Saddle height is considered the most important bicycle-position setting. Changes to the seat-to-pedal distance, most commonly adjusted by moving the seat up or down, involves a complex interaction of angles between your hips, knees, and ankles during the pedal cycle. 

This means that even slight adjustments to saddle height alter the movement patterns and activate or “turn muscles on” at different times and duration, throughout the pedal stroke.   

Road vs mtb & saddle height differences

Your MTB seat height will be nearly identical to your road bike when riding easy trails or maybe even a smidgen higher.

With that being said, however, we must distinguish saddle height among the differing forms of mountain biking:

• Dirt jumping

• Downhilling

• Cross-Country (XC)

• Enduro

• Trail Riding

• Free-Ride

Some of these mountain bike subcategories use similar saddle positioning while others do not.

Saddle height: Road & XC-MTB

Endurance based mountain biking, like cross-country MTBing, are going to have the same saddle height as traditional road cycling. This makes sense, as this form of mountain biking is as close to road cycling as you will get and is more akin to off-road cycling than other forms of mountain biking. 

Mountain bike saddle height is hugely affected by terrain: 

• Double-track

• Fire & forest roads

• Old mining roads/tracks

• Wide mountain paths 

• Interspersed and mostly non-to-less-technical singletrack (generally speaking, but not always the case) 

Bicyclists who predominantly ride these types of mtb trails should be using the same saddle height setting as their road bike or using the same formulas that are recommended by BikeFitters for roadie saddle heights. 

Road racers and endurance MTB racers will have as close to identical saddle heights as possible between the two bikes. Trying to mimic the same position for both types of riding may reduce injuries when switching between bikes if you spend the majority of time riding one style.

Road Cycling Saddle Height

Once you reach speeds of 9-MPH (15kph), aerodynamic drag becomes the main opposing force, and as go even faster, it accounts for 90% of all forces acting against you. Road cyclists, even unfit ones, can average 13-15 mph (22 kph) fairly easily.

• Configuring your seat height to allow for aerodynamic (aero) positioning takes precedence.

Mountain Biking Saddle Height

In theory, mountain biking uphill on a smooth double-track is easier and more efficient with a higher saddle than what is riding with on your road or gravel bike.

The advantages of a lower saddle height are more related to aerodynamics, handling, corning, traction, control, and lack of hamstring flexibility, none of which play a role in uphill climbing on a double-track (maybe except hamstring flexibility). 

• A Higher Saddle = More Pedal Power: Riding with a saddle higher than your road bike is perfect for climbing smooth and gradual inclines on a wide, non-technical single-track or double-track. 

• Theoretically, muscles produce the most force just before they reach their fully stretched length. Raising your seat to the highest possible position while maintaining level hips will give you the most power and efficiency.

• Shoe/cleat thickness

• Pedal thickness (flat/or clipless)

• Length of the crankarm

These are all factors to account for if you are trying to ride with the same saddle height between your road and mountain bikes. Just because your saddle height is the same, that doesn’t mean the actual relative saddle height is identical if your riding with different shoes, pedals, and different sized crankarms.

Technical single-track & saddle height

Riding singletrack or trail riding is one of the most popular forms of mountain biking. Before the dropper-post became standard, many riders climbed with a raised seat and manually lowered the seat before descending. 

• Riders of technical singletrack ride with a lower saddle compared to road cyclists.

• How much lower?? That’s trail and terrain dependent. However, the lower your seat, the more control, maneuverability, balance, and traction you have.

Getting “high” and “forward” on the saddle by mimicking the standing position to propel yourself forward on tough climbs on double-track makes sense.

• However, the same level of steepness on narrow, technical, and steep single-track will give you control, traction, and maneuverability issues.

If the majority of your riding takes place on singletrack, having a dropper post is critical to optimizing pedal efficiency, regardless of technical features. Ideally, you want a dropper post with 3 settings:

1. Highest Position: This is slightly higher than road bike saddle height - - - This is for maximum power and pedal efficiency for non-technical climbing or flat sections

2. Moderate height: A few centimeters lower than road saddle height - - - Allows for increased control and maneuverability on technical climbing and flat(ish) sections

3. Bottom position: As low as the seat will go - - - You want the seat out of the way for descending, jumping, drops, and high-speed corning, switch-backs, or banking turns

Downhill mountain biking & saddle height

Saddle height is not-important in gravity-assisted mountain biking as the shuttle, lift, or gondola does the climbing for you.

Gravity-assisted mountain biking

• Downhill

• Dirt jumping

• Slope-style

• Freee-ride as the shuttle or lift does the climbing for you.

Downhill mountain bikers don’t have seat adjustments, as the saddle remains at the lowest position. Gravity assisted, downhill biking, like in a bike park at a ski resort, doesn’t consist of much pedaling. The lift takes riders up, followed by bombing down a ski resort at speeds exceeding 50 mph (80kph), riders never sit down.

Improper saddle height can result in knee pain/injury, low back pain.

There are 4 primary saddle heights for bicycling

• Too low

• Too high

• Preferred saddle height

• Optimal saddle height

Too Low Saddle

• A saddle height that is set too low can result in anterior knee pain due to increased compression in the knee joint through the top of the pedal stroke and during the follow-through to the bottom.

