Setback Seatposts

[SpokeValley]

Help me here, hive. (Apologies if this should be in the "fitting" section.)

I've always ridden a straight seat post...since the mid 70'a, but I was feeling that my position was a bit too forward (Legend Ti, stock 56) so in the spirit of experimentation, I picked up a 25 deg. Thompson post and set it up.

Wow. A dramatic improvement in my power and overall form. I'm thinking of putting them on all of my road bikes.

I understand that I've likely (though inadvertently) resolved a fit issue, but why does this work so well?

I'm haven't been a hard-to-fit guy, but at 65, things do change.

A custom is on my list for this year. Fingers crossed. :rolleyes:

Thanks, all.

[fmradio516]

Help me here, hive. (Apologies if this should be in the "fitting" section.)

I've always ridden a straight seat post...since the mid 70'a, but I was feeling that my position was a bit too forward (Legend Ti, stock 56) so in the spirit of experimentation, I picked up a 25 deg. Thompson post and set it up.

Wow. A dramatic improvement in my power and overall form. I'm thinking of putting them on all of my road bikes.

I understand that I've likely (though inadvertently) resolved a fit issue, but why does this work so well?

I'm haven't been a hard-to-fit guy, but at 65, things do change.

A custom is on my list for this year. Fingers crossed. :rolleyes:

Thanks, all.

Interesting. I would have that you would want shorter as you get older.

[homagesilkhope]

Biggest mystery is how you wound up on a straight post in the mid-70's. Whaaaa?

[OtayBW]

Help me here, hive. (Apologies if this should be in the "fitting" section.)

I've always ridden a straight seat post...since the mid 70'a, but I was feeling that my position was a bit too forward (Legend Ti, stock 56) so in the spirit of experimentation, I picked up a 25 deg. Thompson post and set it up.

Wow. A dramatic improvement in my power and overall form. I'm thinking of putting them on all of my road bikes.

I understand that I've likely (though inadvertently) resolved a fit issue, but why does this work so well?

I'm haven't been a hard-to-fit guy, but at 65, things do change.

A custom is on my list for this year. Fingers crossed. :rolleyes:

Thanks, all.
Why don't you measure saddle setback and reach on the new setup, and see how that relates to your other rides with the zero offset posts? It would make sense ideally to try to be in the same place with respect to pedal position (or bottom bracket, or whatever parameter you like) on each bike, irrespective of geometry/size, etc. GL.

[David Tollefson]

By moving back, you may be more balanced (center of gravity better placed relative to the BB) and providing a better balance between the wheels. The first part of that would translate to your other bikes (assuming you duplicate the same position, whether that takes a setback post or not), but the second part might not.

[Peter P.]

Biggest mystery is how you wound up on a straight post in the mid-70's. Whaaaa?

That was MY question!

Who made a zero setback post in the '70's?

My opinion is, frame seat angles are designed around setback seatposts to enable them to provide an optimum fore/aft position. Zero setback posts, to me, are for the rare few that need an unusually forward position.

Maybe that's what you need-or not.

[unterhausen]

I have a weyless straight seatpost from the '70s. There might have been others. Of course, I broke the front bolt while on a long ride, so the design was far from ideal.

[Ralph]

Yeah...like some said....I don't understand a zero set back post for a normal geo frame. For road use. Most seat tubes are in the 73-73.5 range.

[Dave]

For most people, a setback post creates a better weight balance over the saddle and reduces weight on the hands.

If the increased reach hasn't bothered you, then you may have been using a stem that was shorter than needed.

Just on a whim, I switched from a -6 stem to a -17 at age 55 and had no problem at all with the increased drop. I was off the bike for 8 years and got back on at age 65 and still have no problems with the 10cm saddle to bar drop. No old geezer setup for me.

[unterhausen]

I have a friend that bought a bike that came with a straight seatpost. I think it took him less than 3000 miles to break a rail on a Fizik that was new when he bought the bike.

[rwsaunders]

I think that I post this quote about non-setback seat posts once/month but it still resonates pretty well...

"My eyes refuse to watch them, maybe I'm too old?" Dario Pegoretti

[Jef58]

Maybe seat angles were slacker back then. The KG series LOOK frames I rode had 72.5' seat tube angles even in the small sizes. I used a 15mm setback post on them. New frames seem to have much steeper angles now in the sizes I ride and use 25 mm setback posts.

[isalgue]

I also use a Thompson setback seatpost and what it does for me is more use of the hamstring muscles when I pull on the pedals. Much more power producing position for me, that may be also your case.Help me here, hive. (Apologies if this should be in the "fitting" section.)

