rider weight guidelines for carbon seatposts?

Quoted message said:

I've done a bit of searching on this but haven't turned up much, so
I'll ask here.
I'm looking for a new seatpost, lighter than the one that came with my
road bike. Many of the higher-end posts (e.g., an Easton EC90) I see
advertised are carbon fiber. Since I weigh in the low 190s, should I
avoid this material in favor of titanium or aluminum?

Nobody can put a realistic number on this. It depends on how much of a
lead-assed riding style, and it depends on how much seatpost is sticking
out of the frame, and on how far back the saddle is mounted on the post.

For my money, the Salsa Shaft is the all-time best seatpost ever.

Sheldon "Post" Brown
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| I wouldn't try to save weight on handlebars or stems, |
| or anyplace you body contacts the bike. |
| Breaking something there always hurts. -Peter Chisholm |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
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

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

I've done a bit of searching on this but haven't turned up much, so
I'll ask here.
I'm looking for a new seatpost, lighter than the one that came with
my road bike. Many of the higher-end posts (e.g., an Easton EC90) I
see advertised are carbon fiber. Since I weigh in the low 190s,
should I avoid this material in favor of titanium or aluminum?

Nobody can put a realistic number on this. It depends on how much of
a lead-assed riding style, and it depends on how much seatpost is
sticking out of the frame, and on how far back the saddle is mounted
on the post.

For my money, the Salsa Shaft is the all-time best seatpost ever.

Sheldon "Post" Brown
+----------------------------------------------------------+

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't try to save weight on handlebars or stems, |
or anyplace you body contacts the bike. |
Breaking something there always hurts. -Peter Chisholm |

+----------------------------------------------------------+
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

I agree with Sheldon about the Salsa Shaft, an absolutely superb seat post.
I will also add the Thomson Elite to the mix, very strong. light than almost
any carbon post and bulletproof.

I opined:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For my money, the Salsa Shaft is the all-time best seatpost ever.

Dave Thompson said:

I agree with Sheldon about the Salsa Shaft, an absolutely superb seat post.
I will also add the Thomson Elite to the mix, very strong. light than almost
any carbon post and bulletproof.

Don't mean to diss your namesake, but the thing I don't like about the
Thompson is that it doesn't have any setback. Generally, I favor
seatposts that have a generous amount of setback.

Most frames are designed/fitted for a seatpost with some reasonable
setback, so for most riders, the Thompson Elite will give an excessively
forward saddle position.

Sheldon "KBPS" Brown
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Waking a person unnecessarily should not be considered |
| a capital crime. For a first offense, that is. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
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

Sheldon Brown said:

Dave Thompson said:

I agree with Sheldon about the Salsa Shaft, an absolutely superb
seat post. I will also add the Thomson Elite to the mix, very
strong. light than almost any carbon post and bulletproof.

Don't mean to diss your namesake, but the thing I don't like about the
Thompson is that it doesn't have any setback. Generally, I favor
seatposts that have a generous amount of setback.

Most frames are designed/fitted for a seatpost with some reasonable
setback, so for most riders, the Thompson Elite will give an
excessively forward saddle position.

I agree with this. I have a Thomson on one bike and a Syncros on the other. My
seat on both bikes is back as far as it will go. It works for me, but more
rearward range would be better. A no-setback post would be perfect if the
typical seat tube angle were shallower, but it isn't. Most bikes are still
73-74 degrees, and meant for posts with setback. As a result, more riders are
sitting too far forward than too far back, according to bike fitters and coaches
I've talked to.

Each design originates from a different manufacturing environment. The setback
comes from mass production with stamping and forging equipment, the no-setback
from boutique machine shops with lathes and mills. Neither is better or worse
if done well. The important thing is saddle position, and a good match between
rider, frame, and seatpost.

Matt O.

Sheldon Brown said:

Don't mean to diss your namesake, but the thing I don't like about the
Thompson is that it doesn't have any setback. Generally, I favor
seatposts that have a generous amount of setback.

Most frames are designed/fitted for a seatpost with some reasonable
setback, so for most riders, the Thompson Elite will give an excessively
forward saddle position.

