Adventures in Seat Height
When I first started cycling I bought my starter bike from an excellent shop. I actually credit the owner of Omer and Bob’s with getting me hooked. He set me up with the perfect starter bike, an aluminum Trek. I’d never ridden before but he encouraged me to go for the clipless pedals since he could see my athleticism. He set the bike up on a trainer and had me practice clipping in and out… over and over. It paid off. But best of all, he fitted me. He took all my measurements, dangling a weight from my knee to make sure my angles were all correct. It was the best bike fitting I’ve ever had. And, in classic newby style, I didn’t ask him for any of the measurements. I walked out of the shop, figured I’d never touch the bicycle again and that it would always remain the same. That worked for a year until I leant the bike to a friend and she changed the seat height… THE HORROR. And then only got worse when I flew the bike to California for my first multi-day trip.
Since then I’ve had many adventures in seat heights. I winged it when I got to Italy and bought my Bianchi Infinito CV. I rode the bike for several years before I was out for a ride locally in Lecco and was passed by an enormous and very fit guy. He passed me FAST and I jumped in behind him. When he saw I could hang, he waved for me to tuck in closer. We rolled on the flats together for 10k and then turned to go uphill where we started to talk. It turned out he was a pro from Morocco and living locally. He observed my riding for a while and then told me, “You’re powerful, but it’s not transferring into speed. You need to raise your seat at least 2cm.” I went home and did just what he said. On my next big climb I PRed on every segment. It was like magical free speed. This kind of got me on a little bit of a tear that higher is faster. That had its limits and I found middle ground eventually.
Now that I work in a bike shop, I love when people come in knowing their seat height measurement. It’s almost magically easy to get them feeling very good on a bike with just that one number. But still, I hadn’t captured my own height. But why not?
This year I’ve continued to play with my seat height, especially as I’ve tried more of the Bike It! Bellagio fleet and fallen in love with the new Specialissima. I’ve been getting closer and closer to the right height, and last month I was out for a ride with my boss when she said “That height is exactly right for you. Your hips are perfect still with the right extension.” As soon as she said it I knew she was right. I could feel how smooth everything felt. It all just flowed. I went back to the shop and measured the height 71.7cm, and immediately set my own bike to that height. My ride home that evening was perfection. I realized that I’d never taken note of the actual measurement because I’d never captured it so perfectly. Coincidentally it was July 17 (7.17) when I finally found my perfect height. I’ll never forget it now that I have it.