I've always ridden a straight seat post...since the mid 70'a, but I was feeling that my position was a bit too forward (Legend Ti, stock 56) so in the spirit of experimentation, I picked up a 25 deg. Thompson post and set it up.

Wow. A dramatic improvement in my power and overall form. I'm thinking of putting them on all of my road bikes.

I understand that I've likely (though inadvertently) resolved a fit issue, but why does this work so well?

I'm haven't been a hard-to-fit guy, but at 65, things do change.

A custom is on my list for this year. Fingers crossed. :rolleyes:

Thanks, all.

[tylercheung]

I thought shorter thigh length would necessitate straight seat posts?

[Lionel]

The only thing that matters is that setback post look a lot better. :)

[Vientomas]

The only thing that matters is that setback post look a lot better. :)

Mahvelous.

[uber]

Pegoretti designed his frame geo to be used with a setback of 20-25mm. Sacha White designs his Speedvagens to use a zero setback in most cases. This formula might not work for all riders depending on the individual body. I think this is where a great custom fit can answer many questions for the individual. IMHO, the best combination is to have the person making your frame do the fit. First world problems and solutions for sure.

[mcteague]

I never had a straight seatpost and always thought they looked odd. But, this year I got a Selle SMP saddle which seem to work best about 10-15mm further forward on the post. My setback post fit but looked goofy with the saddle so far forward. So, I bought a Thomson straight post and the SMP ended up dab smack in the middle of the rails on it. I still prefer the classic look of a setback post but function trumps style for me.

Tim

[David Kirk]

Moving the butt back relative to the feet changes the way the muscles are recruited.....more setback means more of the butt and hamstring and less quad in some cases. The butt and hamstrings are very powerful and putting them in a position to be more effective can be a good thing.

There is also another factor....with the saddle further back the rider can use the bike sort of like a rowing machine by pulling back on the bars to push forward and down on the pedals. If the hips are far forward relative to the feet (like a TT bike) this "pull back to push down" thing is largely lost but when the hips move back it puts all the rider's levers in an effective position to pull on the bars for a few extra watts.

dave

[bitpuddle]

I understand that I've likely (though inadvertently) resolved a fit issue, but why does this work so well?



Moving forward and back changes muscle recruitment. You are changing the mix of quad/hamstring/glutes. A bit of weight distribution, too. The old KOPS approach was an attempt to get a neutral starting position.

[BobbyJones]

Echoing what the last two said...it will engage your hamstrings and glutes more.

This is also the reasoning around the steep angles on tri bikes...save the running part of your legs for, well, running.

When I "slid" back about 10 years ago, it cut down on knee issues as well and invoked more power from my hips and core-which caused it's own problems!

[shoota]

I must be weird but I HAVE to use a zero setback. Any setback at all creates too much low back angle and it straight hurts. It took me a long time, and a lot of pain and stumped fitters, to figure that out.

[tylercheung]

On my particular frame, I guess I used the KOPS thing and on a setback certain saddles (the Specialized ones) seem to be all the way forwards, hence I swapped to a straight. Once the saddle was adjusted...the bike did feel better but not sure if it is placebo or not. ON Fizik saddles, the rails seem to go back a cm or two more so it isn't as bad. I know KOPS is really supposed to be a starting point so maybe I should look at it a bit more....

[SpokeValley]

Thank you all so much!

I didn't think about engaging muscle groups differently.

I might have been erroneous about a zero setback in the 70's. If I could remember...:rolleyes: (More accurate would be that it wasn't a 25 deg setback.)

[jtbadge]

Thank you all so much!

I didn't think about engaging muscle groups differently.

I might have been erroneous about a zero setback in the 70's. If I could remember...:rolleyes: (More accurate would be that it wasn't a 25 deg setback.)

FWIW, setback is measured in mm, not degrees, and a Thomson is only a 16mm setback.

[BdaGhisallo]

FWIW, setback is measured in mm, not degrees, and a Thomson is only a 16mm setback.

He could be measuring the angle of the kink in the Thomson SB post, perhaps?

[72gmc]

When my Davidson was built, Bob asked about my seatpost preference, which I appreciated. To wait months for a custom bike and then see a straight post would have been a bit of a bummer for me.

In the 12 years I've had the bike I've moved a touch lower on saddle height, and a touch less reach to the hoods, but still recruiting the glutes with a setback post.

[mj_michigan]

I had been using KOPS to set up saddles, never checking if this was the best possible, or even a good, set-up. Two years ago a bought a bike and started riding with, what later turn out to be, a setback of about an inch behind KOPS. I immediately noticed that I could go much faster, but it took me some time to figure out why and set the old bike the same way.