Measure and set saddle height

Take your shoes off and stand with your back against a wall, feet hip-width apart. Slide a hardback book between your legs and pull it up firmly into your crotch, keeping it level, the way a saddle would sit.

Mark the top edge of the book on the wall with a pencil, then measure from the floor to the mark with the Tape measure (or else Steel ruler). Measure two or three times and keep the average: that is your inseam, in centimetres.

Multiply your inseam by 0.883: the result is the distance from the centre of the bottom bracket axle to the top of the saddle, measured along the seat tube. An 84 cm inseam gives 74.2 cm.

This number is a starting point, not a verdict: it assumes ordinary cycling shoes and ordinary pedals. With thick-soled shoes or thick flat pedals, add a few millimetres.

Turn the cranks so that one crank arm lines up with the seat tube. Measure from the centre of the bottom bracket axle to the top of the saddle, halfway along its length, where you sit. Compare with the height you worked out.

Loosen the seat clamp with the Allen keys (or else Multi-tool), raise or lower the post, keep the saddle nose in line with the frame, then tighten again. On a carbon post or frame, tighten to the torque printed on the clamp with the Torque wrench and use carbon assembly paste.

Sit on the bike in your cycling shoes, leaning against a wall or held by a friend. Put your heel on the pedal with the crank at the bottom, in line with the seat tube, and pedal slowly backwards.

Your leg should be almost straight, knee not locked, and your hips should not rock from side to side. If your heel lifts off the pedal, the saddle is too high; if your knee stays clearly bent, it is too low. When you then pedal normally, with the ball of the foot on the pedal, the knee keeps a slight bend at the bottom of the stroke.

Ride for twenty to thirty minutes on a route you know. Pain at the front of the knee often means the saddle is too low; pain behind the knee, or hips rocking on the saddle, often means it is too high.

Change the height in steps of 3 to 5 mm only, then ride again: your body needs a few rides to adapt. Write down the height you settle on and wrap a piece of tape around the post just above the clamp, so you can find it again after transport or a repair.