class!!!
I first heard of cleat position importance by watching Francis' videos and listening to James. I was convinced to at least try it, and so I did. I slammed my cleats far rearward on my Shimano RX8 gravel shoes... and I'll never go back to a forward cleat position. I feel like I'm doing leg presses in a squat machine... meaning, I feel like my power delivery is smoothed and optimized. And of course no sore feet or knees.
But you never showed how to set the saddle height, at least a basic one to start off with! WTF, I felt the same way I feel when watching wait-for-it clips! Please! I like your channel though...
@@Cade_Media Yeah, I get your point but... Yeah, good to know you don't have to be too eager to highten the saddle since it looks better a bit lower ;-) I use the method where you measure the distance between floor and crotch and then multiplies that 1,09, right. Then I doublecheck that with the heel method, you know sitting on bike with straight leg with heel on pedal at it lowest. If they match I have basic setting to start work with. :-) Sorry for the dorky definitions of methods but that's what they are called when translated from swedish... And thank you for answering so quickly, respect...
Qu for James - what happens when you realise that your bike is too big/small but you can't afford to get a new one? I'm sure there are a lot of viewers who aren't flush with cash and can't spring for a bikefit or a new bike that easily and wonder what kind of tips James has to help people deal with being missold a frame/bike that's too big? I know the answer really is to treat it as an investment but especially in strange times where people are going to struggle to rub two quid together, what are the cheapest ways to compensate? Stem? Handlebars? Run a saddle as far forward as possible?
Steve King Agree that a professional bike fit is the way to go but for newbies to cycling it’s not always a known thing that can be done. Especially here in the states where cycling isn’t as popular. When I bought my bike last year I went to a bike shop they said here’s a bike for your height and within your budget. If I’d known getting fit for a bike was a thing I’d have spent the 100 or 2 beforehand but for newbies, myself included, if you told me to go get fit for a bike I would have done the same thing as I did last year. Go to the bike shop and get “fit” i.e. height to frame. Anyway long explanation to basically say not everyone knows professional bike fitting is a thing. It’s not like your LBS says “what did you bike fitter recommend you buy” when you show up to the shop.
THANK YOU!! I had just bought a bike that according to my research was my correct size. After a week I noticed I was having knee pain so I analyzed my posture and found a bad knee - pedal relationship. I moved my setback all the way back and fixed that but now I was having neck issues because of the long reach... After watching this video and the one on setback, I returned the setback to center and reduced 30mm on my seat height... FIXED!!! My knee aligns perfectly with my pedal axis and my reach is more confortable. THANK YOU!!!
Brilliant to start off with the global view (what happens at the bottom and top of stroke) and mention problems of low saddle height (hip pain). In my case I went down a long way to reduce outside of left knee pain and saddle sores on the left, but ended up with hip pain on the right side which somehow then became awful upper quad (hip flexor?) pain which someow then became critical lower back pain. Reducing crank length to 170s and having a "heel scraping on pedal" saddle height solved it all. I think the devil (!) may actually be 175mm cranks! I have also noted that a saddle that seems too high after one hour will be perfect (or feeling even too low!) after 2. This is rarely mentioned. Finally it is true in my experience that bike fitters put you right at the upper limit of what you can handle (on a good day!) Suffice to say that Hinault's 0.885 x inside leg position (roughly what is recommended by bike fitters) was 1cm higher than what he rode with before. So if you have a bike fit you might want to go down a 1cm and you should be about right. In any case you will feeel much better! Excellent video.
Any formula is only a starting point. It serves to put the saddle in a window from which you make adjustments: higher/lower, forward/backwards, and tilt, based on comfort. Trouble is, handlebar reach and width is also a major factor. 10 minutes of verbage with very little practical demonstration. Phil Burt's your bike-fit man.
If you are a runner, you have strong soleus and calf’s with tons of endurance. Tapping into that with a high saddle height seems wise for optimal power output. I wonder what the triathletes do
And this is what James sorted with Sophie’s bike fit. If we’d gone a couple of years ago she wouldn’t now need extensive physio to cure right hand hamstring problems and last year she had a bad saddle sore on the left. Her original fit was, yes with a physio and she’s now at 71.5cm from bb to saddle height down from 74.5cm. Bike is dialled in, now we need to get Sophie dialled in so she can use those potential 50-100 watts extra power at next years Tour Series 👌👍
I point my toes but I don’t feel like I’m reaching for the pedals. I raise my saddle and definitely feel like I’m reaching and toes are even more pointed. I run on my toes as well (extreme forefoot strike). When I lower my saddle (as seems to be the general recommendation for the discomforts I have) I very quickly start feeling pain in my right quad like it’s over firing. All of my pains are always on my right side. Does that mean I might need to shim my LEFT cleat?
Problem with bike fit is expensive and most don't know what they are doing . Steve hogg Burt and yourself know what your doing I had a bike fit and was crap didn't really fix issues
Hi Francis, As many people here I’m new to the channel and cycling in general, as I got my first road bike during lockdown. Thanks for the great content, I’m learning a lot trough your videos! Have you ever thought of organising a group ride on the weekend with your new London followers?
Hello have a question. I had some issues recently after switching bikes from a Giant compact frame. With my new bike, my knees hit the top tube every two or three pedal stroke and although I changed my cleat position a fair bit I still have some issues with it. Any suggestions?
