Leveling Saddles

[aicabsolut]

You don't really need a carbon seatpost to help the ride. A carbon rear triangle on your bike would help more than the seatpost. Plenty of people run Al posts on carbon bikes for one reason or another. Carbon posts will be more expensive.

[OakLeaf]

My saddle does pretty well "as is," but when I had my fitting, my LBS mentioned the possibility of using a shim cut from a pop can to micro-adjust the level without replacing the seatpost. It would definitely take a lot of trial and error, but it's a cheap way to go. It would compress a lot less than tape or rubber.

Thomson seatposts are popular, and American Classic also has infinite adjustment.

[Miranda]

My saddle does pretty well "as is," but when I had my fitting, my LBS mentioned the possibility of using a shim cut from a pop can to micro-adjust the level without replacing the seatpost. It would definitely take a lot of trial and error, but it's a cheap way to go. It would compress a lot less than tape or rubber.

Thomson seatposts are popular, and American Classic also has infinite adjustment.

Thx OL... the Thompson looks nice. I would have never thought of the pop can shim.

I did try out my rubber shim today. I used a jar gripper piece out of my kitchen junk drawer. I only went around the neighborhood at a slow speed with no traffic. So, I felt ok about testing it.

At first, I was so happy. Without the groove issue, I got it to work! It leveled out beautifully. Instantly when I mounted to ride... Much better. But, it didn't stay that way. Lady bits started to get some pressure. When I got home, I thought I'm going to re-check the levelness. It shifted of course. Nose up (body weight on the back of the saddle).

Part of it I wonder if I didn't have it torqed tight enough? I didn't really want to on the short test ride to mark it up. But, I wonder with the single screw design, and one washer, in the oval slot... does that make it more prone to shift?

It would make sense I guess after looking at the other seat post, like the Thompson with a set of screws, vs my one.

[aicabsolut]

But, I wonder with the single screw design, and one washer, in the oval slot... does that make it more prone to shift?

could be... maybe that's why that kind has the notches. i've also seen that with a few 2 bolt designs, like some FSA posts.

[Miranda]

could be... maybe that's why that kind has the notches. i've also seen that with a few 2 bolt designs, like some FSA posts.

Thx... That would make sense then. I think without the grooves, it's just slick metal to metal at an angle to hold into place at the washer. I rode most of the mini-test in the drops. I'm sure that put more weight on the washer. I'm glad you mentioned the FSA brand. When I did some limiting searching for a carbon post with a different design, I saw one you were talking about. But didn't know the brand. And couldn't see if it had the grooves in the clamp by the pic. I did do some reading on the triangles as well. That's an alternative I didn't know existed. None of our lbs seemed to have anything like that on the floor. Or ever even mentioned it as an option. Sometimes I think it's just dependent on the help at the time.

[aicabsolut]

Thx... That would make sense then. I think without the grooves, it's just slick metal to metal at an angle to hold into place at the washer. I rode most of the mini-test in the drops. I'm sure that put more weight on the washer. I'm glad you mentioned the FSA brand. When I did some limiting searching for a carbon post with a different design, I saw one you were talking about. But didn't know the brand. And couldn't see if it had the grooves in the clamp by the pic. I did do some reading on the triangles as well. That's an alternative I didn't know existed. None of our lbs seemed to have anything like that on the floor. Or ever even mentioned it as an option. Sometimes I think it's just dependent on the help at the time.

I don't have a lot of experience with different posts, but my BF's FSA has the grooves and was a 2 bolt design (maybe it had the triangular "data" head?). He has since changed it out to a Ritchey that I think is smooth. He'd love a Thompson post. They are probably the best aluminum posts out there.

I've used Specialized carbon posts only, and while my older one was a p.i.t.a. if you didn't have a cutout in your saddle b/c of where one of the bolts was, that was really the only problem. The newer clamp mechanism they have with the bolts on the sides (not underneath or on top) is much easier to use, and much easier to make fine adjustments.

Oh yeah, that brings me to another reason why some 2 bolt designs are a pain. With my older seatpost, there were 2 bolts, one that you accessed through the cutout of the saddle and one from underneath. You could in theory get the first one with a wrench underneath if you had to. Anyway, tightening one bolt had the tendency to tilt the nose up and the other had a tendency to tilt it down. You had to find the right balance of pressure between the two to get the saddle at the level you wanted. I also found that tightening one of them seemed to make more difference (like the nose was almost always pointed down no matter what), so I wound up having to undertorque that one a little bit to keep it more level. The newer style ones are so much easier.

Here's the look of my newer one. Note that I wouldn't necessarily spend $150 on a carbon seatpost. It came with my frameset. However, I would look for that kind of design if I need to buy a post in the future.

[Miranda]

You don't really need a carbon seatpost to help the ride. A carbon rear triangle on your bike would help more than the seatpost. Plenty of people run Al posts on carbon bikes for one reason or another. Carbon posts will be more expensive.

OK, that's good to know. Sometimes I've had the experience in the lbs that the part ends up being the most expensive whatever it is. I wonder, do I really need that for more $ ? But, I do know certain things you get what you pay for. I'll have to geek it out a bit.