What is the point of?....
 

These seat posts:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190728239128...84.m1555.l2649

The actual post that goes into the seat tube is pretty short therefore not allowing for a lot of room for adjustment. Was it a weight issue reason for the shorter posts? Or something else

those are for short people who buy bikes to big for them

There's little room for adjustment, but they allow for the classic "fistful of post" with about 6cm inserted into the seat tube. I use one on my Bottecchia. I'm not sure why they were sold in two different lengths.

Is it a standard 130mm post or is it shorter?

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_8015.jpg

i like a short post. i'm now looking for a 26.4mm post, and they're easy to find in a 14" length. but for a c&v application of 4" of post showing, what's the point of having nearly 10 inches of post buried in the tube? might as well fill the tube with concrete while i'm at it.

The above answer should answer the OP's question. :)

Yup if you get a bike that is vintage, and it's the right size, that's all the seatpost you should need. Any more post is just added weight.

Yes, but it misses the fundamental fact that fashions in frame size have changed a lot in the last 30 years. People used to ride big frames with short seat posts. When I went into a bike shop in 1978 they fitted me to 62 cm frame. If I went in to a shop today, they'd probably try to sell me a 56.

132 mm

If the post you like is too long, then measure the excess and cut the seat post to your desired length.

What would happen when I come in and tell them ride a 48-50cm tradition geometry?

+1. I have short legs compared to my torso, so I don't have a lot of post showing. Why have an extra 10 CM of seatpost inside the frame when I don't need it?

exactly. but i have no saw or dremel tool. if i were to get one, what inexpensive tool would you suggest for purchase?

Like an extra 30 mm of alloy seat post is going to make that much difference in weight? I suppose so, but I consider it a silly argument. Cutting down a vintage Campy seat post, for instance, ought to be a crime, and is in my mind.

A hack saw. But why? To save a few grams?

Oh well ....

I use a cheap hacksaw followed by a little steel wool to smooth the cut. I simply do not need 400mm of seat post. I'm not going around cutting Campagnolo or Thompson posts, but have no qualms about chopping a Kalloy (which I have done a few times).

The "shorty" post were designed at a time where a typical correct fit often indicated a short post was enough. Also, the contact area of a Brroks Pro or similar to the saddle rails is much larger than say a Unicanitor. about 15-20 mm if memory serves on average. Go back to the 30's and bigger frames were the norm, the transition to a smaller frame and significantly lower handlebar position in relation to the seat on a road bike has been a long duration trend.

I ride with the tops of the bars about 100 mm below the saddle, this is not a current "race" position.

Ah, but my friend, the seatpost in question was meant for a bike 30 years ago....
Even my aero Campy seatposts are short.

As far as fitting, one of the trends from about 2002-2008 was to put people on the smallest possible frame, resulting in maximum stiffness, least weight, etc. I have a friend who was fitted on a 2006 Kestrel, 56cm, in 2006. His Campy aero seatpost was used, by the bike shop, with maybe 2" of insertion. I was amazed when I pulled it out that he'd not broken the seat tube off. Anyhow, over the years, he complained of a sore back, and was able to afford a new/better/fancier bike, so he went back to the same shop. They put him on a 61cm Tarmac, and it's showing about the same amount of seatpost as the Kestrel. Same shop.

With some modern frames and seatposts, it's recommended that the seatpost "bottom out" in the seat tube, especially if they are monococgue carbon frames. Often, the seat tube is a large diameter, shaped tube with a sleeve inside. That sleeve doesn't extend all the way down the tube, but often is just 2"-3" deep. A saddle on a seat post that is extended out of this tube and sleeve, and not bottomed out, can easily break the top of the seat tube if the bike simply falls over. Bottoming out the seat post tends to help mitigate this leverage.

I bought a carbon bike that had exactly that happen. The seat tube was only very slightly cracked at the top. However, looking down into the seat tube, I found the aluminum inner sleeve had completely cracked around its circumference. The frame maker wouldn't touch it, for liability reasons, I'm sure, and would not advise me, officially, on how to fix it. However, an employee did offer advice, and a BF member sent me some adhesion promoter for windshields, and a local windshield manufacturer gave me some adhesive and guaranteed if I followd directions, that sleeve would never come out. They were right, and after I fixed it, I bought a new seat post and trimmed it so as to be bottomed out at all times. When I sold the bike to a shop, I told them if they were looking to lower the seat post, they'd need to measure twice, cut once, etc. I told thim if they were looking to raise it, they'd need to buy a new post.

Two weeks ago, an acquaintance put his main ride Rubaix in the shop. He brought his early 2000's carbon fiber bike to me to re-fit to him. The seat post was bottomed out properly, but he wanted to raise it, and I didn't have a long enough CF on hand to make it fit, so I sent him on. With the seat post raised 1" from the bottom, you could wiggle it back and forth. He decided to ride it as is.

A good shop will talk to you for a while, and fit you, then order a frame if they don't have one. Most others will use a chart and guess, then sell you whatever's in inventory that they can get close.

posts now are 300mm, not 180. I just feel it's dumb to have an extra 6" of post sitting in the tube for no reason. call me silly. or betty. or danny. whatever.

Oh, I see. 300 mm is a bit much. Betty :) I thought we were talking about hacking off vintage Campy posts. My mistake.

Most of my posts are short, so no cutting is needed. I've cut a couple of Kalloy broomsticks, and a couple of carbon fibers, mainly because on some older bikes, I want to be able to get the thing out someday.

26.4 campagnolo 5 piece clamp- I need one for a junior bike,
a shorty is just fine-as when she grows up she will move to a larger framesize.

I guess the best way to cut it would be a pipe cutter folowed by a file,

but everybody should have a hacksaw in their toolbox.

Same here. I'd be able to use the EBay seatpost without any trouble. The one on my current ride has been purposely cut to approximately this length for that very reason.

FIFY :D j/k! ;)