Correct saddle height. And still able to "Straddle"?

Assuming I have a correct saddle height setup (knee angles and all).

Should I or shouldn't I be able to "straddle" or touch the road surface with the tips of my toes?

Or maybe my setup is actually wrong

 

For road riding I like my saddle adjusted so that when my butt is on it my knee is straight with my heel on the pedal and the pedal in the 6 o'clock position, but I don't know how generally regarded this is in being the correct way to determine saddle height. With my saddle in this position I have to get off it to reach the ground with both feet.

For off-road I like a lower saddle, but then the top tube on my mountain bike is a little lower than the one on the hybrid even though the top of the seat post tube on both bikes is the same height from the ground.

I have found the "higher for speed, lower for control" rule of thumb to be correct.

 

Correct saddle heigt has nothing to do with being alble to "straddle".
It can't be because different bikes have different bracket heights.

 

Thanks for the replies.

With my current setup, my legs arent really extended to almost straight (a basic cycling technique?) on the bottom stroke, that's why I can still straddle.

Guess I will raise the seat once I grow more confident with my riding.

 

Wait -- is the question whether or not you should be able to touch the ground while seated?

If that's the case, on a road bike, no, you generally shouldn't. As Sheldon Brown states, "do not try to sit on the saddle while the bike is stopped; this is not usually possible if your saddle is properly adjusted." Check out Sheldon's site. Lots of basic, helpful bike info there.

Take care!

 

Yes, that was what I meant

However, you did mentioned "generally shouldn't".
Would you mean that some actually set up their bikes to be able to straddle?

Another question...
I had tried a 52cm (90mm stem) and a 54cm (70mm stem) Trek bike.
BOTH felt comfortable to me, handling, reach, paddling etc etc etc

Which would you recommend getting? The larger one or the smaller?

 

I have a feeling your saddle is too low. One of the best methods to find out your saddle heigth is:

-Measure your inner leg, standing on your cycling shoes, wearing cycling shorts. If your LBS doesn't have a measuring contraption the easiest way is to:

1. Ask a friend to help
2. Take a straigth stick, tie a rope to it, straddle it while holding it horizontal, legs stretched (Again; wearing cycling gear!). Measure your inner leg by holding the rope against it.

This value should be multiplied by 1.09 (bio mechanics reccomend the value, I actually take it for granted as "it works")

3. This value should be the one you should have from the pedal in low postion to the top of the saddle. -The crank should be in line with your seat tube(giving the longest length between pedal and saddle).

After that you can do some small adjustments up or down due to personal preference.

Although some reccomend a lower saddle heigth on Commuting and MTB bikes, I personally prefer to have all my saddles at approx.the same heigth. I really feel the difference in poweroutput when my saddle is too low.