VegasJen

In honor of my biggest forum critic, I thought I would repost this here. Enjoy.

One of the things I've noticed on all my bikes, both conventional road and my tri bikes, is I always feel like I can't adjust the seat far enough forward. This has always bothered me because I feel like I'm pushing the pedals forward at the top of the stroke rather than pushing down. This, in turn, pushes me back on the seat. So I always feel like I'm pushing back, scooching forward, push back, scooch forward, back, forward, back forward. It has gotten very aggravating.

Now, I'm a nurse by profession but I have some engineering background thanks to my military service, and I have always just kind of had a solution oriented thought process.

So if I can't find what I want to fix my issue, I'll make it. Without going into all the details (which I can do if anybody is curious), I bought a cheap straight seat post and made a bracket that allows me to locate the seat as much as 2 inches farther forward than the forward most position I could get with even a "zero offset" seat post.

Here's the original configuration with an off-the-shelf zero offset seat post. I have a red line drawn through so you can see the most forward position I am able to adjust with this geometry.


This is the bracket I made in an attempt to test my theory.


And finally, the bracket as mounted with the seat. As you can tell, the seat is now around 2 inches (5cm) farther forward than the previous forward-most adjustment, and I still have another inch or more I could go if I really want.


When I first put it together, I had it moved all the way forward but that really wasn't comfortable. I moved it back to the position it's in now and that feels pretty good, although I've only ridden once with the new bracket. But that only attempt was a 30 mile route where my previous best was just under 1 hour, 48 minutes. Even on tired legs (5 mile run the day prior) I crushed that previous best by almost three minutes.

I still have some fine tuning to make. And I need to figure out how to secure my bottle cage holder better, but as of right now, I'm very happy with the way this has turned out.

Andrew R Stewart 

I hope that you are dealing with the engine's flexibility too Andy

VegasJen

I have only ridden the bike once since the new seat position as I have been working on fitting upgraded CF wheels to this frame (another thread about that). But the one ride I did, I was both more comfortable and faster than the previous set up.

choddo

That’s very clever. Did you worry about the load on the (carbon?) seat tube being more off-axis than standard?

dsaul

That certainly looks like an aluminum welded frame to me. I think it will be fine.

Garthr

Oh good job Jen ! I'm all for doing whatever works. I'm not entirely up to speed on that particular models geometry but it's obvious you'd be a candidate for a TT/Tri frame with a much steeper STA(typically 78d). Plus, shorter cranks and/or a mid-foot cleat position would definitely help you here as that is part of why you're wanting to be more forward in the first place, to place yourself in the optimal position over the BB to push down and back along the chainstays to the rear wheel. There's like a sweet spot, like an apex, where you're able to use every bit of the power you do have back to the rear wheel while your upper body is relatively relaxed. I can't help but picture the Roadrunner cartoons when the RR is at full speed from a side angle. The body is leaning forward while the trailing legs are in a blur of speed propelling the RR forward with ease. Zoom zoom zoom !

ScottCommutes

Very cool. I just replaced my seat post due to clamp breakage. I generally try to get my seat as far back as possible because my frame is small.

I didn't try it, but is it possible to install a modern seat post with the clamp on top in a forward and also a backward direction to get more range of adjustment?

Also, a couple of positives for those old style seat posts. No clamp to break. And if the top of your seat tube is buggered, you can stick the seat post in upside down to help work things out until you can get it in the right way.

choddo

Ah yeah on second look, can see the weld on the top tube

Koyote

Another solution would be buying a bike that fits properly. Any decent shop can help you with that.

shelbyfv

Great minds....

SoSmellyAir

The key question is, you cannot adjust the seat far enough forward for what? To reach the handlebar? If so, I am afraid Koyote is right, the frame is too big, or at least too long for you.

With a "conventional" road bike, generally with a Seat Tube Angle of about 74*, the saddle fore/aft position is set only with reference to the bottom bracket, to optimize one's pedaling and balance. It is not for compensating for the reach to the handlebar, which should be adjusted by stem length and/or angle.

At the very top of the pedal stroke, one does have to at least slightly push the pedal forward. It helps to do so if the saddle is set properly, and if you heel down a little. If you are sliding back excessively, may be the nose of your saddle is pointed too high? That certainly appears to be the case in the last photo you posted above.

