because round is SOOO common... and makes too much sense...

Ride On
Yuri

... what would you do if your seatpost was stuck in the downtube ??? for round and for oval...

Elsewhere I've posted that almost every argument in cycling fora can be grouped into a few categories:
1. Only the pros need to worry about that, and you're not a pro.
2. The best riders are the best because of what they do so just imitate them.
3. Things I don't care about, can't see, or don't know how to measure aren't important.
4. Things I think are important really are important, so you should think like me.
5. If I don't know how to do something, it's either too complicated for anyone to know how to do, or else it's unimportant.
6. The world isn't complicated, it's simple, and people saying there's still stuff to learn just don't realize how simple things are.

I think your post falls under #5.

It's possible, but at the same time, if manufacturers are going to make more proprietary bits that are unswappable, less tweakable (for fit), or potentially non-replaceable, it'd be nice if they told us what the return for consumers actually is.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...13326a27b.webp

It would be interesting to learn how much aero savings exist with an oval or D seatpost, compared to a round seatoost, once a rider is on and a saddle wedge bag is attached.

And Since that dumb test would be taking place, seeing how much various wedge bags impact aero vs no bag at all, would be interesting too.

Maybe it got mentioned - butt, .... I like posts that are both round and kinda oval. :thumb:

Campagnolo - the World's leader of vintage Italian componentry - got it right. ;) Round where it should be round, ovalish where it probably didn't matter - tho' stylish and polished silver. :love:

Maybe someone will comment on the air turbulence at the round-to-oval transition point. :twitchy:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7de253c9b.jpeg

Good post, as it hints at why there are oval seatposts. Not necessarily because there's all that much benefit to the shape of the seatpost itself, but maybe because it's easier to make such IF you want your seat tube to be ovalized/aero in shape.

I do wonder how many of those who ride bikes with oval or other aero seatposts actually use saddle bags as opposed to putting their flat repair kit in their back pockets. I suspect very few go for the bag.

Indeed, it may be more difficult to engineer a clamping system for a round post in an ovalized, faired seat tube.

It's a discontinuity in the space-time continuum! :50:

Right. The ovalized seat post is only part of the story. There are bikes with aero seat tubes that don't have an aero seat post but they're mostly compromises. Most bikes with aero seat tubes attach the seat stays lower than at the top of the seat tube. The seat post (usually) isn't a part in isolation; it's better to consider it as a component of the entire frameset.

Too bad though that the industry didn't set some sort of standard on aero shaped seatpost, so all of the component manufacturing companies could jump in on the action.

A very cynical attitude, and unfortunately contains a whole lot of truth.

ftfy

Since the thread is continuing despite your mic-drop post (noting that seatposts are oval on aero bikes because the seat tube is oval):

Yes, a standard for aero posts would have been great for me a few years ago. I bought a bare 2005 Felt TT bike frame during COVID so that I'd have a project to work on at home. Paid $80 for the frame, then discovered that I'd have to buy the seatpost from Felt. $200. Oops.

Such a deal!

$280 still sounds like a pretty good deal for a nice frame.

Interesting. It may be a regional thing because countless road bikes with oval and D shaped seatposts are ridden with wedge bags around me.
Some hang low and saggy. Some are pulled up tight to the rails.
Some are minimalist. Some are like 1.5L.

A ton of people rock wedge bags in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and brands on their shaped seatpost bikes around me.

We're talking about seat bags, right? Not ... scrotums?

Folks near you must value getting home over style points.

There are definitely similarities.

Still needed to buy a fork, though. And some other stuff. You know the drill.

Though I did find some good closeouts, e.g., a Campy Centaur crankset for under $80.

obviously it depends on the loads. for truly vertical / compressive loads, a round tube and an oval tube of the same cross sectional area and material will have the same capacity.

more relevant to the shape are loads in other directions. I have no idea which direction governs here, but it may well be fore and aft in which case the oval is obviously superior due to the moment of inertia and section modulus. even with the same amount of material, and less thickness in the sidewalls, it would likely be better. but, as I said, no idea if there is really more force in any one axis than the other.

Take a block, round or bar of aluminum, shape it to the oval, drill a 27.2 hole down the middle and cut it in half. A shim.

Back in the day, when my thighs were quite muscular, they began rubbing on the post/clamp I was using, I had to find a narrower one. I doubt that's a common issue, but for some people it is.