indyfabz

Thread deserves at least 4 pages.

seypat

Maybe these people want to be seen as high rollers?

eaglesandcycling

yup! i'm massively clueless!!!

seypat

I think(I said think) the "miles of seatpost showing" came along with the compact frame. Also the business plan of making less frame sizes available. Fitting riders to these frames with lots of stem/seatpost options. Whether that's good or bad is up to the individual. Also the idea of riding the smallest frame you can because it's lighter.

The best part of this thread is that I get to post this awesome video. Bike fit evolves. It doesn't mean that one way is right/wrong for everybody.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/60_cycles_en/

genejockey 

I find on my 80s bikes that my combination of long legs and pointing toes means the original seatpost is too short if the top tube is the right length. There's only a small 'handful' of stem at minimum insertion. I have to swap in longer posts. 90s bikes have somewhat longer seatposts, so I can generally use them, and of course once sloping TTs became a thing, seatposts got REALLY long

wolfhoward

Amazing. Cheers.

eaglesandcycling

wow, amazing video here!

PeteHski

Those are what you would now call an "Eddy fit" named after the great man himself. If you apply that kind of fit to a modern road bike, there will be considerably more seatpost visible because of the sloping top tube. It's the kind of fit that would work perfectly well for most amateur riders, especially those looking for an endurance fit with relative comfort, but still reasonably efficient.

downtube42

Local bike fitter has a joke; bike fitting consists of

1, lowing saddle 1-2cm
2. That will be $250 please

I suppose prior to that is an actual evaluation of rider on bike, but the existence of the joke suggests too-high saddle is almost a foregone conclusion when someone comes in for a fitting.

indyfabz

Insecure much?

WhyFi

I can't have a high horse, so I've settled for a high saddle.

Koyote

Can you slam the stem on a hybrid?

genejockey 

(hangs head in shame over no-longer-fashionable, yet astonishingly long-wearing ankle-height socks)

growlerdinky

You are all doing it wrong. All of it. Every one of you.







*EDIT* - Do better

genejockey 

Mom? Is that you?

jonathanf2

On my road bike I run a longer stem because I want to be a bit more aero. On my gravel bike I run a shorter stem in order to have better responsiveness when on technical terrain. My saddle setback and seat post height is in correlation to my crank length and leg extension. Though as I'm getting older, I've been adding a bit more stem height to be comfortable on longer rides.

LarrySellerz

yes, I would do it but its my brothers. I borrowed it and gave him a single speed because I live on a huge hill

rsbob 

I may lower my standards, but not my saddle.

Can we please just cut to the arguing and name calling?

Camilo

And different tolerance / preference for saddle-bar drop. I used to have quite a bit, now I'm happy with the bar within an inch of saddle height or even.

eaglesandcycling

just curious..is it possible that some people in these forums are like 8 years old?

sloppy12

Of course they all have adjustable stems. just flip it over for even more slamming ability.

seypat

Probably not in the road forums. Maybe BMX or MTB.

Kedosto

Possible? Probable… at least emotionally. The world is full of 8 year olds walking around in adult bodies.

eaglesandcycling

solid point

Hiro11

My experiences and opinions on position and saddle-to-bar drop:

When I was racing back in the late 80s / early 90s, I rode a 55 Italian racing frame with a quill stem and had the bars set maybe 1-2 inches lower than the saddle as was typical back then. Bar hooks had much deeper drops back then so I'll bet my position in the drops back then was similar to what I ride today even though I now run more saddle-to-bar drop. The top tube on my old race bike was higher at the seat post than at the head tube and I ran only about 3-4 inches of exposed seatpost (seatposts were very short back then).

These days, I ride a 54 (M) frame on my road bike and run 3-4 inches of saddle to bar drop with about 8-9 inches of exposed seatpost due to the modern compact layout of the frame. I tried lots of bike when I bought my road bike and ended up on an endurance frame and then slammed the stem. I'll bet the stack was actually taller on my old race bike than on my current bike even though that old bike was considered very racy in its day. I think bikes started becoming more aggressive with very short stacks in the late 90s.

Even though I currently have good flexibility and I can ride aggressive positions without discomfort, I prefer endurance geometry for most riding. I believe I can generate more power in a slightly more upright position and I like the fact that I can comfortably stay in the drops all day on my bike. I see guys who buy super aggressive race bikes, are forced to run a ton of spacers and even then can basically never get in the drops. I don't get it.