What happens if I set my seatpost past the mark?

[BlueIcarus]

What are the dangers of setting the seatpost
an inch or two past the "maximum" mark?
My frame is just to small and I need to set the seatpost 1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place or..... what could happen while riding??

What could be the solution to this problem?
Buying another (longer) seatpost?
Another frame (ughhhhh... too expensive...))
Can I make something to tighten the seatpost
to be more secure once past the mark?

Any ideas strongly apreciated.... I conmute with my bike and she has become an integral part of my life

Thanks in advance,

Oscar

 

[S. Anderson]

"BlueIcarus" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
> just to small and I need to set the seatpost
> 1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
> or..... what could happen while riding??

You risk having he seatpost lever out of the seat tube or damaging the seat tube because of the
lever effect.

> What could be the solution to this problem? Buying another (longer) seatpost? Another frame
> (ughhhhh... too expensive...)) Can I make something to tighten the seatpost to be more secure once
> past the mark?

Longer seatpost is my suggestion. Not particularly expensive..probably $25-$50 for a good alloy
microadjust. A good cro-mo seatpost might be better at longer lengths strength-wise.

Cheers,

Scott..

 

[Jeffbonny]

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:56:10 GMT, BlueIcarus
<[email protected]> said:

>What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
>just to small and I need to set the seatpost
>1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
> or..... what could happen while riding??

Leverage? Frame damage? Think about it.

>What could be the solution to this problem? Buying another (longer) seatpost? Another frame
>(ughhhhh... too expensive...)) Can I make something to tighten the seatpost to be more secure once
>past the mark?

Tight isn't the issue. Buy a longer post.

jb

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

Blue-<< What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark?
>><BR><BR>

Breaking the frameset or the seatpost. Get a longer seatpost...

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[Sergio Servadio]

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004, BlueIcarus wrote:

> What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark?

The danger is clearly bending the frame or braking the post, and your butt. As for the frame, it
might even not be a real danger; it all depends on how strong the tubing and the clamping are. If
the frame is strongly built, e.g. a steel racer of the best classic design, and the fitting precise,
it could itself safely take an insertion of only 4cms, or so. Certainly less than the minimum
recommended on the seatpost.

Sergio Pisa

 

[Arthur Clune]

BlueIcarus <[email protected]> wrote:
: What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
: just to small and I need to set the seatpost
: 1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
: or..... what could happen while riding??

You could fall from your bike and go under a car. That's the worst case.

Just buy a new seatpost. They are not expensive and come in a large range of lengths, upto 400mm or
so. And if your frame really doesn't fit with a 400mm seatpost then it's waaaay too small.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:56:10 GMT, BlueIcarus
<[email protected]> may have said:

>What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
>just to small and I need to set the seatpost
>1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
> or..... what could happen while riding??

Nothing more distressing than snapping off the seat tube at the top of the frame. You're putting a
lot of force into a short length of thin tubing when you overextend the seatpost; it very well could
break off the part of the frame that the post sits in.

>What could be the solution to this problem? Buying another (longer) seatpost?

Yup.

>Another frame (ughhhhh... too expensive...))

Used hardtail frames can be had cheap. I just picked up a Schwinn Moab and a Raleigh F500 for $10
a pop, used and in good shape. Both have top tube lengths over 22", and seat tube lenghts of at
least 21".

>Can I make something to tighten the seatpost to be more secure once past the mark?

It's not the tightness that's the problem. It's the lack of overlap with the seat tube in the frame,
combined with leverage.

>Any ideas strongly apreciated.... I conmute with my bike and she has become an integral part
>of my life

The treat her well. Put the post back down where it's safe until you can get a 400mm or 450mm
seat post to do what you need. This does not have to be a budgetbuster; I've seen them for as
little as $15.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by BlueIcarus
What are the dangers of setting the seatpost
an inch or two past the "maximum" mark?

The dangers include having an event that would be worthy of Cycling Productions' video highlights...at your expense of course.

Get a longer post, or even better, get a frame that fits you.

 

[Art Harris]

BlueIcarus wrote:
> What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark?

The word impale comes to mind. Do you know a good proctologist?

> My frame is just to small and I need to set the seatpost
> 1.5 inches past the mark...

Not good.

> What could be the solution to this problem? Buying another (longer) seatpost?

