This Common Cycling Mistake Could Be Damaging Your Hips

This year, I learned that  I’d fallen for a common misconception ― what I thought were stiff hips that needed stretching turned out to be weak hips that needed working out. 

That should mean exercising is a great way to strengthen your hips, right? Well, mostly ― but speaking to SELF, physical therapist Kellen Scantlebury, founder of Fit Club NY, said that a common cycling mistake can mess up your joints. 

The way you set your saddle up can seriously misalign your hips, Dr Scantlebury says ― and that spells bad news over longer distances in particular. 

How?

If your knees are at or below your hip level, your sweet is too low, the PT says.

That’s because it applies a lot of pressure to your hips and knees and can even lead to impingement of the hips (where the ball of the hip rubs against the cup of the joint, potentially harming cartilage) and ligament and knee pain. 

Conversely, Cycling Weekly says setting your saddle too high can damage your hips as well.

“One of the main goals for managing hip pain when cycling is to ensure hip flexion remains within your available range at top dead centre (TDC) of your pedal stroke,” they say. 

Without that, you risk harming your spine, knees, hips, and even wrists.

How can I set my saddle to the right height?

Cycling Weekly says that one method called the LeMond Formula, has stood the test of time. 

“The basic formula is to multiply your inseam height by 0.885 — the resulting measurement should be the distance from the centre of the bottom bracket and top of the saddle,” they say. 

If you can;t be bothered with that, though, they add there’s another way ― “An alternative is to drop the crank to full extension and rest your heel on the pedal, setting the saddle height at the point where the leg is entirely straight (and therefore has a soft bend when clipped in).”

You can also go to an expert for a bike fit, which is advisable if you’re a keen cyclist covering plenty of miles.