by Boxer Wyze

Created on: August 08, 2009

The key to enjoying your mountain bike is to make sure you have it adjusted for your size and riding style. One of the easiest things to adjust on your bike is the seat. Of course to do this you need to know a little bit about how seat height will improve your ride so that you can make an informed decision about how to set your seat based on the type of riding you will be doing.

The general rule of thumb is to adjust the seat height so that you have a slight bend in your knee when you are sitting on the seat and your pedal is at the bottom of the stroke. This enables you to get a full range of motion from your leg muscles and decreases the possibility of getting leg cramps. However, with mountain biking there are other considerations to keep in mind, especially if you intend to do anything other than the very mildest of terrain.

If your seat is set as I described above on a trail with challenging terrain like rocks, logs, or lots of rough ground you will find it very difficult to maneuver. The seat will get in the way as you try to compensate for objects you encounter. The way to fix this is to slightly lower your seat, not a lot, but a couple of inches. Doing this gives you clearance to stand up on the pedals and let the bike bounce over rough terrain without jolting you around. It will also allow you to change positions for climbing or descending hilly areas of the trail.

The most efficient position for going down a hill is to stand on the pedals with your weight pushed back towards the rear part of the seat. Sometimes if the trail gets extremely steep you will actually lean back over the rear tire so that you decrease the likelihood of tumbling over your handlebars. If you try to do this with the seat too high you will find the it gets in your way and prevents you from keeping the crucial balance you need.

Conversely, when climbing a hill you will be toward the front of the seat with your weight leaning forward. Having the seat too high will cause your butt to be too high up for comfortable pedaling.

The good news is that most modern mountain bike seats have a quick-release lever similar to the ones that secure your wheels to the frame. So adjusting the seat height is as simple as pulling the lever to loosen the tension, moving the seat up or down until you find the correct height and then pushing the lever back into place to secure the seat in position. This makes it easy to change your seat position as often as you like until you find what works best for your style.

As an avid bike rider who often will ride streets to get to the trail I wish to ride, I will often have my seat set at one level for riding on pavement and then just before hitting the trail I'll jump off the bike and quickly adjust the seat level for optimum trail riding. Learning to do this will add greatly to your efficiency on the bike but more importantly to your enjoyment of the bike riding experience.

Now, let's ride!

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