Seatpost Question re: saddle angle

[John the Monkey]

I disliked the Selle Royal Viper that came with my Giant SCR2.0, so I splashed out on a Fiz:ik Arione (Merlin Cycles were doing them for £50).

The saddle is great, but I cannot get it to stay at the angle I want at all.

I start most rides with the saddle angled slightly downwards, and invariably finish with varying degrees of nose up angle.

The Fiz:ik is somewhat longer at the back than the Selle, and I think my perching on the rear of it on hills provides sufficient leverage to bring the nose up.

Is this just a case of needing to tighten the saddle clamp up more, or is this always likely to be a problem with a single bolt type seatpost/clamp and a long saddle?

 

[Crackle]

Is it the seat post that's moving? Have you marked it to check. Mine's single bolt and it doesn't move but I recall the Fizik saddle is made differently, so perhaps it's the saddle settling into a shape???

 

[John the Monkey]

The clamp is moving on the post, so far as I'm able to tell.

The clamp itself marks the finish of the post slightly, so I can tell it's shifting (rather than the saddle deforming). I see an area of silver to the rear of the clamp (where it's rubbed off the coating on the post) once I've set the saddle to my favoured position, and a similar area in front of the clamp once the saddle's moved...

 

[domtyler]

Try tightening it further but this should not be happening with any kind of half decent seat post.

 

[walker]

its the bolt thats loose, make sure it's tight, then make sure its tighter.
A saddle with a nose pointing down is good for high speed but you will find it a little uncomfortable on longer rides. Unless your a woman

 

[simonali]

Check you've not knackered the little serrations on the clamp now, too. If so, it's a new post anyhow!

 

[Crackle]

Yep! Sounds like a new seat post then.

And it wasn't the Fizik saddle I was thinking of but another. Darned if I can remember the name though

 

[Dave5N]

You really should think hard before you point it down, as it transfers a lot of weight onto your arms. This is knackering and also makes the bike less easy to control.

 

[John the Monkey]

Thanks all.

Got the longest allen key of the right size I could find, and tightened it tight, then tighter - so far, the saddle has stayed in the position I want (after this morning's ride in).

Dave - I liked a slight downwards angle on my last bike more than I liked a level saddle, I found. The plan is to ride it like this for a week or so and see what I think, I guess my opinion may change when I start putting in longer rides than the commuting I'm currently doing (14 miles each way).


Crackle - are you thinking of the Rido?

 

[Crackle]

Crackle - are you thinking of the Rido?

Thanks JTM, I was. Don't quite know how I got them mixed up. Thanks for the link too becasue I wanted to take another look at them as I'm having some trouble with my Brooks

Glad the seatpost has tightened up. Saddle angle is always very personal. I was thinking of changing my seatpost as one spline adjustment isn't fine enough for me I was thinking of an infinetly variable one.

 

[John the Monkey]

Thanks JTM, I was. Don't quite know how I got them mixed up. Thanks for the link too becasue I wanted to take another look at them as I'm having some trouble with my Brooks

For a tenner, it's almost worth grabbing one anyway, I think, just out of curiosity.

SJS Cycles have the blue version for £6, incidentally...

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=13048&src=froogle

 

[NickM]

...Saddle angle is always very personal. I was thinking of changing my seatpost as one spline adjustment isn't fine enough for me I was thinking of an infinetly variable one.

That's where two-bolt designs score; and they tend to be more secure, as well. The Thomson seatpins are very good if you can use one with minimal layback (I don't like the "bent" more-layback version, it just looks, er, bent).

 

[andygates]

No need for a new post if the serrations are knackered, just shim it with a bit of coke can. The metal is very soft and it'll bite a treat.

If your bolt is undoing, get some blue threadlock on it. Cheap as chips from any hardware shop and lasts ages.