Gear
5
min read
Flat-footing is overrated
Most of the riders who pass you on the Stelvio cannot put both feet down. What actually keeps a bike upright at a stop.
The most common email we get is from a rider who has read a seat height and decided a bike is not for them. Usually they are wrong. Seat height is a number measured on an unloaded bike, on a bench, in a place you will never stand.
Three things the number leaves out
Sag. The bike sinks 25 to 35 mm when you sit on it.
Seat width. A narrow seat gives you a straighter leg, which can be worth more than 20 mm of height.
Your boots. Touring boots add 25 mm for free.
One foot is a technique
At a stop, slide across the seat and put one foot down. Plant the left, keep the right on the brake. Plenty of riders never do anything else. It takes ten minutes in a car park to learn, and we will teach you.
Check it
Our fit check on the rentals page does this sum for every bike, in your boots, with your load. It is an estimate. Sit on the bike at pickup, and if it is wrong we will swap it or lower it.
Written by
Greta Pichler
Guide, Dolomites