If you keep this frame, a longer seat post is the only acceptable solution. But I have a feeling
this frame is to small for you in other ways (e.g., top tube length).

> Any ideas strongly apreciated.... I conmute with my bike and she has become an integral part
> of my life

May be time for a divorce. What kind of bike is it (road, compact, hybrid, MTB)? How tall are you
and what size is the frame?

Art Harris

 

[Sheldon Brown]

BlueIcarus wrote:

> What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
> just to small and I need to set the seatpost
> 1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
> or..... what could happen while riding??
>
> What could be the solution to this problem? Buying another (longer) seatpost?

Yep. That was easy!

> Another frame (ughhhhh... too expensive...)) Can I make something to tighten the seatpost to be
> more secure once past the mark?
>
It's not a question of the seatpost being "secure." The major risk is damaging the frame.

Seatpost "minimum insertion" marks are often quite conservative, and it is often safe to exceed them
by half an inch, sometimes more if the post is not a long one. (Long posts apply greater leverage,
so they generally need more insertion into the frame to avoid damage.

The practical limit partly depends on the design of the frame. As a general rule, I'd say that the
bottom of the seatpost should at least go down to the level of where the bottom of the top tube
intersects the seat tube.

Some frames with protruding seat tubes are misleading, because the unsupported extended seat tube
may cover up the "minimum insertion" mark and still the seatpost isn't in far enough. I've run into
this problem particularly on GT bikes, because of their cockamamie "hellenic" stay design.

Sheldon "Not An Exact Science" Brown +-----------------------------------------------------------------
+
| Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. | No man or woman really knows
| what perfect love is until they | have been married a quarter of a century. --Mark Twain |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts
shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[meb]

Originally posted by BlueIcarus
What are the dangers of setting the seatpost
an inch or two past the "maximum" mark?
My frame is just to small and I need to set the seatpost 1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place or..... what could happen while riding??

What could be the solution to this problem?
Buying another (longer) seatpost?
Another frame (ughhhhh... too expensive...))
Can I make something to tighten the seatpost
to be more secure once past the mark?

Any ideas strongly apreciated.... I conmute with my bike and she has become an integral part of my life

Thanks in advance,

Oscar

I'm 230 and I've had bending of the 25.4 and 22 mm chromo and stainless steel posts that were 1/2 to 1 " above the line on steel framed bikes. No frame issues, the post bending has been mild enough that it merely made removal/adjustment difficult and prevented lowering problems till I bent the post back. Since steel gives more warning by bending than other materials, I'd be less comfortable on other materials. At 2" above the line, I'd be concerned about seatpost tube top either bending/breaking/ or lossing its grip on the seatpost.
Another alternative to a longer post would be suspension seatopost buffers-adds suspension between seat and seatpost.
That should give you some extra length plus a softer ride.

http://www.zoomhl.com/posts01.htm

These guys sell the Zoom1, but not the zoom 2 or 3:
http://www.bikeusa.com/MERCHANT2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MSGI&Product_Code=ST4610

 

[Zog The Undenia]

BlueIcarus wrote:
> What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
> just to small and I need to set the seatpost
> 1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
> or..... what could happen while riding??
>
> What could be the solution to this problem? Buying another (longer) seatpost? Another frame
> (ughhhhh... too expensive...)) Can I make something to tighten the seatpost to be more secure once
> past the mark?
>
> Any ideas strongly apreciated.... I conmute with my bike and she has become an integral part
> of my life

You break the frame, especially if it's aluminium. With frames that have a seat tube extended above
the top tube (like Cannondales) you must allow for that much additional insertion past the "max
height" mark.

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>What are the dangers of setting the seatpost an inch or two past the "maximum" mark? My frame is
>just to small and I need to set the seatpost
>1.5 inches past the mark... and just wondering if this means my sadle could fall from its place
> or..... what could happen while riding?? What could be the solution to this problem? Buying
> another (longer) seatpost? Another frame (ughhhhh... too expensive...)) Can I make something to
> tighten the seatpost to be more secure once past the mark? Any ideas strongly apreciated.... I
> conmute with my bike and she has become an integral part of my life Thanks in advance,

The danger is that you could break your frame. Long seatposts can be had cheap, so why risk it?
------------------
Alex