Bicycle Mechanics - The Tilt of the Saddle, the Gnashing of the Teeth

An Owl Rant
(My Apologies)

Why the heck is the hexnut that adjusts the tilt of the saddle so darn tight?! I can't loosen it at all and the saddle needs a slight adjustment. An hour shot just trying to do this, an hour tall child and I could have been having a nice ride on a perfect September afternoon! :mad: :mad: :mad:

So we had a very short ride that was very uncomfortable for me because the seat is tilted down too much. :mad:

So frustrating! Now I have to take the bike into the shop for a one-minute adjustment, and I don't really have the time to do that before we leave for the beach! We plan on biking while we are there, too, so I'd like my bike to be comfortable!

(Yes, I tried it when I picked it up from the shop; it was only after riding for a couple of miles once I got it home, however, that it become evident their adjustment was too much.)

try some penetrating lube, like triflow, or even, *gasp* WD-40 on the nut, let it soak a bit then try wrenching down on it again.

What you need is a nice long 6mm hex wrench, that's all.

Or a big strong neighbor :)

No big strong neighbors, but a couple of big, strong guys (one my ex, who really is a big guy -- the tall child gets his height from both parents) couldn't loosen it, either. Will take it to the bike shop at the beach (if it doesn't rain all weekend!).

Tall child was upset about not getting miles in this week and has suggested we get a trainer!

Thanks for putting up with my rant.

Originally posted by owlice
Why the heck is the hexnut that adjusts the tilt of the saddle so darn tight?
So it doesn't come loose when you're riding.

h8r, I'm sure the hexnut can be tightened enough to prevent it from coming loose when I'm riding, yet still not so tight to prevent me from making the adjustment myself.

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So I didn't get the bike to the shop before heading to the beach, and as the forecast at the beach was for a lot of rain, we didn't take the bikes. (And it was, we found when we got there, "Bike Week" in Ocean City. Motorcycles, however, mainly exceedingly noisy ones.)

I took the bike in on Thursday, in the pre-Isabel lull, and the guy manning the front of the store yanked my seat off to take it back to the mechanic (who took the seat, put it back on the bike, and then made the adjustment).

I can't speak directly to this situation since I am not sure what your set up is like, but it sounds like:

1. Not having the right tool for the job. Sometimes those tiny little hex wrenches that you get with the mini-tool kits won't cut it. Get a nice wrench with a set of hex bits. This will give you enough leverage to get most things off. At the very least make sure it's either a really long Allen or something with a handle.

2. Bolt prep. You should make sure your grease the threads a bit before screwing it in to keep it from binding like this in the future. I have heard that grease can also allow you to torque down aluminum threads too much, but that's what torque wrenches (or a good sense of touch- which I lack) are for. In lieu of torquing it down, a bit of thread lock should work, but I have never used any so I can't say for sure.

One last thing is work on stuff like this off the bike. Makes it much easier.

At least this is way it looks with my limited experience.

- Jeff

P.S. I just got over my own Stuck Problem thanks to help on this forum (unforunately the thread was lost), but I must thank those who provided me with the Bigger Hammer advice. My headset is now overhauled. Of course, I now realize that I should consider buying a new one... ahhh- ignorance is surely bliss. At least it works better than before.