Too High Saddle

• Too Low: A saddle height that is set too high can lead to posterior knee pain due to over-extension of the knee at the bottom of the stroke.

Saddle too low

If the saddle is too low, excessive stress is placed on the knees. Anterior knee pain is common, due to increased compression of the knee joint as the rider pushes through the top of the pedal stroke.

Saddle Too Low = Knee is more flexed = causes compression of the patella against the underlying surfaces from increased activity of the quads and hamstring.

So what is too Low?

• Anything greater than a 44° knee angle places too much compression forces on your knee. Also, it’s very inefficient, so you will tire easily and have minimal power on the pedals.

• This "shortness" extenuate hip and knee extension and will aggravate your knee and thighs.

Saddle too high

When your saddle is too high, your hips rock back and forth, which causes your legs to rub against the saddle. Besides chafing, posterior knee pain can result from overextension of the knee at the bottom stroke. 

• Saddle Too High = excessive knee extension = patella is no longer stabilized by the quadriceps muscles and it becomes overstretched, leading to knee pain.  

• Even though you will have a longer activation of upper leg muscles as the seat is raised, once the seat is raised above optimal, the muscles are overly stretched, which doesn’t allow for force optimal production………..you will produce less power and possibly suffer injuries. 

Negative outcomes from riding with too high of a saddle

• Chafing and saddle sores

• Posterior knee pain (behind the knee) 

  • Usually pain in only one of your knees (your dominant leg)

• Hips rocking back and forth = loss of pedal efficiency

• Loss of pedal power from overstretched muscles

• Waste of energy from hip-rock

In addition to the negative outcomes listed above, the higher the saddle, the higher your center of gravity. Cornering, descending, rolling over obstacles like roots, and logs all become harder with a high center of gravity.

optimal saddle height

• Road Cycling

  • The theoretical optimal saddle height = 25° knee angle (when the pedal crank is in the 6 o’clock position)

• Cross-Country Mountain Biking

  • 30° knee angle = theoretical optimal saddle height

• The best combination of power output and endurance (most efficient)

• Most power comes from 25-30° knee angle

When you are riding in your optimal seat height

• Your butt muscles and tibialis anterior (shin) have a longer and more forceful activation 

• Your quads/thigh (vastus muscles + rectus femoris) and hams (bicep femoris) all have a greater activation time.

• Your knee and hip are more in-phase

  • Excessively low or high seat = more out-of-phase the ankle and knees are (such as the ankle leading the hip).

• Pedaling Style

  • A faster cadence is easier with a lower seat

  • Higher seat for riders who like to push big gears at lower cadences

Preferred saddle height

• Average knee angle range of professional road cyclists = 30–40°

  • Average knee angle of pro-cyclists 38.± 4.5°.

• Recreation cyclists have similar seat height to professionals, with the average cyclist in the same 30–40° knee angle range.

For both recreational and professional road cyclists, their preferred saddle height is right around 37-38 degrees.

The theoretical optimal seat height is hypothetical since it’s based on data from studies in laboratories. Most of these studies involve cycling on a treadmill or stationary bike.

Cycling, especially elite-level racing, aerodynamics are everything. Losing a little bit of pedal power is okay if the aero gains are greater. Also, road cyclists go upwards of 65 mph (105kph) during downhill descents and average 25 mph (40kph), which means high speed turning and cornering, all of which are easier with a lower saddle and is something that is not accounted for by researchers in the lab.

Limited Hamstring Flexibility

For many cyclists, the limiting factor preventing them from riding in an optimally high saddle position is limited hamstring flexibility. If you have “tight” hammies, even getting lower than a 38 knee angle won’t be possible without developing injuries and discomfort.

Proper saddle height & injuries

A knee angle of 25° to 40° is recommended for injury prevention.

• Cycling, especially while “clipped in,” is a repetitive motion. A bicyclist riding at 90 rpm will pedal 16,200 revolutions in 3 hours. An incorrect saddle height places a large amount of strain on the knees and can lead to overuse injuries.

Click me if you want to super fit your ride!

Final Thought

The research looks exclusively at cycling and seat height, and usually conducted in laboratory settings. Extrapolating that data to both cyclists and mountain bikers can be contentious, which is why seat height settings remain the most controversial of all bicycle adjustments.

Raising or lowering your saddle by anything more than a smidgen, in either direction, can have profound effects on both your muscle activity patterns and pedaling mechanics.

Changes in terrain have a huge impact on what your ideal saddle height should be. Why???? Because simply changing the positioning of your pelvis (from hills) alters when and how your muscles activate while spinning the pedals. Also, adjusting your cadence changes mechanics and force relationships on the pedals.

Ideally, while pedaling under 9mph (14 kph), your seat should be at it’s highest setting, since you will be able to generate the most force and efficiency. As you go faster, slightly lowering the seat to allow for:

• Increased control/stability

• Lower center of gravity

• Increased flexibility of the hamstrings, permitting a more aero position

Jesse is the Director of Pedal Chile and lives in Valdivia, Chile. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health & Human Performance, a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, and an Associate of Science in Radio Broadcasting. Hobbies: MTBing, snowboarding, reading, taster of craft beers, researcher, & compression sock wearer.

More articles from Pedal Chile

Sources:

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