Small Brooks problem
 

For those of you using Brooks saddles what kind of seatpost are you using? I like Thomson Elites but with a Brooks there's absolutely no setback. I could swap out on 1 bike with no problem. My favorite bike has the infamous 27.4mm seatpost though. So Thomson was about my only choice in quality new seatposts. I don't want to swap saddles because Brooks are the most comfortable saddles my little arse has ever touched.

It sounds more like you have a Thomson Elite problem. They have no setback. I don't understand why they're so popular.

First, there is a Thomson model with some setback, actually slightly less than an old Campy Record 2-bolt offers. But with a Brooks it really isn't very much.

I really don't like to answer a post with a "Why do you need to do that silly thing, anyway?" reply, but please just consider this as a new idea. Been reading about bike fitting and design, and several sources say the weight distribution of a bike should be 55% rear wheel and 45% front wheel for best comfort and handling. I did some experiments and calculations and found I could get around 57/43 (improved from 61/39) on my Mondonico by moving my saddle (i.e. my butt, the biggest thing on the bike) forward around 3 cm (!!!). I did this, and it looks like the best seat post for this positioning is a Thomson straight post! I can't say too much about how it works since I've only had one ride, but I can still pedal with good power and no (less!) back pain. I do need to move my bars forward a cm or 2 to restore my arm reach. My knees are now a cm ahead of the pedal, but I'm not sure that matters.

I think I've been moving my saddles too far back. Could my new approach help you?

That said, I've gotten pretty large setback with Specialized saddles using an American Classic old style post. Might wanna get one (usually cheap) from Ebay and give it a try, but the 27.4 will be a tough search.

Road Fan

You could always use a smaller seatpost with an appropriate-sized shim to get to 27.4 mm.

I've recently encountered the setback issue with my girlfriend's Gitane mixte. It has a basic seat post pipe and separate clamp. Can I shave off part of the front clamp in order to move the saddle back?

I've had that problem with my Brooks 'Pro' and that was with an American Classic seatpost. Wound up getting a 'Kalloy Uno #1' from Wall Bike that had a bit more generous set-back. I've also seen some 'Truvative Team' seatposts that had a lot of set-back too.

Maybe because they're the highest quality seatpost made. They're also only a few grams heavier than CF and they just don't break.

Plus they microadjust a little easier than a Campy 2-bolt, and far easier than an American Classic.

Almost forgot about that. My big problem is more the 27.4mm seatpost than anything else. There just weren't many bikes made with that tubing, ie Reynolds 753. When I got the bike it had a 27.2mm post and even my 140lbs made it slip. I had to have a frame maker fix the almost crushed seatpost clamp to get it back to normal. It works great now. The post slides up and down fine. But still there isn't any setback seatposts in that oddball size. At least any quality seatposts.