Cool Seat Post Clamp If Bicycle Manufacturer Forgot Seat Stay Rack Mounts

[sms]

I got my spousal unit a mountain bike today. Annoyingly, Accell decided
to not include rack mounts on the seat stays and she definitely is going
to want a rack to carry stuff rather than wear a pack.

There are several seat post clamps that include the rack mounts but I
could only find one that was also quick release, which is something you
really want on a mountain bike:
<http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_pdf/gear/uk/giantbicycles-39114-giant.seat.collar.with.rack.mount.quick.release.pdf>

I found a U.S. vendor selling these:
<http://www.amaincycling.com/on-road-bikes/giant-quick-release-seatpost-clamp-w-rack-mount-black-34.9mm--71605/p364008?v=332904>

I must have gotten the last one since they now show as being out of stock.

Note: if you order one of these devices please remember to include the
promo code SMS50PERCENTKICKBACK so I will receive my 50% referral fee.

[Lou Holtman]

sms <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote:
> I got my spousal unit a mountain bike today. Annoyingly, Accell decided
> to not include rack mounts on the seat stays and she definitely is going
> to want a rack to carry stuff rather than wear a pack.
>
> There are several seat post clamps that include the rack mounts but I
> could only find one that was also quick release, which is something you
> really want on a mountain bike:

Why is a quick release something I really want on a mountain bike?
I don't have one and I don't want one.



--
Lou

[Sir Ridesalot]

Notice SMS says "you want" rather than saying "I want"?

Cheers

[sms]

It's very important on a mountain bike, not necessary on a road bike,
for obvious reasons.

[Clive George]

On 25/11/2015 23:53, sms wrote:

>> Why is a quick release something I really want on a mountain bike?
>> I don't have one and I don't want one.
>
> It's very important on a mountain bike, not necessary on a road bike,
> for obvious reasons.

Really?

Have you checked which year it is?

[Lou Holtman]

Obvious reasons? Not so obvious for me apparently. Most of them are open cam types which are junk, the reason I don't want one.

Lou

[John B.]

On Wed, 25 Nov 2015 15:53:51 -0800, sms <scharf...@geemail.com>
wrote:

How so? Admittedly I don't ride "off road" but observation seems to
show that the vast majority of MTB bikes are used as road bikes.
--

Cheers,

John B.

[Duane]

Why is it important on a mountain bike? I personally wouldn't buy a
bike with a quick release seat. In case of my son, his bike came with
one and I replaced it.

Quick release makes it easier to steal unless you want to carry it
around with you. And then if you carry it around you have to make sure
to mark it properly to get it back in the right place. What about a
mountain bike makes this useful?

[sms]

Because you often want to change the seat height during a ride. On the
road portion of the ride you'll want it at the height you'd have on a
road bike. During an off-road ride you'll want it at different heights
for climbing, descending, and level sections.

There are now systems to remotely control the seat height from a
handlebar control to avoid having to stop.
<http://www.ridefox.com/fox_tech_center/owners_manuals/013/Content/AuxilaryProduct/DOSSseatpost.html>.
There are less expensive lever operated pneumatic seat posts but even
these are over $100, i.e. <http://www.jensonusa.com/KS-Eten-Lever-Seatpost>.

Seat post theft is an issue that is mitigated with a seat post leash.
See <http://www.bikeahead.com/seat-leash-p/pla02407.htm>. Even a seat
post clamp with an Allen bolt is not much of a challenge for someone
wanting to steal a seat and seat post. The leash makes them move on to
the next bike. I have these on all the bicycles in the fleet and we have
never had a stolen seat.

[Duane]

Granted I don't do a lot of mountain biking but I've never heard of
this. AFAICS the seat position on a mountain bike is set similar to a
road bike, based on your leg position WRT the pedals. Why would it be
different when you climb? I guess I can see where you might want to do
this on a long descent. With road bikes you see aggressive riders sit
on the top tube on descents. I guess you can't do this on a mountain bike?

[Frank Krygowski]

On super-steep descents (essentially, going down a "drop-off") some
mountain bikers like to lower their saddle, get their butt way back over
the rear wheel, and have their belly pretty much on the saddle. It
helps prevent an over-the-handlebars crash.

