Saddle height

To be honest Bone any way of determining saddle height is, at the end of the day, a guide.

Try sitting on the saddle, then, with the crank at the very bottom of its stroke, put your heal on the pedal. At the optimum saddle height this should in theory leave your leg more or less locked out, with a very small bend in your knee.

I'm about 5'10" with an inside leg of about 32" and the distance from the centre of the B/B shell to the top of my saddle is 710mm on my mountain bikes (17.5" frame) and 715mm on my road bikes (56cm frame), just as a rough guide. Try what feels right, it almost certainly is!

A good starting saddle height is to set the saddle so that when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke there is a slight bend in your knee. You may need to adjust the saddle up or down a few times to find a good height

to further complicate things your saddle height may vary with the terrain you are riding over. For example on rough or dodgy terrain it can pay to lower your saddle an inch or two so that you can get your wiehgt off the back easier on descents and so that you can dab a foot down a bit easier. However riding a for hours on a lowered saddle can be hard on your knees and thighs.

In extreme conditions (particularly steep rocky down hills) it can be a good idea to drop the saddle all the way down so you can move around easily and get your weight right off the back of the saddle and your center of gravity nice and low

So..... When i'm out riding and i have to climb a big ass hill i jack my seat as far up as is comfortable until i get to any tricky sections and then i lower it a bit. If i know there is a big knarly section coming up i slam it down, power through the section then adjust it up again. On a long ride i might adjust my seat 3-4 times.

Actually some one has just released a seat post with a remote that changes your saddle height by a couple of incehes at the flick of a switch and if i can get the money together i might buy one

Hope that helps