Accurately Set Your Saddle Height with the 109% Method

You can probably find a construction calculator on the interwebs if you don’t have a metric ruler. That way you can easily multiply the imperial units and get an answer in the same units

MIne is a full 1.5 inches lower and my feeling is to lower half inch. yes my knee has a slight bend when peddle is extended and I'm on the ball of the foot. But then I have a gel seat cushion addition atop of the saddle.

I have measured mine 109% got 88.29cm then I went to setup bicycle seat height and I measured it before ...I was shocked that I got 88.3 cm just by seting up it by my feeling of comfort while ago.

Is there a difference that you need to consider, depending on whether you are riding a mountain bike, or a road bike?

Are cycling socks better than, say, basketball socks?

So, I'm 72 inches with an inseam of 34, so what's my saddle height. The length of my crank is none of your business😅

I had a fit recently, and the fitter used a goniometer after looking at my pedaling style. She didn't measure my inseam or the saddle height, but where she ended up putting my saddle was exactly where the 109% method does (91cm from pedal to saddle, or 75 from center BB to saddle), which is higher than I've ever ridden it. But I believe I was riding it way too low, which causes plenty of issues on its own. I'm 5'9.5" tall, or 176.5cm with an 83.5cm inseam. The 109% method puts me about 1.3cm higher than the .883 method. 1.3cm is a huge difference. Incidentally you will find plenty of people who recommend 90% of inseam, which puts me at 75cm, exactly where this 109% method put me. The best method I've heard is to go riding, start out low, and raise it 5mm a time, ride for several minutes at a decent clip. When I did this in the past, I found 75cm was still smooth, though it was so much higher than what I was used to, I got some soreness (understandably) and ended up setting it back too low. So if you use that method, be patient and ride it for a while till you get used to it, otherwise you'll have your saddle too low and have myriad of problems.

Thank you man!

I'm a overweight cyclist and found having a Wide Seat makes me feel very comfortable while putting miles on my Trek Madone . I purchased a syncros capilano.

Using this method my saddle on a road bike is WAY too high, I need to fully stretch my leg at the bottom of the stroke which is not comfortable at all. It's 5cm higher than what I had after bike fitting.

Mine was exactly right using this method. Surprised me. Thanks for this.

I found the Lemond method helpful but my leg/knee was too bent.

Adjusted and realised I’m using the 109% method on my 175mm crank. Found I knocked off 15 mins of my best time in a headwind. Although my calves were dead the next day so don’t over do it when making adjustments! 😅

Easier to do it on your own by facing the wall.

I just followed your method, then checked my bikes, they are already at the measurement determined by your method so whatever method I used it worked, I now have noted my measurement

Interesting, but how do I consider and set the ideal seat back and forth position? KOP?

This 3 year old vid is still the most effective method i've learned and still using

I saw a similar video on here and they used the book to measure the inseam the same as you but they faced the wall and as such easy for one person to mark the top off the book on the wall. Now does it make a differnece as back or front to the wall?

I have a question.
Why not 1.00 and why 1.09?

I've seen similar videos where they say to measure with your cycling shoes. Why would I measure without them?

Surely the saddle height should vary depending on the thickness of shoe soles and design of the actual pedals, so wouldn't it make more sense to at least wear your shoes when measuring? I find I have to adjust the saddle depending on what shoes and pedals I'm using.

Getting a book out in my house doesn’t help me when I’m outside with my bike!

Question when I tried the heel technique it made my rides harder

Awesome, thank you. Could you do a video on saddle fore/aft and stem length?

I think most serious and weekend warrior riders will come up with a right saddle height with experimentation, it is a fairly
intuitive process.
However, saddle length and angle proportional to stem length, stem height etc. all come to play and that's when you need to woodshed a bit.
BTW thanks to all who call it a saddle and not a seat.
Still scratching my head on the term seat post though

For slightly more accuracy, you can clip on your favorite shoe and measure from the top of the insole.

Lost (or gained? 😂) around 4cm from this method on my height. Felt pretty cool on my commute

When I did this, my feet can’t reach to the floor so I would have to get off the seat at stops in order to stand. Does this mean the bike frame is too tall for me? By the way, I don’t have a centimeter tape measure so I used my standard inches tape measure and my inseam is only 31” so I multiplied that by 1.09 which equals 31.79 or roughly 31 and 3/4 inches. Anyways I felt it safer to lower the seat so at least my toes can reach the ground.

Hola, 85 multiplicado por 1,09 da como resultado 92, 65.
No encuentro la forma de que salgan tus cálculos

Thats a thick binding , just saying

Why didn't you do the wall marking by facing the wall?

Now that I can determine the optimum saddle heighth, how can I figure out the best saddle height?

Thanks so much for posting this I now realise I have spent the last 30 years riding around on bikes with the seat way to low👍

As I recall, Edmund R. Burke, who was an exercise physiologist with the US Olympic Cycling Team back in the 1980's - 1990's, also used the 109% method.

If you have a relatively pendulous bean bag, do you recommend the tuck and tape method or the mash and wince method? LOL

Hello, should I adjust my Seatpost when I'm gonna race xc or fixed height?

I done the Lamont method and Iv been riding a saddle too high and I thought it was too low at times 😂

What about using the 109% of inseam method, then minus crank length. You can then measure from centre of crank to top of saddle which may be easier for some.

cool, for a remake of this would be great to see the foot position

Thank so much for the nice explanation. I want to know if it is the same method of calculation for both road and mounting bike? Also I want to know if it is normal that the saddle height is always much higher than the handlebar? With my 64 years old I don't feel secure. Thanks for answering when you have time

Thanks just did it and my seat height was spot on ,I think a lot of the time if it feels right your pretty close

The problem with this method is it depends how hard you push the book up! It could be 2-3cm difference!

The 109 is a good starting/reference point for saddle height. However, finding the correct saddle position is a dynamic process as the cyclist posture and flexibility change with time and other details such as shoes, cleat position etc. should be taken into cosideration.. Ultimately, your body wiil tell you which height is the correct one! Thx for sharing!

@Clint Gibbs : thanks a lot for the video. What's your total body height in cm ?

Great vid. Just bring a string with the correct length equal to your saddle height for travel. It’s easier to pack, including on the trail, and you can have many of them. Lol

The “109” method is not - by far - the most scientifically backed method of saddle height determination. 25 degrees is. Get a goniometer, find someone that can accurately determine the location of the functional rotation of the hip, knee and ankle so as to determine this maximum extension. The science is available, the studies are numerous and well developed. Both mechanical and metabolic efficiency. Dear lord do your research.

Best.

where did the additional 9% come from?