But that's pretty extreme. Most people on mountain bikes never do that
sort of descent, because most mountain bikes aren't used for
YouTube-quality gonzo riding. And I'd bet that among mountain bikers
who do that sort of descent, a majority still don't lower their saddles.
Those who make a habit of it might install a dropper seatpost, not
just a quick release.

--
- Frank Krygowski

[Clive George]

SMS is actually at least partly right about this one, which makes a change.

On descents on an MTB you want your arse way back over the back wheel
and down low - it's not streamling they're after (why people sit on the
top tube on road descents), but avoiding going over the bars - the
descents are way steeper so the COG matters.

I'm not so sure about level vs climbing though.

However QR seat collars are now passe - dropper posts (which he
subsequently mentioned) are the posher alternative.

[Duane]

Thanks.

[Lou Holtman]

Come on. You change the saddle height 30 times during a ride? Steep
section? You deal with it by shifting your weight. That is part of the
fun. Stop, judge the grade and than: 'hmm I think it is 20%, so better
lower my sadlle 3 cm. Theoretical nonsense.
>
>

--

Lou

[sms]

On 11/26/2015 8:46 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:

<snip>

> Come on. You change the saddle height 30 times during a ride? Steep
> section? You deal with it by shifting your weight. That is part of the
> fun. Stop, judge the grade and than: 'hmm I think it is 20%, so better
> lower my sadlle 3 cm. Theoretical nonsense.

Not nonsense at all.

The need for seat height changes during a mountain bike ride has spurred
the invention of the seat posts with remote height adjustment because it
was too much of a hassle for riders to be stopping and adjusting their
seat posts, especially if it was terrain with a lot of ups and downs, as
opposed to a lot of climbing followed by a lot of descending.

If we ride from our house to the closest place for mountain biking
(Fremont Older Open Space Preserve) we want the seats higher during the
road riding part of the ride. In Santa Cruz, where we often go to Wilder
Ranch State Park, most people park outside the park and ride in down a
paved path from the nearest road (because of the extortionate parking
cost in the parking lot operated by the state park).

It would be rare to see a mountain bike with a seat post that was not
height-adjustable without tools. "Dropper posts" are used at the higher
end, but you're not going to get one included with a $500 or under
mountain bike.

The theft issue that was brought up is valid, so if you're parking your
mountain bike somewhere then you definitely want to secure the seat in
some way.

You can learn more about this here:
<http://betterride.net/blog/2014/mountain-bike-cockpit-setup-better-handling-bike-industry-slowly-catching-lucky/>
and
<http://www.vitalmtb.com/product/feature/Trek-Invents-Automatic-Dropper-Seatpost-No-More-Sitting-Down-Required,335>.

[Sir Ridesalot]

A pair of pocket size mini-bolt cutters would go right throught that "leash".

Note that this thread started with a quick-release seat rack and is now about quick-release seat post skewers.

Cheers

[Sir Ridesalot]

I don't know if they're still made or sold but there used to be a large V-type spring that clamped the upper end to the seatpost and the lower end to the frame. You loosend the quick-release on the fly, the seatpost lowered, you locked the quick-release and rode, then when you wanted to you loosened the quick-release again and the V-type spring returned the saddle to the original height.

Btw, most MTB riders did NOT stop to adjust their saddle height even without a spring return aid.

Cheers

[AMuzi]

Hite Rite, the neat new product of 1987 (or somewhere near then)

Hite Rite does exactly what you describe, and does it well,
but fashion changed as it always does.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[sms]

Hite Rite Ad: <http://oi50.tinypic.com/124zyhi.jpg>

Story:
<http://ridingresearch.com/2013/05/01/hite-rite-to-dropper-seat-post-oligopoly-of-innovation/>

"the idea of lifting a seat post for a climb and dropping it for a
descent is still the same"

[Frank Krygowski]

Yep. That's going to happen.


--
- Frank Krygowski

[Joe Riel]

I had some version of that, a long time ago. I recall it did
little to ensure the seat did not yaw as it repositioned.
It doesn't take much twist to be annoying.

--
Joe Riel

[sms]

On 11/27/2015 8:36 AM, Joe Riel wrote:

<snip>

> I had some version of that, a long time ago. I recall it did
> little to ensure the seat did not yaw as it repositioned.
> It doesn't take much twist to be annoying.

