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ENGLISH
4. Fit
the ground to the top of the bicycle’s frame at that point where your crotch would
be if you were straddling the bike and standing half way between the saddle and the
handlebars. To check for correct stand over height, straddle the bike while wearing
the kind of shoes in which you’ll be riding, and bounce vigorously on your heels. If
your crotch touches the frame, the bike is too big for you. Don’t even ride the bike
around the block. A bike which you ride only on paved surfaces and never take off-
road should give you a minimum stand over height clearance of five centimeters. A
bike that you’ll ride on unpaved surfaces should give you a minimum of seven and
a half centimeters of stand over height clearance. And a bike that you’ll use for real
mountain biking on difficult, rough terrain should give you ten centimeters or more
of clearance.
fig.
1
fig.
2
4.3 Saddle position
Correct saddle adjustment is an important factor in getting the most performance
and comfort from your bicycle. The saddle can be adjusted in three directions:
1.
Up and down adjustment. To check for correct saddle height (fig. 2):
• sit on the saddle;
• place one heel on a pedal;
• rotate the crank until the pedal with your heel on it is in the down position and the
crank arm is stretched.
If your leg is not completely straight and just touching the center of the pedal, your
saddle height needs to be adjusted. If your hips must rock for the heel to reach the
pedal, the saddle is too high.
If your leg is bent at the knee with your heel on the pedal, the saddle is too low.
WARNING: If your seat post projects from the frame beyond the Minimum
Insertion or Maximum Extension mark (see fig. 3) or you cannot touch the bottom
