GnipGnop

If you're not using a $400 seat post, what are you even doing with your life?

https://www.mcfk.de/en/111/seatpost-without-offset

https://www.schmolke-carbon.com/prod...rbon-seatpost/

mitch2

I might have ordered a $400 seatpost but instead I just found and ordered a Masterpiece setback on sale for about $120 so I now have $280 more to spend on IPA!
The Masterpiece in 350mm length actually weighs less than the Cyrano, but is probably a little stiffer - with the saddles I use it shouldn't matter.

JohnJ80

Very odd. I have at least three of the Cyrano 00 seat posts and none of them slips - ever. I'm not a light rider either. I'd have to check, but I thought the spec was 8nm not 7nm (it's marked right on the seatpost) so check. And to confirm, it's a Torx bolt. That's pretty much what Fizik uses everywhere now, at least on the seat posts and stems I have.

So yours is either defective or you're not setting it up correctly. If it's defective, just return it.

J.

Sy Reene

To clarify.. evidently the issue isn't evidently that the saddle is slipping or moving, but more it's about that somehow the bolt is loosening by itself (which I'd guess would lead to the saddle slipping or moving around). I have 8nm engraved on my R1.. but thought I read on some product page that the R00 was 7nM. Not much difference really, and those are probably max values anyway to represent what the bolt can withstand

RGMN

The Torx vs hex thing is the issue here. You aren't getting anywhere close to the torque you think you are if you're using a hex to tighten a Torx.

We just went thru this at work, we had electronic assemblies failing after the Torx screws that held the circuit board in the enclosure would fall out, short the board, and if we were lucky (we usually weren't) burn-out the board. Most of the time we ran the drive thru the endstop and sheared off the grapple. The investigation showed that the screws weren't torqued to the correct values or consistently. Most were torqued to roughly 1/2 to 2/3 the specified torque. We also noticed unusual marks in the Torx head. Worked our way back to the factory in Mexico and found that the tool they were installing the screws with was set to and was delivering the correct torque but they were using hex bit instead of a Torx bit. The Torx bits were considered too expensive and the plant manager wouldn't authorize the purchase of the correct tool. We forced them to get the correct Torx bits and had them build samples. Those samples are still being tested but they have logged 4x the hours that would cause the previous ones to shake the screws loose.

Interestingly, when we mentioned this incident to the bolt supplier's app engineer he just laughed and said they see this frequently. It is common enough that asking if the right tool was used to tighten the fastener is one of the first things they ask when they hear Torx drive screws are falling out. Try tightening with the correct tool and see what happens.

mitch2

Never too late to learn something so thanks for all the suggestions. I did try a bit of loctite and was able to get a late afternoon 30 miles in without incident today. Tomorrow I will pick up a T25 Torx head that fits my torque wrench. I am also going to look for a couple of small lock washers. I would like to make this work since I can use the masterpiece post on a different bike.

JohnJ80

I have never had luck with any seat post with tightening less than the spec. I’d bet at 8nm it won’t slip.

DaveSSS 

I've used the fsa k-force on many bikes, probably dating back 15 years. Never a problem. I don't own a tiny torque wrench and never used one to tighten any M5 bolt on a stem or seat post. Never had anything slip or loosen either. I use a screwdriver style T25 on most M5 torx head bolts.

HarborBandS

I’ve had this same problem with the Fizik Cyrano 00 seatpost. The seat rail clamp bolt would come loose after 10 miles or so. I just decided to max torque it at 8 N-m, which scares me a bit with a lightweight carbon part. But so far this has worked.

I’ve also had problems with creaks coming from this seatpost, so I appreciate the comment above about disassembling everything and greasing the bolt anchors. I’ll give it a try before my next ride.

All in all, the Fizik Cyrano 00 seatpost has been pretty frustrating after 300 miles or so, but it really is very comfortable! It does seem to have some shock absorption capability. If I can silence the squeaks, I think I will be much happier with the product.

Kimmo 

I'm guessing you've never ridden on a light carbon post. Most of the carbon posts I've come across are a fair bit beefier than my FSA post, which rides like I've got a flat tyre.

Sy Reene

Anyone remember this Velonews test comparison from almost 10yrs ago?

Kimmo 

Nah, but PMSL at the Thudbuster coming third, what fail.

KJ43

I have the Ritchey WCS Carbon 1-Bolt Seatpost and its been great both on and off road.

Super solid, not a sound no matter the effort. Comes in 0 or 25mm offset and 27.2 or 31.6mm diameters.

chaadster

Whoa! That was almost 10 years ago?! Yeah, I remember it, but it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. Generated some hearty discussion around here as I recall...

JohnJ80

that's been my favorite seatpost for years on 4 different bikes now. A little grease on the rails stops squeaks and creaks. I did have one that I had to take apart to grease the bolt anchors. You must torque the bolt to the specified torque setting (as with any seatpost amd why they spec it).

they’re fantastic seatposts IMO.

HarborBandS

I greased the rails with carbon paste, and the bolt anchors with grease. I'm not sure which one did the trick, but all creaks are gone, and I am on to enjoying a lightweight and comfortable seatpost.

JohnJ80

Good news!

The rails are metal on metal, so you should actually grease those with grease. The post can also creak where it mounts in the frame, and there you should use carbon paste (and re-apply on occasion). Glad you solved the problem. Really is my favorite post for getting it perfectly dialed in.

J.

