Touring Bike: Seatpost and Saddle questions

[George Karabotsos]

Hello all,

I am in the market for a new seatpost and saddle for my touring bike. I
have been doing some searching, mostly on roadbikereview and on
manufacturers websites. I also did some searching on the newsgroups and
found that saddles are very personal items, so I will not bother you
with listing all my choices. However, I run across this Koobi one,
http://tinyurl.com/a29kb, and I was wondering if any of you have had a
chance to try it?

On the seatpost side now - I am not sure how important the seatpost is
on a touring bike, but I was looking for an aluminum one (BTW, my bike
is a Cannondale, which is also aluminum), again the one I set my eyes on
is the Easton EA70 (http://tinyurl.com/8arv8) or the EA50
(http://tinyurl.com/cu6t7). Will any of these be an appropriate choice?

I am planning for a touring trip in Greece for August - the terrain is
mountainous and the roads in not so bad condition, last time I checked.
Its quite hot - but I plan to stop often and take a dive in the sea to
cool off ))

TIA,

George

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 11:56:54 -0400, George Karabotsos wrote:

> I am not sure how important the seatpost is on
> a touring bike,

Not very important at all, anything costing over $15 is likely to be fine.
I'd look for something that's infinitely adjustable when it comes to tilt,
has two bolts (singles can vibrate loose, not the biggest problem but...),
and has the proper amount of setback.

I can't remember anybody I know ever having a seatpost failure, so as long
as it puts the seat where you want it--be cheap.

 

[[email protected]]

Well, seatposts do fail, in a variety of interesting ways. A few years
ago I ran into a guy who was standing all the time. As I approached I
saw why; the single bolt on his seatpost had snapped, so the clamp had
separated leaving him with a bare post protruding from his seattube.
Perhaps he had the bolt torqued too tight, but he was left to stand
until he could reach the nearest shop and get a new post or a new bolt.

On my tour in Tuscany/Umbria 3 years ago the Cannondale seatpost I had
failed in that it would no longer hold the clamp tight enough to
prevent the seat from tilting skyward anytime I hit even a moderate
bump. For a stretch there I had to recompose myself after the nose
flew skyward into places the nose should never go, then pull over and
readjust the tilt and crank it down as tight as it would go. My wife
had a similar incident with another brand of seatpost just last month.

My all-time favorite seatposts are the Salsa Shaft (if I want setback)
and the Thomson Elite (for no setback). The Salsa has separate
adjustments for the rail clamp/fore-aft and tilt. Marvelously simple
to adjust tilt ever so slightly with no danger of affecting fore-aft
(minus a small amount of shift related to the cosine of the angle of
the tilt). The Thomson Elite is a simple two bolt design and tilt is
adjusted by loosening one bolt and tightening the other. I have used
both on long tours, both worked without problems. BTW, the Thomson's I
use have no setback, though they do have a setback model that will not
work for me (you need > 10cm of post exposed above the seattube); the
Salsa come only in a model with setback. That is why I have two
favorites ;-)

- rick

 

[George Karabotsos]

[email protected] wrote:
> My all-time favorite seatposts are the Salsa Shaft (if I want setback)
> and the Thomson Elite (for no setback). The Salsa has separate
> adjustments for the rail clamp/fore-aft and tilt. Marvelously simple
> to adjust tilt ever so slightly with no danger of affecting fore-aft
> (minus a small amount of shift related to the cosine of the angle of
> the tilt). The Thomson Elite is a simple two bolt design and tilt is
> adjusted by loosening one bolt and tightening the other. I have used
> both on long tours, both worked without problems. BTW, the Thomson's I
> use have no setback, though they do have a setback model that will not
> work for me (you need > 10cm of post exposed above the seattube); the
> Salsa come only in a model with setback. That is why I have two
> favorites ;-)
>
> - rick
>

Please excuse my ignorance but would you be kind enough to explain to me
what is the difference between a seatpost with a setback and one
without one?

TIA,

George

 

[Bill Sornson]

George Karabotsos wrote:

> Please excuse my ignorance but would you be kind enough to explain to
> me what is the difference between a seatpost with a setback and one
> without one?

About this much (holding up thumb and forefinger about2" apart).

Really.

 

[Darin McGrew]

maxo <[email protected]> wrote:
> I can't remember anybody I know ever having a seatpost failure, so as long
> as it puts the seat where you want it--be cheap.

