Originally Posted by
3alarmer
...seat posts and steel frames (my particular interest...I honestly don't know much about aluminum) are made to standard. The standard varies. In seatposts and steel frames it's not uncommon to see variations as much as .1 mm. That's enough to make for a good fit, a loose fit, or a tight fit. Which is the OP's issue. If you don't measure posts on a regular basis, why are you an expert on this topic ? (As you are on so many, many others, Stewart.)
I don’t measure seatpost on a regular basis because there is no need to in my experience. I don’t waste time on doing trivial measurements that are unnecessary. If a bike takes a 27.2mm post, every 27.2 mm post in the bin will fit in that frame. I’ve not run across a single marked seatpost that wouldn’t fit in a frame designed for it. That’s steel, aluminum, titanium and carbon.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
...the fact that you replace a lot of posts in a co-op environment is unimpressive. I've worked in a co-op environment, and I know the QC standards for what rolls out the door. Your idea of a good solid slip fit between post and seat tube is not the same as mine. Some of us have high standards, Stewart.
Perhaps you worked in a bad co-op but we wouldn’t send someone out of the shop with an improperly sized post unless they absolutely insisted and even then I’d try to persuade them not to do it because they are only going to be back when it becomes a problem.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
Not sure why you continue to tell me about all the bikes you have now, have had in the past, and your continuing work as an unpaid volunteer. Keep your day job, though.
I continue to bring up my work at my local co-op because it’s the data set I have to work with. I see 30 to 40 bikes per day that I work and I’ve been doing it fairly consistently for 10 years. I see 1500 bikes per year and I replace about 150 posts per year. Do the math, that’s a lot of seatposts. If I were going to see fit problems, I would have seen them by now. I simply don’t see seatpost fit as a problem...and I know how a seat post should fit.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
....again, and for the last time I hope, your idea of a good fit and mine may or may not be the same. I want the post I ride on to have a solid contact with the seat tube it rides within, so I don't need to worry about over tightening the seat clamp if and when something that is a little loose in how it slides slips. I'm glad that this has worked out so simply and so well for you, because you seem to have a penchant for the absolute. In this case, over the years that frames and posts have been manufactured, it saddens me that we, the rest of the world, have let you down.
"Out of standard" is a pretty poor describe what's going on here. "Standard" varies with your particular purpose and use.
It’s worked out so simply for me because it’s not as complicated problem as you make it out to be. Seat posts just aren’t something that has a fit issue unless you use the wrong sized post as is the case with FenchFit bike. Someone jammed the wrong post into a frame. The correct post will fix the problem. Seatposts don’t vary as much as you made them out to vary.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
It's wrong to say I don't ever believe you. You're my go to guy on chemistry.
The reason I know a lot about bicycles is the same reason I know a lot about chemistry...I study, read and pay attention. Paying attention, being willing to learn and remembering the lessons learn from mistakes is what builds knowledge. Putting hands on 15,000+ bikes means I learn a whole lot. If seatposts were as large a problem as you’ve made them out to be, I’d have noticed.
I agree that there is some variance in seatpost diameter. That’s normal. But it ‘s a matter of magnitude. I just don’t see variance as large as you make it out to be.