Overly complicated seat clamping mechanism

[berserk87]

I just got a new TT bike (an Argon 18 E117) a few weeks ago. Like the other such bikes that I have had a chance to ride, the seat mast is an aerodynamic carbon fiber thingie.

The saddle clamping mechanism seems like it was designed by an engineer on meth trying to find a way to vex the home mechanic. I took the saddle off to adjust the clamp fore-aft and the actual clamping part fell off into five different pieces. Naturally I didn't study it enough before it fell apart, so I the pleasure of trying to figure out how it went back together. That took a minute. And it didn't seem like I had enough hands when I was putting it back in place.

One of the worst examples that I have seen is a Cervelo P3 that was about 10 years old. It took me and my wife to get a saddle mounted on it. That's four hands, and again, it did not seem like enough.

Are there any examples of saddle retention systems/clamping mechanisms that are actually simple and easy to use on these kind of bikes? Or are they all a rolling ball of nightmares?

I've gone retro on my road bike, and am using an old Dura Ace post with a one-bolt adjustment. I dig it. It works and it's easy to use, but it's a simple, round post. Manufacturers don't seem to want to go with round posts on TT bikes these days.