[Closed] New to full suspension...

The difference between the Bottom Bracket and the top of the saddle won't change as the suspension action kicks in so no, in theory you won't need to change the saddle height. In practice, the full suss frame you tried may have had rather different geometry to your hardtail so it would feel very different.
If the bike feels too 'soggy' you may need to readjust the suspension settings.

Thanks Muddydwarf, that makes sense. So the rear suspension only acts on the back wheel, and the distance between BB and saddle is fixed? Hmm, interesting, must've been the different geometry of the frame as you say. Guess I would have to set the saddle higher on the FS bike to start with.

Take a look at the bike and look how the suspension actually works, You'll see that the distance between the BB shell and the saddle is fixed (what bike BTW?) and that the rear wheel will pivot around either a single point on the frame (bikes like an Orange 5 or Commencal) or will use several linkages to actuate the shock.
The rear swingarm moves independently to the front half of the frame where you sit.

Hi Muddydwarf. It was a Giant Trance I tried this morning. I'm not at the shop anymore, but looking at the pics on the Giant web site I see what you mean.

I think what was throwing me was that I was finding the saddle too high while sitting astride it with my feet on the ground - so was adjusting it down. I now realise this distance (saddle to ground)[i]will[/i] be affected by suspension sag. What I should have done was adjust saddle position relative to my feet on the pedals, which is constant. Silly mistake - thanks for clearing that up!

So, that begs another question - will a full suspension bike be a bit more difficult to get your leg over when initially mounting it, because the saddle is about an inch higher [i]relative to the ground[/i] before the rider's weight compresses the rear shock?

yes its more difficult

does it matter, no

Yeah, no biggie... just like to know what I'm getting myself into! There's many a time I've struggled to get going again after bottling out on an obstacle. And, if I know its gonna be even harder on a FS it might give me an excuse to buy some of those new Shimano trail pedals with the little flats as well as the SPD clips - that way I can get a bit of momentum up before clipping in 🙂

Another reason you probably had to set the saddle higher is that with FS bikes the BB is usually higher than HT bikes. This is so the pedals don't hit the floor whenever the suspension compresses. As you say its the distance between the BB/pedals to the saddle that is the important measurement not the distance from the floor to the saddle, there are too many variables in all bikes for that to work.

You'll also notice that as the suspension sits into it's sag you may feel a slight sensation of rotating backwards.But then again you might not.

On my FS the saddle sits a fair bit higher than on my old 26" HT, to the point where my missus thought it was too big for me, especially when you put it up against my road bike

PerthMTB, sounds like your saddle is too low. You should not be able to sit on the saddle with your feet touching the ground.

PerthMTB, sounds like your saddle is too low. You should not be able to sit on the saddle with your feet touching the ground.

What? You mean my cycling proficiency instructor was wrong all those years ago? He must have been right surely, he had a moustache and everything!

it might give me an excuse to buy some of those new Shimano trail pedals with the little flats as well as the SPD clips

In theory they are a good idea but in practice they are rubbish. The SPD part is heavier so always point down. It makes it a bugger to clip in as as you have to rotate the pedal with your toe first.

Agreed you should not be able to touch the ground easily when on the saddle. When sat on the saddle put your heel on the pedal at the bottom of its stroke. Adjust the saddle height so that your leg is just about dead straight

Hi Capt. Are we talking the same pedals?

I'm thinking these, which are double sided...

[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=67249 ]Pedal[/url]

Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice on full suspension, will be finding out myself soon enough - made the mistake of going back to the shop this afternoon and ended up buying the Giant Trance 😯

Will be collecting it tomorrow! Oh well, Christmas has come early this year....

You should not be able to sit on the saddle with your feet touching the ground.

of course you should - as soon as you sit on the saddle you will 'sag' into the middle of the suspension travel, at which point the saddle height won't be a lot different from a hardtail. It might be lower if the bike has a lower BB.

Turnerguy - I don't think you should be able to sit on the saddle with feet on the ground on a full suss or a hardtail.

If you can then you won't be getting anywhere near full extension on your legs during the pedal stoke, so you'll be riding very inefficiently.

On the point of saddle Hight, I reckon you should just be able to touch the floor when in full sag. To counteract the ineffciencies that mchlptchr is refferring to you should drop you heel whilst at the bottom of the pedal stroke, this will give you greater leg extension without the need for full (road style) saddle heighht. If you were to have you leg full extended (well, keeping a slight bend at the knee) you wouldn't beable to shift your weight behind the saddle very easily for the steeper stuff. I guees its all about comprimise. Could just get an upp-downy post.

what on earth are you lot on about?

ground to saddle height means nothing, its all bb (well pedal) to saddle height. thats made obvious by how bikes are sized by their seat tube not ground to top tube.

and if you cant get off the back of your saddle with at full height then there's no way you'll be able to reach the pedals at their lowest point.

Turnerguy - I don't think you should be able to sit on the saddle with feet on the ground on a full suss or a hardtail.

I was assuming that touching the ground with any part of your foot counted - I meant sit on sadde and toe on ground. I was imagining the OP having to trackstand all the time 🙂