Russ Roth

Yes-ish, the seatpost is the determiner of what will work. When I trimmed a 24" road bike down to a 20" to fit my then 7yo I had to try 3 different posts to see which would allow the seat to sit flat or with the slightest tilt of the nose. As you can see in a pic someone posted above, its easy to do with a seat pillar and clamp. In my case I have/had a small drawer of 27.2 posts and didn't want to spend more money on a pillar and heavy steel clamp. Of the 3 only one worked. Profile also makes a pedal forward post that's designed to tilt forward, while thomson's setback post can also be turned forward for the same purpose. These last two wouldn't work for the OP as they both require a more post to be exposed then she has in her pic.

wheelreason

You know you can just get a seatpost with a lot of setback and mount it facing aft, yes?....

SoSmellyAir

Pray tell; don't leave us in suspense! Don't 24" and 20" refer to the size of the wheels and tires mounted to kids' bikes?

I don't think that would work; the angle between the setback portion and the main shaft would be all wrong.

Russ Roth

Correct. This meant changing wheels from a 540 (24") ertro to a 451(20"), cutting crank arms to 115mm and drilling and tapping them, changing the handlebars from 38 to 34, turning the seatpost to accommodate reach. Effectively trimming a 24" to 20"

rosefarts

In my Tri days, late 90’s to early aughts, it was pretty common for people to use a setback seatpost and just put it on backwards.

The Thomson setback was the most common one for that. They achieved basically the same thing you’ve done.

A proper Tri bike should put you far enough forward that you don’t need to do this. Since you’re needing to do this mod, I suspect one of the following things.
- it’s an aero road bike but has road bike geometry, not triathlon geo.
-it’s too big for you
-your aerobars are too far forward

I don’t know which one it is.

If this is working, I say lean into it and ride. Consider a proper setback post in reverse for a decent fit in the future if this works.

SoSmellyAir

Phew. I thought you had cut the frame. Turns out you only made a donk.

wheelreason

Have you ever seen a bike with a saddle pointed up or down?...

grumpus

Depends on the seatpost - some (most?) don't have sufficient range of movement to get the saddle flat.
But the saddle clamps used with them are typically hard to adjust, and don't hold adjustment for long anyway.

VegasJen

This.

VegasJen

This is what I've done on my road bikes.
The frame may be too big, but it's only a 51cm. About as short as I can find. I think someone makes a 49 but it's hard to find, unless ordering new, and mama ain't got the bucks for that.

As for the nose of the seat, yes, it is pointed up a bit. I find it more comfortable on longer rides as I'm able to support my weight on my pelvic bone rather than on "soft tissue".
I almost purchased another post just to do that, but given I already had a zero offset post on it and I still didn't feel it was far enough forward, I thought this might be an interesting project.
I think the problem is this is just an older frame design and it has a bit more relaxed geometry than newer, more aggressive designs. It may be that Ridley just slapped aero bars and shifters on their road bike frame and called it good. I've seen newer road bikes that have more aggressive seat tube angles than this has. But yes, the frame is marginally too big for me. The reason I had to do this is because I have to drop the seat almost down to the clamp just to keep my feet on the pedals at the bottom of my stroke. I guess really I should be riding a bike with 650s just to get the right size frame but just dammit, I don't want to hassle with two different size wheels/tires between my bikes.

I had to move the aero bars forward to accommodate this new position. I had the bike set up pretty well before, aside from the scooch/slide thing. I actually think a lot of the problem is the crank arms are just too long. I should probably be on 160mm crank arms, maybe even shorter.

VegasJen

I definitely prefer a more forward position, and I absolutely think I would benefit from shorter crank arms. Seems every-freaking-thing out there comes with either 170 or 175, even smaller frame bikes. Very frustrating. And yes, I think I want my legs to be more directly under me. At least more under me than conventional frames allow.

wheelreason

Climbing, just saying...

79pmooney

+1! The huge clue that this works for you! I took 2 minutes off my 45 mile training loop with my brand new racing bike riding easy to not stress my knees with the 5mm crank length change. Times kept falling al the rest of that summer. I still ride nearly that setup almost 50 years later.

I suggest carrying the wrenches for the clamp and seat height, marking the current locations with tape and a protractor and making changes with one thing at a time, observing whether the change is better of worse. (Small changes; you are clearly close right now.)

And - keep an eye on that clamp. It's 1) a prototype and 2) machined aluminum. Seatposts break. Virtually always while you are riding. Ride enders or a perfect formula for turning a routine ride into an epic ride. (I've broken three. Two of those rides were epics. So far, lucky. No crashes.) Also keep an eye out for a post that can be flipped like shelbyfv's. Maybe an offset Thompson. That would be decently light and reliable. (A post that has been on a lot or winning bikes.)

Your solution is beautiful. Treasure it. It works and it was "the part" that got you to your "fit". But replace it before you break it, not after. It has already served you very well.

bboy314

If you want to replace this with something made for this purpose, look for a Profile Design Fast Forward post.