Saddle popped off rails - now what?
 

Hey, everybody

So I was on a ride last week and I took a nice digger sideways down towards a gully. When I rolled to the side my bike barrel rolled over the top of me and hit seat first.

The saddle popped off of the rails and I can find no way of getting it back on. There is no screw towards the front of the seat to clamp the rails on like I have seen on other saddles. It appears that the underside of the seat is a solid mold. When I put the rail ends in the back, the front end of the rail will not fit in the saddle and the same is with the opposite (Front first, rear rails won't fit in back)

Is there a trick to doing this. No matter how I bend the saddle it will not fit? Would a LBS have the tools to do that or should I start looking for a new saddle?

Thanks a lot!

Can you post a pic of the underside of the saddle and the seat post please?

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...le/Seat008.jpg
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...le/Seat003.jpg

So, you can see I can put the back rails in, but no matter how much I try to put the front one in it won't go.

Am I SOL?

Yeah, personally I wouldn't risk it. Just buy a new saddle and be done with it.

it can be done sometimes, but it's really freakin' hard if you can do it, and weakens things enough that it'll likely just do it again.

new seat time.

happened on the trail last week, it was a pita, but we were able to use a blade screwdriver to lever the pastic seat base over the metal rail. good chance it will happen again IMHO

New saddle

Damn, if every ride I go on starts costing me $50 I'm not going to make it very long as a mountain biker, haha.

Any recommendations on saddles similar to this one. I know it was a cheap bontrager, but I like the feel and shape of it.

fwiw, I had a rail break on mine. It was a WTB laser something or other and was about 18 months old. I called WTB I told him its was the OEM saddle that came with the bike. They sent a new one w/ Ti rails for free. Maybe because it was on a Marin bike and WTB is in Mill Valley, but I was very pleased. I like the saddle.

Just my $0.02 but I would buy their stuff in the future.

Jeff

I recommend WTB saddles as well. Part of becoming a good mountain biker is to stop breaking stuff. It gets really expensive and annoying when you start breaking derailleurs and forks.

Work from the other end. You are working against the force of both rails to try to spring the nose back in. Get the nose in then spring each leg in its socket one at a time. You may bend the flats of your rails some but with a bench vise and some patience you can make it useable again.

Unless you are just dying for an excuse to get a new one.

I broke the stock wtb seat on my Marin too.. well bent it.. but i was fat at the time and dropped off a log while seated. I was kinda glad it broke rather than my ass.

Try contacting the manufacturer. You may be able to get a replacement.

LOL, done the same thing a couple of years ago, brings back memories.
I dumped my bike after discovering a sweat bee in my jersey.
It can be re-inserted, but it takes great, repeat great strength.
Insert the back rails into the seat, then bend the rails so the front will slip back into the seat pocket.
I'm pretty fit, but couldn't manage it. Found a German machinist who had the hand strength.
I do believe the seat is not as strong, and since it was pretty worn, I replaced it with a WTB seat after a year.