I may well be in the minority here but with setback posts I always had
my saddle shoved all the way forward (normal road bike). With my
Thomson Elite and no setback the post is right in the middle of the
saddle rails.

Maybe I have short femurs or maybe my bike position is unconventional,
but the Thomson puts my seat right where I want it. And they come in
setback models now too for everybody else. The only Salsa Shaft that
would fit my frame is 410mm long!! Something not right about a seatpost
that's 3/4 the length of the seat tube.

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

Thomson offers both setback and staight models. On the setback model
the post is bent backwards (about 10cm below the saddle clamp) and
gives about 16mm of setback.

Art Harris

Quoted message said:

I've done a bit of searching on this but haven't turned up much, so
I'll ask here. I'm looking for a new seatpost, lighter than the one
that came with my road bike. Many of the higher-end posts (e.g., an
Easton EC90) I see advertised are carbon fiber. Since I weigh in the
low 190s, should I avoid this material in favor of titanium or
aluminum?

I'm extremely happy with my performance forte' silver aluminum post,
210 grams, $10 on clearance at our local shop. Has a campagnolo
record quality satin silver finish, made in asia. I way a lot more
than 190 lbs. Heck, they probably charged me the wrong price ...

It probably wouldn't satisfy racer-boys who want the look of carbon...

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Quoted message said:

I've done a bit of searching on this but haven't turned up much, so
I'll ask here. I'm looking for a new seatpost, lighter than the one
that came with my road bike. Many of the higher-end posts (e.g., an
Easton EC90) I see advertised are carbon fiber. Since I weigh in the
low 190s, should I avoid this material in favor of titanium or
aluminum?

I'm extremely happy with my performance forte' silver aluminum post,
210 grams, $10 on clearance at our local shop. Has a campagnolo
record quality satin silver finish, made in asia. I weigh a lot more
than 190 lbs. I wonder if they charged me the wrong price ...

It probably wouldn't satisfy racer-boys that think carbon is 'stylin.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Dave Thompson said:

I agree with Sheldon about the Salsa Shaft, an absolutely superb
seat post. I will also add the Thomson Elite to the mix, very
strong. light than almost any carbon post and bulletproof.

Quoted message said:

Sheldon Brown said:

Don't mean to diss your namesake, but the thing I don't like about the
Thompson is that it doesn't have any setback. Generally, I favor
seatposts that have a generous amount of setback.

Most frames are designed/fitted for a seatpost with some reasonable
setback, so for most riders, the Thompson Elite will give an
excessively forward saddle position.

Matt O'Toole said:

I agree with this. I have a Thomson on one bike and a Syncros on the other. My
seat on both bikes is back as far as it will go. It works for me, but more
rearward range would be better. A no-setback post would be perfect if the
typical seat tube angle were shallower, but it isn't. Most bikes are still
73-74 degrees, and meant for posts with setback. As a result, more riders are
sitting too far forward than too far back, according to bike fitters and coaches
I've talked to.

Each design originates from a different manufacturing environment. The setback
comes from mass production with stamping and forging equipment, the no-setback
from boutique machine shops with lathes and mills. Neither is better or worse
if done well. The important thing is saddle position, and a good match between
rider, frame, and seatpost.

Me three.(four?)
My first experience with that was the original Control post.
I slipped one in when I built my fixed. I swapped out
several bars and stems over a month of riding before tossing
the post. I never felt right on that bike until I moved back
to a normal position vis-a-vis the pedals.

OTOH they are popular with aero bars for the same reason.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Sheldon Brown said:

Don't mean to diss your namesake, but the thing I don't like about the
Thompson is that it doesn't have any setback. Generally, I favor
seatposts that have a generous amount of setback.

Thomson Elite is available both as straight model and as a "bent" model
with a good amount of setback. I just set my new road bike with the
setback model of the Thomson Masterpiece seatpost, which is just a
lighter version of the Elite. Especially on smaller road bikes like
mine you just can't get the seat back enough with a straight post, not
to mention getting it UCI legal.

Here's a photograph of my setup:

http://www.pp.fishpool.fi/~as/look555.jpg

-as

Quoted message said:

I've done a bit of searching on this but haven't turned up much, so
I'll ask here.
I'm looking for a new seatpost, lighter than the one that came with my
road bike. Many of the higher-end posts (e.g., an Easton EC90) I see
advertised are carbon fiber. Since I weigh in the low 190s, should I
avoid this material in favor of titanium or aluminum?