I had a seatpost failure on my commuter. At the time, it had its original
suspended seatpost. I replaced it with a normal unsuspended seatpost, and
haven't had any problems since.
--
Darin McGrew, [email protected], http://www.rahul.net/mcgrew/
Web Design Group, [email protected], http://www.HTMLHelp.com/

"Entering Yosemite National Park: laws of gravity strictly enforced"

 

[David L. Johnson]

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 16:14:01 +0000, maxo wrote:

> I can't remember anybody I know ever having a seatpost failure, so as long
> as it puts the seat where you want it--be cheap.

I watched a riding buddy have such a failure. He was not a happy camper
the rest of the day. It was a single-bolt system, and the bolt broke at
the head. This happens because the head can make an angled contact with
the clamp, so tightening the bolt causes all sorts of stresses.

I much prefer my ancient 2-bolt Campy posts. I don't know how long
they'll last; so far it's been about 34 years for each, so maybe they are
OK.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | You will say Christ saith this and the apostles say this; but
_`\(,_ | what canst thou say? -- George Fox.
(_)/ (_) |

 

[Leo Lichtman]

<[email protected]> wrote: )clip) The Thomson Elite is a simple two
bolt design and tilt is adjusted by loosening one bolt and tightening the
other. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sounds like a great design. I HATE adjusting seats, because because, with
most seats, if you loosen it enough to move it at all, it gets sloppy, so
small adjustments turn into guesswork.

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 18:08:04 -0400, David L. Johnson wrote:

> I much prefer my ancient 2-bolt Campy posts. I don't know how long
> they'll last; so far it's been about 34 years for each, so maybe they are
> OK.

Yup, two bolt systems are the best, that's why I recommended the OP look
for one of those. My old 70s Suntour post is double bolt--regular crescent
wrench type bolts--never ever had it loosen, or even worried about it.

FWIW, even the cheapie Nashbar branded seatpin is double bolt, but some of
the shmancier ones aren't.

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 17:25:59 -0400, George Karabotsos wrote:

> Please excuse my ignorance but would you be kind enough to explain to me
> what is the difference between a seatpost with a setback and one
> without one?

a post with setback has the clamp an inch or so aft of the actual post
allowing you to get the saddle further back.

 

[George Karabotsos]

Thank you all for your replies guys!

I finally ended up buying a Thomson 27.2x250 SetBack and a San Marco
Regal saddle. I read so many good reviews about both products so I
went for it.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find them in any of my LBS so I ordered
them online from a store I frequent so I do not expect surprises.

George

 

[LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m]

Maxo wrote:

> I can't remember anybody I know ever having a seatpost failure

Memory problem, or social isolation? I know a half-dozen riders who have
bent their seatposts, another who snapped one off entirely, and I myself
have bent a number of them and cracked a couple others.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

 

[maxo]

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 17:36:19 -0700, LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m
wrote:

>
>> I can't remember anybody I know ever having a seatpost failure
>
> Memory problem, or social isolation? I know a half-dozen riders who have
> bent their seatposts, another who snapped one off entirely, and I myself
> have bent a number of them and cracked a couple others.

Well, I haven't ridden much with clydesdales, and usually with urban
roadies who don't ride very long posts. Most of my riding buddies have
ridden frankenbikes like myself, some rather nice, but still pieced
together--usually with ancient posts from parts bins--and no, not a single
failure, ever. I also get about one flat per year or lifespan of a set of
tires. I don't break bikes for some reason. Nothing catastrophic has ever
happened to me other than falling down, which was not the bikes fault.
Weirdest failure I ever had was having the brake cables freeze in a
Chicago winter, so I brought the bike inside a pub and let it thaw during
a couple pints...

 

[LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m]

Maxo wrote:

> Weirdest failure I ever had was having the brake cables
> freeze in a Chicago winter, so I brought the bike inside
> a pub and let it thaw during a couple pints...

Excellent repair method!

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

 

[Paul Turner]

maxo wrote:

> Weirdest failure I ever had was having the brake cables freeze in a
> Chicago winter, so I brought the bike inside a pub and let it thaw during
> a couple pints...

Was that the Artful Dodger by any chance? I seem to recall you used to work
there. I had a beer there recently and found out that it's closing later
this month.Too bad -- nice pub.

--
Paul Turner

 

[maxo]

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 01:23:57 -0500, Paul Turner wrote:

> maxo wrote:
>
>> Weirdest failure I ever had was having the brake cables freeze in a
>> Chicago winter, so I brought the bike inside a pub and let it thaw
>> during a couple pints...
>
> Was that the Artful Dodger by any chance? I seem to recall you used to
> work there. I had a beer there recently and found out that it's closing
> later this month.Too bad -- nice pub.

Yeah, I used to work at the Dodger--closing? **** that's so sad! Did Brian
sell the joint? I'm not in Chicago atm, but I may have to make a
pilgrimage before the place closes.