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Saddle Positioning Device
I know we saw that crazy rig a few weeks back for setting everything up to the nanometer.
This device from Abbey Bike Tools actually looks like it is 'back to basics' and much better than some of the other methods I've tried, including balancing a book on the saddle to get a good tilt measure, and a nice consistent way to get a fore/aft measure.
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And we have just one world, But we live in different ones |
#2
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Everything that Abbey makes is just outstanding.
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#3
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Very interesting, more info here. I'm not sure if I'd pay $150 though..
https://www.bikerumor.com/2017/03/14...ck-shox-tools/ |
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I remember something similar several years back called the FitStik or something along those lines. It worked but was about $100. I ultimately found that nothing worked as well as a vertical post in my basement, with square edges. Once I had a bike set up just right, I could line up the BB bolt with one of the edges (usually by sticking a hex wrench in it and pushing it up against the post), do a series of measurements from there, and then easily be able to replicate that position using the same basic method. Was dead-cheap and insanely effective... I was a real princess and the pea with saddle position too - I could handle some discrepancy in bar position, but the saddle relative to the cranks had to be dead-perfect...
-Ray
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Don't buy upgrades - ride up grades |
#5
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#6
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These should be available in late May for anybody that's interested. We moved the saddle height bullets to the back corner running down the length of the plate instead of across it. This allows you to use the toe strap to attach a level should you want to use the plate to get a bar drop measurement.
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#7
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I like the strange jigs they built for Merckx featured in "A Sunday in Hell".
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#8
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FriarQuade, how do you use this to measure setback? Drop a plumb bob from it or sight through the hole or something?
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#9
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Drop a plumb off the edge of the plate. You do the setback at the top and then shoot for axle center. The plate adds enough width so the plumb will clear bottle cages and whatever else you've got bolted to your bike. It's not the most intuitive thing to look at but once you start playing with everything you can figure it all out in 5 minutes or less. We will get some more descriptive photos on the site.
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#10
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I like the idea of a tool like this but I've pretty much given up on plumb bobs and instead use a measurement from the wall for setback. I'm sure this tool helps a lot but I guess I wonder if it improves the plumb bob technique enough to be better than measuring from a wall. The plumb bob technique is still more error prone with the tool than a wall measurement is if the floor isn't perfectly level. |
#11
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And we have just one world, But we live in different ones |
#12
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At the end of the day there's still a person sitting on the bike and how they interact with these variables is nearly impossible to quantify, even if you do go down the rabbit hole of saddle flex, shoe sole thickness, stem length variance, bar width tolerance the list goes on. |
#13
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The thing is the % error is much smaller if you're using the tape measure from the wall.
When you measure out from the wall you're measuring the long side of a triangle (assuming something is not perfectly level), when you use a plumb bob you're measuring the small side of a triangle to get the setback. You can do the trig, a degree or two off on the bike being level with the plumb bob generates a much bigger error than if you can't get the measuring tape perfect measuring out from the wall. I guess it depends on what you have available, I have a good place near my workbench to do the wall trick. A lot of cranks and/or BBs have markings that help you locate the center of the BB as well. I don't really worry about saddle flex/shoes/whatever cause I'm only measuring for myself. Regardless I still like the tool, putting it on top of the saddle would make the wall measurement setup work better too as it provides a nice platform to put the measuring tape on and gives you a good reference point to the front of the saddle. I guess my only other thing that'd be cool with this would be if it had notches at each centimeter mark on the side for hanging the plumb bob instead of just at 5cm, or perhaps even every 5mm. Last edited by benb; 04-06-2017 at 08:53 AM. |
#14
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as someone with multiple bikes who struggles mightily to get them to match up, and who also loves everything Abbey does... this looks awesome.
I love the inserts for various cranksets. would love to see more detail on how they work, specifically with GXP cranksets. I am a little surprised that even a simple bubble level isn't built into it though. |
#15
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Guess I may be confused about how this is used, it can slot into the cranks too? That seems like a great design for measuring with the plumb bob. But I didn't think that was what it's for since it's shown on a saddle..
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