Stopping, starting and saddle height

[Pale Rider]

Most of my rides start with a run across town which inevitably involves stopping and starting.

My problem is that to comfortably stop and start in traffic, I need the saddle lower than for bowling along the open road.

Current compromise is the saddle set a little lower than would be ideal for proper leg extension.

I only returned to cycling a few months ago, so lack of technique could be partly to blame.

The bike is either my Brompton, or a borrowed hybrid.

Any thoughts/tips welcome.

 

[Steve H]

Personally, I prefer to keep my saddle at the right height for when riding. I've not found any need to have to compromise on this. When I stop in traffic / junctions / traffic lights, I sometimes put a foot on the curb or just lean the bike slightly. If this really doesn't work for you, you could try moving forward off the saddle so it is easier to put a foot down.

 

[Easytigers]

Personally, I prefer to keep my saddle at the right height for when riding. I've not found any need to have to compromise on this. When I stop in traffic / junctions / traffic lights, I sometimes put a foot on the curb or just lean the bike slightly. If this really doesn't work for you, you could try moving forward off the saddle so it is easier to put a foot down.

+1 for this. When I'm in the saddle my feet barely touch the floor. At first felt a little unsure about this but after a while it becomes second nature to do either of the above.

 

[Eribiste]

I would definitely keep the saddle at the correct height for riding, even though this is may a bit high for a comfortable reach to the floor. When I'm coming to an anticipated halt I'll unclip the left foot ready to plant said member on a convenient kerb. If stopping elsewhere, I generally unclip the left as usual, then just before halting, I slide forward off the saddle and stand over the frame. When I start off again, I push down with my right foot on the pedal and thus push myself back up to saddle height, all in one smooth, fluid motion, at the same time as propelling the bike forward. A lot like Steve H says.
Find yourself a good size car park somewhere to have a practice in, and you'll find that once you get used to it it's easier to actually do than to describe!

 

[coffeejo]

^^
What they said

 

[lulubel]

I can't touch the ground, even on tiptoes, when I'm in the saddle. If I have the saddle any lower than it is, I suffer from really bad knee pain.

To put a foot down, I just move forward off the saddle, so I'm standing over the frame, as others have already said.

 

[CamTriker]

With normal length cranks simple bio-mechanics says you shouldn't be able to sit on the bike and keep your self upright. If you can you're doing damage to your knee joints or you're around 7ft tall or taller.

As others have said, the best thing to do is learn how to mount & dismount the bike as you stop/start. Almost everyone stands up on the pedals to pull away from a standstill normally, so re-mounting the bike is a simple extension of this. Dismounting needs a little more training but it's a simple technique to learn.

 

[Biker Joe]

I would definitely keep the saddle at the correct height for riding, even though this is may a bit high for a comfortable reach to the floor. When I'm coming to an anticipated halt I'll unclip the left foot ready to plant said member on a convenient kerb. If stopping elsewhere, I generally unclip the left as usual, then just before halting, I slide forward off the saddle and stand over the frame.!

I see a lot of the pros in racing do the same. It's what I do also.
Good advice.

 

[Sandra6]

I probably have my saddle a little lower than is "proper" (it works for me) when I stop I lean so I can still sit but get a foot to the floor.
Only problem I've had was when the floor I tried to put my foot to had a dip and I didn't quite connect so fell off.

 

[Salad Dodger]

I am another for the "saddle at right height and get off the seat to put a foot down when stopping" school of thought.

My wife, however, prefers the security of a low seat, so she can put her foot down at any time. And, considering some of her peculiar decisions about when to change gear and which gear to select, it's probably just as well that she keeps the seat low.......

 

[Kies]

No one has mentioned a great advantage to the method above .... Gives your bottom a rest off the saddle.

 

[Hacienda71]

If you have a saddle set too low you may end up with very painful knees. As has been said just slip of the saddle when coming to a stop.

 

[Pale Rider]

Thanks for the replies, all of which are constructive and helpful.

The posters who mentioned painful knees were spot on - I wondered why I was getting those.

I've raised the saddle a centimetre, so am probably not far off where I need to be.

I've had a few attempts at the 'one foot off and step forward method', but can't claim to have mastered it - yet.

It never occurred to me to practice in a car park, I mean, a middle-aged bloke doesn't have to practice riding a bike, does he?

It seems I do.

 

[Arch]

I've had a few attempts at the 'one foot off and step forward method', but can't claim to have mastered it - yet.

It's weird, I can't imagine anyone not being able to do this easily. I'm not the most coordinated person in the world but it's just what I've always done. Funny how people are different!

 

[Pale Rider]

It's weird, I can't imagine anyone not being able to do this easily. I'm not the most coordinated person in the world but it's just what I've always done. Funny how people are different!

I've got little legs - 29" inside measurement - so crossbar height comes into it on the hybrid.

Shouldn't be a problem on the Brompton, not tried that yet as slushy snow and little wheels are not a good combination.