Interesting method Gary. I just tried it out, and while I certainly looked very dainty doing it , it did appear to put the saddle quite a bit too high for me. I guess it depends on exactly where that special point on your hip is and how well you can find it. But also remember that this method doesn't account for differences in bottom bracket heights. If you've got a relatively low BB height I think that your method might somewhat overestimate the desirable saddle height.GaryF wrote:Bike fit for me when inspecting a 'new' bike:
A rough guide, and surprisingly accurate, is to do 'the little tea pot'. ...If the seat on that bike can be adjusted to fit under my hand, and still visually look to be at a 'good height', not too high or too low, I can generally jump on board the bike and be reasonably comfortable.
Just out of interest Gary, could you check out how the classic Lemond formula suits you and your particular bikes. As I say, it (65% of inseam) comes out just a little small for me. Can you measure the ST (c-c) of one of the classic bikes (say one on which you feel very comfortable), and work out what percentage that c-c measurement is of your inseam length. For me it's more like about 67% of inseam (on bikes that I feel most comfortable).
BTW. The standard method for measuring inseam is standing against a wall without shoes, place a hard cover book between your legs and (being careful to keep the book pressed exactly perpendicular to the wall) push it reasonable firmly into your nether regions similar to how a bike saddle would do. Place a pencil mark and measure the height from the floor. This is a very handy number to carry around with you if you are looking at bike frames.