Every time I see a video like this one I want to head down and get a fit with James.. but I've already spent so much on other fits which have me in what I would consider a good position but I know it could be better as I have occasional saddle sores in the exact same place each time.
If you were to set my saddle to what you think is a perfect height - however you might go about that: inseam measurement, heel to pedal measurement, pedaling video measurements or whatever… how many millimeters off of that perfect setting (either above or below) do you think it would it take for me to feel a difference; for me to recognize that it’s no longer perfect, but wrong… or for your expert knowledge to recognize it to be wrong by visual assessment?
Great advice thank you. Sadly thought my left knee pain was something I had to live with ...saddle now lowered ...a bit more power as I can push more for longer and no knee pain
I get that there’s “no formulaic way to set saddle height,” but in a video with a title “How to set your saddle height,” it would have been much more informative had you offered at least some idea of how to set a starting point.
Watched quite a few of your videos with James now. Everyone of them he mentions excessive saddle height. Even if it’s unrelated to the topic. Must be a major pet peeve of his lol.
It’s a scary how empty-headed the majority of these comments are! 50 repetitive comments about his mustache? Tom Sellick? Freddy Mercury? Who the hell cares.
How To Set your Bicycle Saddle Height? that was the question not asked about my knee joint neck issue simple question needs simple answer which isnt found in the video.
This guy talks too much and with a fair bit of waffle in my opinion. One sentence: set it too low and adjust upwards till its comfortable and then enjoy the ride.
Would love to see something like this on fore/aft position of the saddle as well. The saddle height is farily ok to understand but the fore/aft is still some kind of mystery
Very informative. Thank you for this. Saddle positioning has been one of my greatest complaints, and it's great to hear someone explain the affects that certain changes will have on your positioning and power transfer.
I’ve been having issues with my hamstrings when I lower my saddle, generally in the right but also left leg where they have been tight and painful when putting down power. I have naturally raised my saddle to increase leg extension but only by 10/15mm and have started to have saddle issues. Is this an issue related to the position of my saddle forward or back on the rails or do is there something I am doing wrong?
@@Cade_Media I am not all he does is talk repeatedly about what problems are caused ,not as is suggested by the title how to adjust the height correctly , so I switched . Anything else you got to say??
@@augustusleakey5031 unfortunately there is no formulaic way to set your saddle height. With the information in this video you should be able to get good results and avoid problems though 👊
Just in case someone sees this and has advice, I have balance issues and need to be able to put my foot on the ground on a bike, is there any way I can still get an ok bike fit despite this?
I like these videos, but there is seldom, if ever, any information on how to accomplish an adjustment, in this case saddle hieght.
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I got a new bike a few days ago, adjusted my saddle height to the new position (from handlebar to dropbar) what felt weird to me was that my position was much higher than before. I think in the past was to low because it felt easier to balance.
Love your videos and this guy does seem to know what he's talking about but but but please edit out or have him reherse what he's about to say, the long ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhs need to go. Seriously.
How much do you need to lower your saddle roughly when you put your cleats as far back as they can go (assuming your saddle height was in the right spot in the first place)? Is it roughly 20-30mm or just 10mm??
Probably the best video I have watched on saddle height. Having had a bike fit from James I have often agonized over replicating his measurements if I have swapped out a component. Where did James measure the saddle height from?, where on the saddle were the measurements taken from? etc etc. It is reassuring to know that millimetre perfection is not crucial. Cheers guys.
After watching this video I dropped my saddle 1.5 cm. WOW! Definitely a step in the right direction. The outside of my feet feel great and overall more comfortable riding experience. Thank you!
This may have been mentioned in previous videos, but what qualifications does James have? He talks with an incredible amount of authority and knowledge, so assume its more than just a bike fitters course qualification. University level i take it?
I just lowered my saddle by about 2 cm after watching this video (can't go any lower than that) and it feels like I got quite a massive boost in power. It feels weird at first but I guess it's just matter of getting used to it. Time will tell if those are real gains or just placebo. My saddle was previously set slightly off axis because a straight saddle was uncomfortable, just like you described. Now I can set it straight. My left quadriceps is also noticeably less muscled than the right one, and basically all the effort was produced by the quads. Two problems that you described and that will hopefully be solved by this. Thanks a lot for this advice! Two details: I'm on flat pedals, and my saddle height was first set by looking for a 30-40 degree angle at full leg extension. The question now is: are there any other settings I need to adjust in conjunction with the saddle height ?
I have extremely long legs, and short body. (37inch inside leg) This is the first time I have heard to put the saddle forward, as have always felt stretched out. Knee is well forward of pedal regardless as I think it’s upper leg where all the length is. I’m going to put the saddle forward and give this a go. Thanks for the informative videos!
I had thumb pain and back knee pain, so I lowered my saddle 2cm yesterday, it felt a bit weird at first like I was sitting on a cramped mtb and I also thought that I was going slower... until I checked my strava of course, I set prs on most of my usual climbs, and both the knee and thumb pain were gone, so overall it was a good idea, I might set my bar a bit lower though for a more stretched position, I've gotten used to more stretch
Long time subscriber, so I kinda already know what James was gonna say. I still clicked just cuz I like hearing him talk. It’s as if he knows what he’s talking about
