oouellette

Alright so I've been fiddling around with this for a week now and can't quite figure it out. All the alignments are correct; my leg is extended as it should be at the bottom of the stroke; when horizontal my knee is directly over the spindle of the front pedal.

I am having a problem with fore/aft positioning. I feel like the saddle needs to be back "towards the rear" another half inch to an inch, however the bolt of my seat post interferes with the leather on the bottom of the saddle. This seatpost is a bit better than the other one.

I guess it doesn't really matter if the bolt presses on that leather, but it makes the leather "push out" on the sides of saddle… and it looks "lumpy." It is not an expensive saddle, got it for $60 shipped, and it actually is pretty comfortable. It's branded "Alpha-One" and I think it's the same company that does the Gyes saddles. Do you think the seatpost bolt pushing into the leather will deform, or damage the saddle over time? Other thoughts?


Pics:

TejanoTrackie 

Get a Velo Orange Grand Cru seatpost, which has a lot of setback. That's what I use with my Brooks Pro.

Scrodzilla

Try tilting it up a bit in the front. Trust me.

hairnet

It's only available in 27.2 so it isn't an option for many older frames.

oouellette

Ah, this is 26.8

TejanoTrackie 

All my older lugged steel frames are 27.2mm, and it was the common standard back then for English steel frames.

TejanoTrackie 

I'm surprised at that. My Schwinn Paramount is 27.2mm.

thewilson 

This

oouellette

This is an *approved* Japanese frame.

iTripped

So if I understand you correctly, you need to push the saddle back another half inch - why not just loosen the bolt, nudge it back and then tighten it back up again? The bolt is pushing against the leather underside so it shouldn't affect comfort too much. At the very least then you will know if moving it back is indeed the right position for you.

By the way, well done on the photos! They clearly illustrate the problem you are having.

Angelis

Just take the bolt out and grind it shorter?

skinny matt

Or purchase a slightly shorter bolt. Maybe you could sort it out at your local hardware store. Seeing if you can achieve more comfort with a slight upturn at the nose of the saddle and the same amount of setback does seem like a sensible first course of action. Or just ditch the saddle altogether and go postal on that mofo. Born to ride.

oouellette

Probably the route I will take for starters.

europa

You can often only judge the saddle height when climbing a hill and, if like me, one leg behaves differently to the other, you may need to compromise.

This has no basis in fact. KOPS was discredited a couple of decades ago but it's kept current by people who sell 'fit systems' because it's something that can be measured.

+3 on tilting the nose of the saddle up. I'd actually do that first, before anything else. Leather saddles can be slippery and before they start to mold to your tail end bits, you'll often find yourself sliding forwards and trying to hold yourself back with your hands which puts more pressure on your hands which, in turn, feels like you need to move the saddle backwards. As the saddle breaks in, you'll be able to lower the nose again but not every leather saddle will look 'flat' - this is because your tail sits on the back of the saddle and it's that part of it that needs to be flat, not the overall saddle.

jlafitte 

+4

oouellette

All good stuff. Thank you. Will work with it this weekend if the rain ever lets up.

TejanoTrackie 

Yeah, I also should have mentioned tilting the nose of the saddle up. This is what I did with my Brooks Pro, and it feels perfect this way. As @europa stated, the rear seating area of the saddle is actually level this way.

TejanoTrackie 

Another shameless post of my new love.

europa

Have you no shame