Silly Girl Question please...need advice on what to do to fit my husbands new bike post/saddle...

Hoping someone has advice...I just bought my husband a Giant Method 2 bmx bike, which he loves because of the smaller size, he doesn't ride bmx...just around the city. He tried a bike at the bike store that the sales person said would be similar...as they didn't have the GM in stock and had to order. Sure enough, even with moving the seat height (its a hard bmx saddle attached directly to the post) it still needs another inch or 2 to be comfortable. Budget is tight, and I just pd for the bike, and hate to pay close to the same amount for a new post/saddle on top of it! Any suggestions as to some type of retrofit solution/component that could solve this problem without breaking the bank? Many, many thanks.

Loren

 

Unfortunately, that ain't gonna happen. A seatpost at high protrusion is a highly stressed part, it's not really advisable to try to extend one. If it breaks the potential injuries are horrible.

But a BMX as a bike for going places is a horrible choice. They're not really meant to be ridden seated in the first place. Why did you go for such a bike?

 

I know, I know - I have stopped trying to figure out why he likes what he does even if it doesn't make sense to me. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif

He likes the feel of a "little bike" but just wants it for riding along the lakeshore in Chicago. I don't know if either of us even knows what BMX stands for, and its certainly not a regular bike. But, problem solved...Took it to a custom place yesterday and they got us a new longer post and we bought a new saddle (which we actually managed to put on ourselves! - We are NOT mechanical people) and he is happy now. Looks like he's riding a kids bike (he's only 5.8 though) but hey, whatever makes him happy is fine with me. Lesson learned, TRY the actual bike out before ordering one through the store. Never again.

Thanks!

 

BMX stands for Bicycle Moto X, with X being short for Cross.
When it started, it was with kids/teens/young adults riding bicycles as if they were motocross bikes, jumping, skidding, ASO.
I bet there's thousands of youtube videos of BMX races.
Have a look at one, and you'll see that in-saddle riding isn't a priority feature.

These days there are all kinds of sub-categories, vert, street etc. But in-saddle riding still isn't a big thing.

To get a decent chance of being able to pedal efficiently, the rider's leg should be almost fully extended with the butt on the seat, hips level, and foot on the pedal in its lowest position.
Sure, if the intent is just to pootle around at little more than walking pace, then it's possible to ride just about anything.
But me, I'd rather walk than ride that way. That knee-to-chin feeling, and cranking away with legs at a sharp angle is just too darn uncomfortable.
Not too healthy for your knees either, if you end up trying to do distances that way.

At 5.8' he's what - 3-4" below average? Well in range for bikes that'd be a lot more rideable.

Mistaking BMX bikes for kids bikes is a common thing.
Sure, due to the frame size, they're often used as such, but it's really not that clever.
The handlebars end up too far forward, the cranks are too long, the bottom bracket is too high off the ground. Everything is engineered(and weighs the part!) to be trashed around and still stay together.
It's just our luck that the kids don't know any better, and that the initial thrill of riding makes them put up with the discomfort.