In reply to trouserburp:
> I can just touch the tarmac on tippy toes, mostly stop next to the kerb instead.
This (I've read in a few books [City Cycling and Cyclecraft], and articles, and experienced myself) is convenient, but can develop into a habit of always ending up in a pretty vulnerable position on the road, such as in the gutter at lights, between a bus/lorry/car and a fence, when the driver's forgotten you're there and is about to turn left across you.
I've also read in some sad reports and analysis about cyclists getting flattened this historically more commonly happens to women because they can be less assertive in taking a 'better' position in the road, which I understand to be
in the traffic, in front of or right behind vehicles in a queue, rather than tucked in the gutter trying to stay out of traffic. In the latter case drivers of cars or bigger things can think that you being way over beside the kerb is an invitation or opportunity to pass, when it's not.
Now that I've got that off my chest... I've got two bikes at the moment, one single-speed which I use for commuting, and a road bike, with almost identical frame sizes. I have spent endless hours twiddling the saddle heights. The saddle height is 'just right' for me now on both, in terms of it being comfy for the riding I do on both.
When I got the more recent of the two bikes I set the saddle at the same height as the existing bike, but with twiddling over the months since, it's now almost an inch lower. I can stand on tippy-toes in the saddle, which I definitely can't on the other bike. Height 'feels' the same (and fine) on both bikes, but it's measurably quite different. Not something I lose any sleep over now that I've got them both 'comfy'.
Edit: Though having fully read the rest of the thread, I sense a week of sleepless self-doubt ahead...
Post edited at 20:53