which is uglier?

[Fat Robert]

zero setback post?

or

saddle shoved forward?

i'm doing the latter these days, with this hideous mark-the-shark position with a measley 6cm of setback (I'm six one)...obviously, it ain't producing similar results, due to the lack of talent...but it is more powerful for moi...

you guys know i'm going to do what i freaking well please...but was just curious about what this peanut gallery thinks...it might start a debate for the entertainment of all...

[gasman]

I'm doing the latter also-glad few people notice since I'm behind a lot of the other cat 4's anyway.
Who cares as long as it works for you.

[shinomaster]

ask Marco Pantani...he has a flight, slid all the way back on a record ti post...and he still looked like a freak.

[Serpico]

you're offended by a zero-setback, but not a thomson setback? :D

[55/Rad]

you're offended by a zero-setback, but not a thomson setback? :D
Thomson setback - looks great in the ads, sucks on the bike.

I say saddle all the way forward on any seatpost is uglier.

[shinomaster]

I think those Thompson posts look like they got stuck under a garage door.

[erty65]

?

[Serpico]

?
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=14505

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=17946
.

[alancw3]

definitely all the way forward! actually just purchased a zero setback seatpost because of this very thing. went with a fsa carbon one. looks much better and more importantly i think a stronger setup now. when riding with the seat all the way forward i was concerned that htere was too much leverage being exerted on the post.

oh, and i agree the thompson setback posts are the ugliest!!!

[ergott]

I refuse to vote due to the fact that there is no c) all of the above.

Set back, man, sounds like someone needs an intervention.

[Fat Robert]

i actually like the thompson setback post if its on a compact frame, or if you have a ton of post showing -- that aesthetic works (although it would make dbrk lose his paranthas in a hurry).

no intervention, ergott. 7cm of setback got to my knees over the last year -- imho, if you're too far back, the rectus femorus doesn't fire properly in your pedal stroke, and if you have kneecap tracking problems, the result is a tug of war between the vasti. when i moved my saddle up 1cm and raised it 3mm, i noticed my quads firing off more evenly and an instant absence of knee pain, even though my leg extension (25 degrees on one leg, 27 on the other) was the same. its rare for a tall guy (my seat height is around 80.5) to have only 6cm of setback, but its working for me....i felt great in yesterday's crit.

but it is important that you like how your bike looks. personally, although i do still believe that zero setback posts are the spawn of satan, i like the look of a saddle pushed back on the zero better than one pushed forward on a traditional post...it just looks more balanced...but i'm also looking at paying off a new frame in september and a bunch a race fees, so i don't think i'll be buying a zero setback thompson 31.6 anytime soon

[ergott]

but it is important that you like how your bike looks. personally, although i do still believe that zero setback posts are the spawn of satan, i like the look of a saddle pushed back on the zero better than one pushed forward on a traditional post...it just looks more balanced...but i'm also looking at paying off a new frame in september and a bunch a race fees, so i don't think i'll be buying a zero setback thompson 31.6 anytime soon

Agreed. By the way, I have NO idea what I'm talking about when it comes to this area (fitting). I think I'm due for a fit myself. Last one was in 2000. I just want to make sure I work with a fitter that has the same opinions as I think I have. I like what Richie and Jerk usually have to say. More traditional setup and I'm willing to adapt to the position a bit if the long term yeilds a "better psition for me"

[shinomaster]

"i actually like the thompson setback post if its on a compact frame, "
No you don't Roberto.

[Fixed]

thompson setback works great now lets talk about carbon seatpost.
jammed forward somethings wrong
cheers

[RPS]

IMHO a zero setback post looks better than a traditional with the saddle shoved too far forward.

Beyond appearance, I didn’t like the way it felt on a TT bike when I tried it.

[Fat Robert]

ugly but deadly

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2006/probikes/?id=colavita_felt_f1c_mccormack


no way mine is that far forward...i'm about 15mm from the back end of the rails

[ergott]

ugly but deadly

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2006/probikes/?id=colavita_felt_f1c_mccormack


no way mine is that far forward...i'm about 15mm from the back end of the rails


That's Maaahk to you.

It's nice to know that my bike is nicer than most of the peleton. So long as the powers that be see fit to tell me my position is dialed in there is nothing out there that's gonna make me any faster.

Maybe you just need a new bike. You won't be happy with any half-assed fixes.

[Fat Robert]

stock bike bro

i might sell out to the zero setback satanic conspiracy

but i don't think having your saddle a few mm up from the center of the rails is half-assed. having it shoved all the way up is...imho...but having it a bit forward from center is no big deal.

[manet]

class-e

[ColdRider]

class-e

Manet,

you could put Courtney Love on a Sachs and it would still be "class-e".

[obtuse]

mad painful either way. bub- the seat goes all the way back on a set back post. if you can't roll like that i'm sure there's some other awesome sport out there you could try that allows for less setback. triathlon and unicycling spring to mind......

i told you before set back is all about balancing the weight of the rider between the wheels anyway. play with the height and the reach to get the proper hip flexion and make sure the bike balances and you're golden. it doesn't matter what the set back is in relation to the pedals as long as its in range....think of the seat as rotating around a clock....nail your hip angle...get enough weight on the front wheel and never mind....

obtuse

[Samster]

i like the thompson setback on my commute.

[manet]

i like the thompson setback on my commute.

more cable

[Fat Robert]

mad painful either way. bub- the seat goes all the way back on a set back post. if you can't roll like that i'm sure there's some other awesome sport out there you could try that allows for less setback. triathlon and unicycling spring to mind......

i told you before set back is all about balancing the weight of the rider between the wheels anyway. play with the height and the reach to get the proper hip flexion and make sure the bike balances and you're golden. it doesn't matter what the set back is in relation to the pedals as long as its in range....think of the seat as rotating around a clock....nail your hip angle...get enough weight on the front wheel and never mind....

obtuse

obtusepal -- yeah, i rolled like that for a year and it slowly ground up my knees, even with my extension at 25-27 degrees. kops has some validity for me, just in descreasing knee issues. I'm just about 2cm behind the spindle with my saddle setback at 6cm. putting the saddle in the middle of the rails or further back left me "pushing behind" the pedals a lot. now, it made no difference in my power -- i think your watts are the result of genetics and training more than position. but, it did make a difference in what was going on with my kneecaps -- all that nasty chondomalacia stuff this summer.

too far behind the spindle, and like i said, my rectus femorus doesn't do much in the stroke, so its not pulling the kneecap up and keeping it tracking straight. instead, my vastus lateralis and medialis get into this tug of war, the knee cap starts shifting, and i start grinding cartiledge.

i think what you say is dead on -- if there are no biomechanical factors that cause knee pain. for me, a mp brad mcgee style forward position is better in the long run...better to be a little forward than to be not riding.

[Samster]

more cable
ouch.

[palincss]

ask Marco Pantani...he has a flight, slid all the way back on a record ti post...and he still looked like a freak.

The fact that Marco Pantani was a dead ringer for Nosferatu had nothing at all to do with his saddle position.

[Fat Robert]

klaus kinski was a playa