Yeah, I think that's one big advantage of the "dropper" seat posts that
have replace the Hite Rite.

Trek and Shimano have patents on even better "dropper posts" that
doesn't require the rider to be sitting on the seat to push it down.

<http://www.vitalmtb.com/interstitial?page=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vitalmtb.com%2Fproduct%2Ffeature%2FTrek-Invents-Automatic-Dropper-Seatpost-No-More-Sitting-Down-Required%2C335>

<http://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/The-Hub,2/Interesting-Shimano-Dropper-Post-Patent,8701>

But most casual riders are just going to use a standard seat post with a
QR clamp. That's where the Giant clamp that I posted about is useful
since many mountain bikes lack the seat stay braze-ons for a rear cargo
rack.

I did not realize that so many people were unfamiliar with the reasons
that mountain bike seat height is adjusted during a ride.

[Lou Holtman]

Unfamiliar? Many people just prefer a fix seat height. Even in cases where
a lower seat height would help it is often considered as unpractical to
stop adjust and start again 10 times during a ride.

--
Lou

[sms]

On 11/27/2015 9:48 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> sms <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote:

<snip>

>> I did not realize that so many people were unfamiliar with the reasons
>> that mountain bike seat height is adjusted during a ride.
>>
>
> Unfamiliar? Many people just prefer a fix seat height. Even in cases where
> a lower seat height would help it is often considered as unpractical to
> stop adjust and start again 10 times during a ride.

LOL, first you claimed 30 times during a ride, now it's down to 10. What
changed?

As you are no doubt aware, there is a very good reason why mountain
bikers change the seat height for ascents versus descents versus level
terrain, and that's why the dropper seat posts have gained popularity,
and that's why it's rare for a mountain bike to come without a quick
release for seat height.

[Frank Krygowski]

On 11/27/2015 12:59 PM, sms wrote:
>
> As you are no doubt aware, there is a very good reason why mountain
> bikers change the seat height for ascents versus descents versus level
> terrain, and that's why the dropper seat posts have gained popularity,
> and that's why it's rare for a mountain bike to come without a quick
> release for seat height.

Is it rare? I just looked around the Trek and Specialized sites. While
I didn't check every model of mountain bike, it appears the opposite is
true.

For example, it seems to be typical to have something like this:

"Seat Binder: Specialized, 7050 alloy, single Ti bolt, 31.6mm"

Close ups show no quick release.

--
- Frank Krygowski

[Lou Holtman]

In my career I bought 4 mountainbikes and 2 mountainbike frames. Only one,
my full suspension, had a quick release seatpost clamp. Of course my
crossbikes also had no quick release seatpost clamp.

--
Lou

[sms]

On 11/24/2015 4:54 PM, sms wrote:
> I got my spousal unit a mountain bike today. Annoyingly, Accell decided
> to not include rack mounts on the seat stays and she definitely is going
> to want a rack to carry stuff rather than wear a pack.
>
> There are several seat post clamps that include the rack mounts but I
> could only find one that was also quick release, which is something you
> really want on a mountain bike:

> <http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_pdf/gear/uk/giantbicycles-39114-giant.seat.collar.with.rack.mount.quick.release.pdf>
>
>
> I found a U.S. vendor selling these:
> <http://www.amaincycling.com/on-road-bikes/giant-quick-release-seatpost-clamp-w-rack-mount-black-34.9mm--71605/p364008?v=332904>

Arrived in yesterday's mail, and I installed it
<http://oi64.tinypic.com/2zelf1y.jpg> along with this rack
<http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002T5OG5Y>.

A lot of thought went into the design of this rack.

■ It is highly adjustable for different size frames and wheels.
■ The disc brake mounting is uncomplicated.
■ The seat stay brackets are very adjustable for different mounting
points on the frame.
■ The side supports for panniers are well thought out, even the nib to
prevent them from sliding backward.
■ Both panniers and a rack top bag can be used easily.
■ It can use quick-mount bags from the same company, or any other bags
that are not quick mount.
■ The panniers ride low enough that a rear light with side pointing LEDs
is not obscured.
■ Rated for 25 kg which is much greater than most other racks.
■ It is relatively inexpensive.