What to do when sadd;es fall off?

Peter Fox

The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...

The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt -
TWICE!

(Once at 1am down a country lane 5 miles from home - And would you
believe it? The local poacher on an unlit and tatty shopper's bike
happened to be the only person on the road in 20 miles and he was 20
yards away when it happened.)

I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the saddle post
but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with saddle way down. It
really is bad news with a saddle so far out of adjustment but better
than the alternative.

Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?


--
PETER FOX Not the same since the deckchair business folded
peterfox@eminent.demon.co.uk.not.this.bit.no.html
www.eminent.demon.co.uk/wcc.htm Witham Cycling Campaign
www.eminent.demon.co.uk/rides East Anglian Pub cycle rides

Succorso

Peter Fox wrote:
> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>
> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
> with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt - TWICE!
>
> (Once at 1am down a country lane 5 miles from home - And would you
> believe it? The local poacher on an unlit and tatty shopper's bike
> happened to be the only person on the road in 20 miles and he was 20
> yards away when it happened.)
>
> I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the saddle post
> but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with saddle way down. It
> really is bad news with a saddle so far out of adjustment but better
> than the alternative.
>
> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?
>
>

That happened to me last summer - thankfully only a couple of miles from
home, so rode home bmx-style, standing up.

I now keep a spare bolt in the emergency pack.

--
Chris

Clive George

"Peter Fox" <peterfox@eminent.demon.co.uk.not.this.bit.no.html> wrote in
message news:JFZHilAWcj5BFwHD@eminent.demon.co.uk...

> I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the saddle post
> but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with saddle way down. It
> really is bad news with a saddle so far out of adjustment but better
> than the alternative.
>
> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?

When this happened to us, we discovered the front lamp bolt is the same size
as the offending saddle bolt (2 bolt seatpost, both M5). Cable tie for the
lamp, bolt for the saddle, replace with a proper strong one when get home.

cheers,
clive

andrewgturnbull@yahoo.co.uk

Peter Fox wrote:
> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>
> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
> with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt -
> TWICE!
<snip>
> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?

Hi there.

This happened to me once on one of my very infrequent mountain bike
outings...

I ended up taking the lid off my water bottle, turning the bottle
upside down and putting it over the top of the seatpost as an impromptu
saddle.

Not the most comfortable perch, but it got me home.
Cheers, Andy

www.stirling-tri.co.uk

MSeries

Succorso wrote:
> Peter Fox wrote:
>
>> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>>
>> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
>> with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt -
>> TWICE!
>>
>> (Once at 1am down a country lane 5 miles from home - And would you
>> believe it? The local poacher on an unlit and tatty shopper's bike
>> happened to be the only person on the road in 20 miles and he was 20
>> yards away when it happened.)
>>
>> I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the saddle post
>> but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with saddle way down. It
>> really is bad news with a saddle so far out of adjustment but better
>> than the alternative.
>>
>> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?
>>
>>
>
> That happened to me last summer - thankfully only a couple of miles from
> home, so rode home bmx-style, standing up.
>
> I now keep a spare bolt in the emergency pack.
>
> --
> Chris

Thats what I did.

Paul Rudin

Peter Fox <peterfox@eminent.demon.co.uk.not.this.bit.no.html> writes:

> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>
> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
> with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt -
> TWICE!
>
> (Once at 1am down a country lane 5 miles from home - And would you
> believe it? The local poacher on an unlit and tatty shopper's bike
> happened to be the only person on the road in 20 miles and he was 20
> yards away when it happened.)
>
> I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the saddle post
> but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with saddle way down. It
> really is bad news with a saddle so far out of adjustment but better
> than the alternative.
>
> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?

This has happened to me while out mountain biking. I used duct tape to
fix my saddle onto the seat post. Far from ideal - but enough to get
me home. (Moral - always have some duct tape about your person.)

Many years ago someone nicked the saddle on a commuting bike of
mine. I cycled 6 or so miles home standing up on the pedals the whole
way.

Pete Biggs

Peter Fox wrote:
> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>
> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
> with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt -
> TWICE!
>
> (Once at 1am down a country lane 5 miles from home - And would you
> believe it? The local poacher on an unlit and tatty shopper's bike
> happened to be the only person on the road in 20 miles and he was 20
> yards away when it happened.)
>
> I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the saddle post
> but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with saddle way down. It
> really is bad news with a saddle so far out of adjustment but better
> than the alternative.
>
> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?

