Shorts rubbing on seat post clamp

the_jackalcp

Kind of like the title says really. I have noticed that on the left groin area of my shorts I have small amounts of bobbling. I have been paying attention while riding and it seems that the shorts are rubbing on the clamp area. My saddle is neither far forward or slammed back and I don't seem to be offset when sat on the saddle.

I use a toupe saddle with an offset zipp post. Anyone have any ideas/suggestions etc on any changes etc that I could make to stop this happening?

Thanks

MountainMonster

Are you wearing lycra, or literally shorts of a baggy nature? That will be the problem probably, but for them to be rubbing the seat post clamp seems quite odd!

kayo74

I had this problem and it was the Velcro from my saddle bag so use a small amount of gaffer tape over the strap on bag and job done.

the_jackalcp

I don't ue a seat bag so that i not the culprit

As for the shorts I always wear Lyrca so it means that my thighs are getting very close to the seat clamp. The main area of damage is the where the pad is stitched into the lycra

MountainMonster

I just still can't wrap my head around how you are managing to rub your shorts on the seat clamp. You would have be swinging your legs underneath the seat to even touch it, which I could hardly do at any sort of speed. Are you sure you are not confusing the placement of the bobbling with rubbing the edge of the seat?

doug5_10

Can't be the seat post clamp unless your saddle is ridiculously low, do you mean the saddle rail clamp?

the_jackalcp

Apologies for being inept at describing what I mean.

I am talking about the clamp that holds the saddle to the seat post. I believe the shorts are rubbing on either the top or bottom clamp. I just checked on my other bike and the same issue is apparent, my inside thigh/groin is very close to the seat rail clamp area although my turbo shorts, which are used exclusively on this bike, do not show signs of bobbling.

Have a look at your own set up next time you are out for a ride. maybe I have a weird anatomy.

MountainMonster wrote:

I just still can't wrap my head around how you are managing to rub your shorts on the seat clamp. You would have be swinging your legs underneath the seat to even touch it, which I could hardly do at any sort of speed. Are you sure you are not confusing the placement of the bobbling with rubbing the edge of the seat?

It is a possibility that the saddle is the cause. It is difficult to know for sure as it is really difficult to look closely at your groin while cycling. The placement of the bobbling puts in a zone where either saddle or clamp could be to blame, I just assumed it was the clamp as when my leg is extended the bobbling is in the approx area of the seat rail clamp. I have managed to borrow another saddle so will see if that helps.

Thanks for your ideas/thoughts so far.

MountainMonster

As I said before, I would be very surprised if you were rubbing the clamp with the inside of your groin. You would have to be sitting on the saddle with your legs closed to rub the clamp, which is simply not possible unless you have no saddle on the bike!

I think they are either cheap shorts, you are catching the saddle when you get out of the saddle somehow or it is just a case of rubbing the edges of the saddle. Are they plastic edges like most Specialized saddles?

the_jackalcp

MountainMonster wrote:

As I said before, I would be very surprised if you were rubbing the clamp with the inside of your groin. You would have to be sitting on the saddle with your legs closed to rub the clamp, which is simply not possible unless you have no saddle on the bike!

I think they are either cheap shorts, you are catching the saddle when you get out of the saddle somehow or it is just a case of rubbing the edges of the saddle. Are they plastic edges like most Specialized saddles?

The shorts are not cheap, I only ride Giordana shorts/longs as a matter of preference and have a wide variety of their range including several pairs of their top of the line stuff. This is the main reason for me trying to find out a solution as it pains me to see my favourite shorts getting damaged.

The damage is definitely occurring while seated so that one can be ruled out. The saddle edges are not plastic, they are a continuation of the seat cover. One thing I have just noticed, when viewed from above it is possible to see the saddle rails protruding from under the saddle. This is not the case with my other toupe saddle or the saddle i have borrowed. Not really sure what this means/ how this might cause my problem but it is something unusual.

gloomyandy

Can you post a picture of the saddle from overhead?

I have a Selle Italia C2 Gel Flow saddle which has stitching through the leather on the sides of the saddle nose. This stitching has caused some bubbling on my shorts.

leaky74

I have the same saddle & same problem - it is your shorts rubbing the saddle clamp (it is a narrow saddle). For those that don't believe it's possible; sit on your saddle and feel how much your thigh displaces round the saddle). I've read the other people have solved the issue by filing the clamp....

mallorcajeff

I have self same problem. I have an arione carbon rail mounted on an intergral seat post. The base is so worn that the right side of the clamp is mirror finish silver (and its a black ritchey) i had a bike fit with adrian timmis and he said its normalon some saddle and leg shape combination. I said am i twisted or anything he said no and my bike set up was already near correct before the fit and saddle height was bang on. I dont know but it gives it a nice worn in feel, the whole side of the collar is silver. Left side as new.

the_jackalcp

Well I'm glad its not just me.

My further investigations have found a few things. Firstly the Toupe saddle rides quite low. I replaced the saddle with an SLR and when measured from rails to saddle top there is an approx 2.5 cm difference. Not sure if this makes much difference allow I seem to have a little more cleanace between thighs and saddle clamp. Secondly I came across some info that suggested toupes have a problem with sagging in the centre. Again I don't know if my saddle suffered such a problem but he new saddle seems better.

leaky74

Toying with the idea of a specialized post with a cylindrical, one bolt clamp (seems a shame to get rid of my frame matched Dolan), or a different saddle....