Thanks,
Chris

as has been said above, it's impossible to say without knowing its
extension because of the leverage involved, but as a rule, carbon posts
are very reliable & offer better fatigue characteristics than aluminum.
i weigh more than you & have a real long extension on my mtb, no problems.

easton are great posts except for the fact that their clear coat is
abysmally flaky. they really need to sort that out - every other carbon
post manufacturer out there's got it figured. i have easton, campy &
supergo. the quality on the latter is almost as good as the campy &
unbeatable for the price.

Antti Salonen said:

Here's a photograph of my setup:

http://www.pp.fishpool.fi/~as/look555.jpg

I see you have DT rims on your bike. I have both them yesterday and havent
built wheeles yet 🙂 Will try to pair them with DT 240s hubs anytime soon.
What I wanted to ask is how are you satisfied with those rims?

Ante Smokrovic
========================
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
ICQ: 5924617

On 18 Feb 2005 12:55:20 -0800, [email hidden] (Donald Gillies)

Quoted message said:

I'm extremely happy with my performance forte' silver aluminum post,
210 grams, $10 on clearance at our local shop. Has a campagnolo
record quality satin silver finish, made in asia. I way a lot more
than 190 lbs. Heck, they probably charged me the wrong price ...

Right now, I happen to be riding a Thompson, American Classic Ti, and
Salsa. They are all good and I like the 'micro adjustments'. I've
also ridden thousands of miles on Kalloy Uno and have zero problems
with it. Of course there is not much pride of ownership but they work
fine.

I also weigh ~200 lbs.

smokva said:

I see you have DT rims on your bike. I have both them yesterday and havent
built wheeles yet 🙂 Will try to pair them with DT 240s hubs anytime soon.
What I wanted to ask is how are you satisfied with those rims?

I can't say, because I built this bike in early January and we still
have about a foot of snow. I'm riding my cyclocross bike now (with
studded tyres) and will wait until late March or early April before I
take the new road bike out.

I used a 32-hole Record rear hub and a 28-hole Tune front hub, and I
like to think that I have a light yet reliable set of wheels. In summer
trim I'm only about 130 lbs, so it's very unlikely that I'll run into
any problems with traditional wheels like these.

-as

Antti Salonen said:

I used a 32-hole Record rear hub and a 28-hole Tune front hub, and I
like to think that I have a light yet reliable set of wheels. In summer
trim I'm only about 130 lbs, so it's very unlikely that I'll run into
any problems with traditional wheels like these.

That's what I like to think I'll have..lightweight traditional wheel, but I'm
somewhat heavier than you (90kg) so I guess I'll be the real test for them 🙂)
Actually I plan to ride them on races only.

Ante Smokrovic
========================
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
ICQ: 5924617

smokva said:

That's what I like to think I'll have..lightweight traditional wheel, but I'm
somewhat heavier than you (90kg) so I guess I'll be the real test for them 🙂)
Actually I plan to ride them on races only.

Forgot to tell that I wanted 36h version but it was impossible to find them in
that version. Actually I couldn't find a single rim with 36h. I was willing to
order it but when I tried to buy some good 36h hub I came to the same problem.
So I took 32h version and made it easier. I'm sad to say that noone is selling
36h hubs and rims here, and I was looking in 8 stores, in 3 countries 🙁(
Sometimes I wish I live in America...but not very often 🙂)

Ante Smokrovic
========================
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
ICQ: 5924617

Antti Salonen said:

I used a 32-hole Record rear hub and a 28-hole Tune front hub, and I
like to think that I have a light yet reliable set of wheels. In summer
trim I'm only about 130 lbs, so it's very unlikely that I'll run into
any problems with traditional wheels like these.

I wouldn't expect any problems for you either.

I use a Chours 32 hub and 1.8/1.6 butted spokes on on rear and have
no problems. The front is a Record 28 and straight 15ga spokes. I'm
~200 lbs.

My wife, about your weight, is using Record 28s front and rear with
2.0/1.8 spokes and the wheels are boring. Nothing changes from when I
built them.