I think bolts of common modern (micro-adjust) seat posts are more likely
to shear when they've been overtightened, and it's natural to want these
bolts extremely tight to prevent the saddle slipping.

Seatposts that use two bolts to clamp the saddle are more reliable than
single-bolt jobs. The bolts are less likely to break because they don't
have to be very tight to prevent saddle slippage, and the load is shared.
(The bolts may be thinner than the single bolts but not half as thin).
ITM make some good ones.

~PB

John Everett

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:53:42 +0000, Peter Fox
<peterfox@eminent.demon.co.uk.not.this.bit.no.html> wrote:

>Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?

Yes, do what I do. Carry a spare bolt with you at all times.

BTW, this has now happened twice on my Vitus 992, a bike with a
proprietary seatpost. The saddle rail clamp is secured by two 7m x
35mm socket head cap screws, a size practically unknown in this
universe. First time one broke I managed to get three replacements
from Vitus in France. I'm now down to a single spare. :-(


jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

m-gineering

John Everett wrote:
>
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:53:42 +0000, Peter Fox
> <peterfox@eminent.demon.co.uk.not.this.bit.no.html> wrote:
>
> >Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?
>
> Yes, do what I do. Carry a spare bolt with you at all times.
>
> BTW, this has now happened twice on my Vitus 992, a bike with a
> proprietary seatpost. The saddle rail clamp is secured by two 7m x
> 35mm socket head cap screws, a size practically unknown in this
> universe. First time one broke I managed to get three replacements
> from Vitus in France. I'm now down to a single spare. :-(
>
> jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

Try a garage dealing with (elderly) French cars. M7 and a 11 mm spanner
is what keeps (?) them from falling apart
--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

the.Mark

MSeries wrote:
> Succorso wrote:
>> Peter Fox wrote:
>>
>>> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>>>
>>> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a
>>> disabling manner with my Marin hybrid over the years is
>>> shearing of the saddle bolt - TWICE!
>>>
>>> (Once at 1am down a country lane 5 miles from home - And
>>> would you believe it? The local poacher on an unlit and
>>> tatty shopper's bike happened to be the only person on the
>>> road in 20 miles and he was 20 yards away when it happened.)
>>>
>>> I soon found that I could steal the clamping bolt for the
>>> saddle post but now I was riding rather uncomfortably with
>>> saddle way down. It really is bad news with a saddle so far
>>> out of adjustment but better than the alternative.
>>>
>>> Any suggestions for get-me-homes for this event?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> That happened to me last summer - thankfully only a couple of
>> miles from home, so rode home bmx-style, standing up.
>>
>> I now keep a spare bolt in the emergency pack.
>>
>> --
>> Chris
>
> Thats what I did.

Here I go.... Me too.

I was about 5 miles from home in the Pentland hills on my Rockhopper. I
cycled home standing up. Luckilly it was down hill most of the way back. My
legs didn't half hurt after it though.
--
Mark

1x1 wheel, 3x2 wheels & 1x3 wheels.

JohnB

Peter Fox wrote:
>
> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>
> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling manner
> with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the saddle bolt -
> TWICE!

Did you lose one recently in Haarlem?

I came across this a couple of weeks ago.

http://freespace.virgin.net/jpb.des...rlemsaddle.html

Are you sure its not yours?

John B

the.Mark

JohnB wrote:
> Peter Fox wrote:
>>
>> The thread on the law and saddles reminded me...
>>
>> The _only_ thing that has seriously gone wrong in a disabling
>> manner with my Marin hybrid over the years is shearing of the
>> saddle bolt - TWICE!
>
> Did you lose one recently in Haarlem?
>
> I came across this a couple of weeks ago.
>
> http://freespace.virgin.net/jpb.des...rlemsaddle.html
>
> Are you sure its not yours?
>
> John B

It's not just a saddle there's a whole bike buried in the tarmac. :-)
--
Mark

1x1 wheel, 3x2 wheels & 1x3 wheels.

Jon Senior

John Everett wrote:
> The saddle rail clamp is secured by two 7m x
> 35mm socket head cap screws, a size practically unknown in this
> universe.

35mm socket head on a 7 metre bolt? No wonder. Doesn't it make the bike
handle strangely? ;-)

Jon