taliesin

My main complaint about my Surly Cross Check is its lack of a rear braze on brake stop, and the resulting brake routing. I have broken several seatpost clamp bolts (one tonight), and it results from the amount of force placed on the lateral section of a teeny bolt - horizontal force holding the seatpost in place, and vertical force holding the rear cantis, all on a 1/3 inch section of a thin steel bolt. I am not over-torquing it, it just seems to be a design flaw. I know that mountain bikes used this type of brake routing for a few years, but it sucks and I wish that Surly would just put a brake stop on the Cross Check.

I am using the stainless seatpost clamp with the Surly logo and not the "Constrictor". Would I have better luck with the Constrictor model? Would a titanium bolt be stronger? Any insight would be appreciated. I would love to find a lasting solution to this.