From the Competitive Cyclist review of the Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow:
Emphasis mine.

What exactly is a "verticle-clamp saddle fixing mechanism"? I'm using a Salsa Promoto seatpost; am I at risk of bending or breaking saddle rails? Are there seatposts that are more 'gentle' on saddle rails? Are they worth upgrading to?

You have the vertical style. The side clamp style is essentially like the old fashioned seat clamps that were typically separate from the post (but not always).



Your clamp has two separate supports on each side, rather than one continuous one. Lacking any widespread reports of folks breaking rails and given that you are not a heavyweight I would not worry about that aspect.

I'm guessing .. just offer data points .. I bought one of Race Face's Seatposts..
they clamp in from the side, but seem to support the rail fine..

so do the generic saddle clip. are they thinking of excluding those ..

perhaps the translation from Italian is vague? Competitive Cycle , in Colorado,

Since its a online shop selling stuff with a website and a 'contact Us' link,


Why didn't you ask them, First?

Since I've never seen a "horizontal clamp saddle fixing mechanism" I really don't know what they are describing. The real question is are riders breaking saddle rails with great (or greater) frequency than they used to or is this just marketing-speak?

I have several saddles with both Cr-Mo and Ti rails that have been ridden over 30,000 miles each using Kalloy, Easton and Thomson seatposts and have never broken any of them. The Thomsons posts do have saddle clamps about 40 mm long but the Eastons only about 20 mm and it has made no difference.

Then again. I weigh about 150. If I weighed 275 I might be more concerned.

I was not aware that saddle rail breakage was a widespread problem in need of a solution.

Perhaps too many TI rail Saddles sold to People that should have used a steel rail instead ,
but cared more about what the parts weighed..

It used to be, for weight weenies, before we started getting decent, inexpensive consumer-grade Ti from the former Soviet Union. Well, I once tried an aluminum railed saddle and broke it by the end of its first riding season. Lesson learned. I went back to steel for the duration.

But I can see how the short cradle of that Salsa post could put more stress on the rails, and if I was a heavyweight using that post I'd either lose weight, lose the post, or get a steel railed saddle.

My aluminum Domane came with a budget seatpost that uses a side clamps instead of a vertical clamp. What are the primary shortcomings of using side clamping instead of vertical clamping? I've been looking all over the internet and I haven't found a nice article describing the pros and cons of each clamping mechanism. I'm planning to upgrade my saddle so I don't want to break a new expensive saddle inadvertently.

Tom Ritchey came up with that design and it's been around for quite a few years. Some people report tremendous difficulty adjusting their saddles with it, and some report that they can't get it tight enough to keep their saddles from slipping.

I have the same mechanism on the cap of my Madone and have had no trouble with it whatsoever. Since I got the bike in November. If you decide to use a saddle with carbon rails Bontrager offers an aftermarket clamp to fit these.