Inline seatpost

caedev

Hello,

I'm looking to replace my layback seatpost with an inline one as I have my saddle as far forward as possible and still feel like I'm shuffling forward to be over the pedals. I'm 5'10" and have an Allez with a 56cm frame. I'm not overly worried about weight, just want something cheap and sufficiently sturdy.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

housemunkey

I use a deda drittissimo which works just great

styxd

Sounds like your saddle could be too high, or your reach to the bars too far. Road bikes are generally designed with a layback seatpost in mind, so I'd look at the rest of your setup first.

arlowood

How about this:-

http://www.probikekit.co.uk/bicycle-sad ... tAodrCAAzQ

Bought one for my recent build project as I have the same problem as you. Riding a 56 trek frame and prefer to have the saddle quite far forward. The Thomson post is excellent quality with a great clamping system that allows good control over seat angle also.

Monty Dog

Only use an inline post to compensate for over-reaching as a last resort - ideally you should be looking to fit a higher/shorter/riser stem or compact handlebars to bring the bars/levers closer to the saddle.

housemunkey

I don't think you should 'ideally' be doing anything, it is all a question of fit. Having an inline post or a layback one really is a function of how long your legs are. Mine are a bit short compared to my height and so an inline post makes sense to get my knees in the right place; after that you should adjust your stem length for reach.

So depending on your knee line it will be either an inline post of a shorter stem that you need.

styxd

HouseMunkey wrote:

I don't think you should 'ideally' be doing anything, it is all a question of fit. Having an inline post or a layback one really is a function of how long your legs are. Mine are a bit short compared to my height and so an inline post makes sense to get my knees in the right place; after that you should adjust your stem length for reach.

So depending on your knee line it will be either an inline post of a shorter stem that you need.

Whats the right place for your knees?

housemunkey

With cranks at 3 o'clock your knee should be directly above the pedal axle; think thats right...?

DCDB

I had a bike fit recently and the positioning of me on the bike was primarily dictated by the rear set-up i.e. the seat position, angle and height. The handlebars and stem length were stage 2.

We set the saddle height, angle and position based on the knee angle at BDC and knee-over-peddle axle with the foot forward. I had to go for an inline seat post (replacing my set-back one) as my saddle wouldn't come far enough forward to meet those requirements. Once the saddle height and knee alignment was set, he then focused on reach (stem length, bar shape and bar drop).

With my saddle too far back (and a little too high at first) I was pushing forward on the peddles. I am now peddling more smoothly with the correct knee position. Turned out the reach to the drops was fine with the 90mm (from 110mm) stem I had already fitted and he just rotated the handlebars down a little which made it more comfortable to be in the drops and meany my hands felt better on the hoods.

ollie51

Saddle height and fore/aft should not be adapted to cope with over-reaching. You should fit a shorter Stem, if this is the case. It's not as much about leg length but more to do with femur length relative to the rest of the limb and body. Generally people with relatively short femurs tend to go for inline, or even reversed seat post. This is to get their weight balanced on the bike. That is not necessarily Knee Over pedal axle, but it's usually close to it (sometimes way off).

neeb

The OP didn't say he was wanting an inline post to compensate for over-reaching, he said he wanted to get further over the pedals, which is the right reason to go for a more forward saddle position (assuming he is assessing/describing his own situation properly, which may not be the case of course).

A fair number of people certainly do need inline posts to get the saddle in the correct position relative to the BB, especially on bikes with relatively slack seat tubes (such as 73 degrees on a medium frame size). I'm one of them - I need an inline post on any frame with a 73.5 degree seat tube angle or less, although I run setback posts on frames with steep seat tubes (such as 74.5 on one of my bikes). I must have short femurs or something.

The Thomson posts are very good if you want an alloy post.

<edit> it's a pet gripe of mine that with increasingly more bikes having either integrated seatposts or (more often these days) dedicated posts, manufacturers often don't provide alternative posts with different or no setback. I could never ride a Bianchi Oltre for example (with a good fit at least), because my frame size has a 73.5 STA and a non-negotiable 25mm setback dedicated seat post. The main reason I'm currently on a Scott Foil is that they supply my frame size with an inline seatpost.

caedev

Thanks for all the feedback. As mentioned above, I'm not looking to compensate for over-reaching, but instead I need to shift the saddle forward to get my knees over the pedals. At present if I drop a plumb line from just under my knee cap it falls behind the pedal axle.

As a side effect, being slightly closer to the handlebars would be a plus too as my current setup does feel slightly too 'reachy'.

Will let you know how I get on!

styxd

caedev wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. As mentioned above, I'm not looking to compensate for over-reaching, but instead I need to shift the saddle forward to get my knees over the pedals. At present if I drop a plumb line from just under my knee cap it falls behind the pedal axle.

As a side effect, being slightly closer to the handlebars would be a plus too as my current setup does feel slightly too 'reachy'.

Will let you know how I get on!

It's been said many times before, but setting up your bike using the "KOPS" method is a daft way of going about it.

caedev

Irrespective of which method is right, the fact that I feel more comfortable and able to push harder when shuffling to the front of my saddle seems to indicate it isn't an entirely bad idea.

What are the alternatives to KOPS?

styxd

Here's a few web pages that are worth a read.

http://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bik ... oad-bikes/

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

From what you've said, it sounds liek your bike might be too long?

caedev

I think it may well be slightly too long. It's my first road bike which I got back in 2011 and at the time my LBS said I would be fine with either a 54 or 56. As they had a 56 in stock at the time I went with that. In hindsight I should have waited for the 54.

As money doesn't allow for a new bike, I'm doing what I can to make it fit for now!

JustinLeeAtkinson

3T do the Doric seatpost which is inline and at various prices. I have the doric team which I installed about a year ago and have never looked back.

ollie51

caedev wrote:

I think it may well be slightly too long. It's my first road bike which I got back in 2011 and at the time my LBS said I would be fine with either a 54 or 56. As they had a 56 in stock at the time I went with that. In hindsight I should have waited for the 54.

As money doesn't allow for a new bike, I'm doing what I can to make it fit for now!

sounds like you need a shorter stem, frame size could well be correct.

caedev

Ended up buying this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bran ... p-prod6257

It weighs 11g more than the stock layback post that came with my Allez and has allowed me to shift forward over the pedals to a much more comfortable position.

Grill

styxd wrote:

HouseMunkey wrote:

I don't think you should 'ideally' be doing anything, it is all a question of fit. Having an inline post or a layback one really is a function of how long your legs are. Mine are a bit short compared to my height and so an inline post makes sense to get my knees in the right place; after that you should adjust your stem length for reach.

So depending on your knee line it will be either an inline post of a shorter stem that you need.

Whats the right place for your knees?

There is none. K.O.P.S. is a guide and should be treated as such.

There's nothing wrong with a forward position on the bike as fit is personal (the fact that your bike is a size too big notwithstanding).

Shorter stems are rubbish solutions as the impact on handling can be quite noticeable.