HarborBandS

Well that certainly depends on your saddle!

But the Park Tool SAC-2 anti-friction paste I use is actually made for metal components too. I use it where I’m trying to avoid slippage, and use grease for bolts, bearings, or dissimilar metals.

Sy Reene

+1 I use SAC2 on my R1 post (why did Fizik discontinue this model anyway?) in a Ti Frame, as well as on saddle's rails (whether metal/metal or CF/metal). Grease for bolts. Never use SAC2 on threads.

JohnJ80

The squeaking comes from friction not from holding it tight. The reason you use the stuff with grit in it for carbon posts is because as carbon moves it produced carbon powder which behaves like a graphite lubricant. Unless you have carbon rails, all you want to do is prevent the metals sticking together which is what produces the creaking. There is little pressure for the rails to slip in the seat clamp.

Exactly. put that carbon friction compound on bolts and there's a good chance you'll strip them before they come loose. That's why I'm careful to go grease on metal to metal although on one metal seatpost I have, which turned out to be slightly undersized, I had to put the grit/anti-slip compound in there to prevent slippage. That was a size issue not a materials problem.

Anyhow, good to hear the problem with the seatpost has been resolved. That design works well for me - very easy to replicate a bike fit and the carbon post provides noticeable compliance.

Symox

You might try Specialized. I've been quite happy with the one that came on my bike.

I also *highly* recommend Finish Line Fiber Grip. It has been the only thing that has prevented creaks on my seatpost. It also helps prevent moving of the seatpost as the fiber adds friction.

SoSmellyAir

Second this. Must have if either frame or seat post is carbon fiber. Using this allows seat post clamp screw to be tightened within specs to only 6 Nm without any slipping when riding through big bumps or dips.

HarborBandS

I actually think the bolt anchors were causing the creaking. As you know (I'm just pointing this out for others reading this), they are cylindrical, and resting within the carbon body of the post head. The sound of the creaking was kind of a metal on carbon, not a metal on metal sound.

I put the anti-slip on the rails to deal with the other problem--everything coming loose on rides on bumpy terrain and allowing the seat to come loose. I was trying to keep anything in that assembly from moving. I also put a dab of paste where the clamps contact the top of the carbon post.

Either way, it's hard to argue with my results. Hundreds of miles in now, and both problems have been eliminated. I was a shop mechanic for four years in the 1990's, and there was no Park Tools SAC-2 anti-friction paste at that time. We greased everything, and only dealt with aluminum seatposts and the occasional chromed steel post on a Montgomery Ward three-speed. But I am finding this paste useful in metal-on-metal situations where you don't want slippage and you want to keep your bolt torque low (like a stem to a handlebar). I actually don't like it much in the seatpost/seat tube insertion. It is TOO grippy, and makes it hard to adjust seat post height without scratching the crap out of the post.

JohnJ80

I had one of the Fizik seat posts where I had to lube the barrel nuts in their seats to stop squeaks. That was years ago when I got my first first carbon version of this post - maybe around 2012 or so when I built a new bike. I haven't had to do that on three others since.

I do grease, and have for years, the seat rails in this and the other seat posts I have (Ritchey). I've never had a problem. I do torque all the bolts down to the spec that is printed by the bolt and I have never had a problem with the seats moving or the seat clamps slipping. You will have this problem if you don't torque them properly, however. I'm a clyde and this has worked for me for probably close to 30-40,000 miles so I'm pretty sure it works.

I have, on occasion, had to adjust a seat post angle on my Ritchey seatpost while out riding. I didn't have a torque wrench with me so I had to carefully tighten it. On that post, if I recall, the torque spec was something like 12nm (i.e. something fairly high). I didn't want to exceed that so I tightened it to where it didn't move anymore but to a point where I was sure it was less than the spec. Anyhow, the seat moved dramatically when I hit a bump (almost dumped me) and I tightened it again somewhat tighter until I got home. When I checked it with my torque wrench, I was at about 2nm below where the spec was. When I tightened it to the full spec, it never moved again. Point being, I guess, the number printed on the post is the torque they are expecting you to tighten to and for what it was designed to be set at for no slipping. Like any good engineer, their designers have allowed considerable margin beyond that just in case. So tighten it to the spec they print on the part and it won't slip. Pretty sure it it holds for a someone like me, it will hold for pretty much anyone.

As you note, it works with the anti-slip compound. I also would not be surprised if it damages the finish on your seat rails at some point. And I'm also sure that the designers of both the clamp and the seat rails designed it to hold without anti-slip paste and most likely would recommend against doing that. Torque it to the spec (that's why it is there) and you'll be fine.

I don't care for the anti slip compounds that have the big chunks in (Finish Line comes to mind). I use the Morgan Blue stuff that has a very fine grit in it and it doesn't seem to do anything to the seatpost. The Morgan Blue stuff has a fine grit in it that you can feel when you rub it between your fingers but it's an order of magnitude finer than the chunkier stuff that's more typical.

JohnJ80

Wouldn't you know it - we have this discussion and then I go take my road bike out and the seatpost starts squeaking. It's been installed for 7 years without a noise after I lubed it up when I installed it. Anyhow, was a good exercise to run down the noise. It's coming from the little barrel nuts that each fo the two bolts mate to. I lubed them up with some Finish Line ceramic lube, put it all back together and it was completely silent. It's not the seat rails, it's the nuts in the mount where the metal tube nuts sit in the carbon fiber post.