Pedal Stack Height -- a question

[DHallerman]

I'm looking to switch pedals on one of my all-steel road bikes, the Ritchey Classic.

I now have Shimano Deore XT pedals, the 770 model, which have a 10.3mm stack height.

I am looking to install Shimano Dura-Ace pedals, the 7900 model, which have a 14.3mm stack height.

So, do I simply raise my saddle by 4.0mm to adjust for the pedal change?

Or is it more complicated than that? And in what ways?

The shoes are as comparable as possible, using Sidi Dominators with the mountain pedals and Sidi Genius with the road pedals.

Suggestions and perspectives are much welcomed.

Dave, who is well-acquainted with fork steerer stack heights but is still learning about pedal stack heights

[David Kirk]

Shoe/pedal stack is hard to measure but it's worth the time IMO. Here is how I do it -

I take a piece if masking tape and put it on the crank arm of the bike and put a mark on it. Now with one pedal shoe combo installed I swing the crank to the straight down position and hold the shoe level. Now take a ruler and place it into the shoe and onto the surface the ball of your foot contacts the footbed. Measure up from there to the line you made on the tape. Record this number.

Now switch the shoe/pedal combo and do the same thing and record that number. No doubt those two numbers will be different by some smallish amount. I will then move the saddle up/down to compensate so your leg extension is the same with both set ups.

Clear as mud?

Dave

[Wilkinson4]

That's great Dave. I set my saddle ht the same way across bikes that use different pedals or shoes. I measure up from the shoe footbed with the shoe clicked in on one bike where I know the saddle height is what I like, then replicate across my other bikes using the different pedals/shoes. I found this really usefull when I was using Lake Sandals that have a really thick sole.

mIKE

[Mark McM]

... to keep the fit the same, remember to raise/lower your handlebars when you raise/lower the saddle.