Colnago Seatpost problem

[3Pio]

I have trouble with Colnago seatpost, that i got with my C60 frame.Im using Selle Italia Carbonio Flow Saddle, and first im adjusting the front bolt (when i tighten this bolt nose going down), then tighten the rear bolt. I tried to be everything level, at the end of the ride nose is point a bit up. Today i was adjusting that way to be nose a bit down. End of the ride, again the nose is pointing a bit up.

I adjut the rear bolt that way, that when i torque to 7 nm saddle to be leveled, so i guess it's not that i need to put more torque to the rear one.

What am i doing wrong?

[Calnago]

Lots of seatposts are very finicky for adjustments. This is one. I found that it's kind of a trial and error process. I use a digital level on a straight edge across the top of the entire saddle to make sure I get things exactly how I want them to end up. That's just the tool that tells me how close I am, if you want to just eyeball it then fine, but I find that a very slight change in angle can really be quite critical.

First, very lightly grease the half moon cutout on the saddle post that the saddle hardware pivots upon. You want this to be smooth and allow the tilt to move freely, so do not use carbon paste here.
- Get things close to where you think you want them to be, fore and aft, approximate tilt etc. Now make sure the reat adjusting bolt is completely loose.
- Use the front adjusting bolt to bring the nose down significantly from where you want it to end up. The torque you apply on the rear bolt will bring everything back up.
- I never have had to use more than 4Nm torque to hold everything, but what you want to do is make sure all bolts are pulling in their natural line if that makes sense. Position the bars that hold the tops of the saddle rails so that they are in their natural line (I can't think of any better way to describe it) and that they are not angled, meaning if they slipped into their natural line, everything would become loose. If that doesn't make sense don't worry too much about it for now, because you'll eventually figure it out when you see what happens if it's not.
- Now start tightening the rear bolt. What you are striving for here is when you've reached 4Nm, the torque has pulled the front of the saddle up to where you want it, or maybe just a tad shy of that for now. So, if the front is going to obviously end up way too high, just stop, loosen off the rear bolt, and turn the front one in so that it doesn't come up as high at 4Nm. This is very much a trial and error process, and can be quite tedious to get perfect.
- Now, once you get it to where you think it's almost perfect, just really pound on the back of the seat as hard as you can with your fist or whatever. This will probably bring the saddle nose up a tad more, and why I recommended bringing the saddle nose up just shy of where you want it to end up in the previous step. This "hit" will allow the clamp to sort of settle in on the lightly greased post. You'll probably hear a "crack" or two as it makes it's micromovements. That's not anything breaking, it's just that it's all very tight at this point so any micromovement is going to make a noise. I look at this step as the equivalent to "stress relieving" spokes if you've ever built a wheel. If you don't do it now, it will happen on the road, but then you're saddle may be tilted again, so do it now.
- Now, after all that, it's probably nose up again. Let out a couple of choice swear words of your choosing, and start over, now that you know which way you're trying to go. Repeat until it's perfect. There are no shortcuts, and it's rare you nail it bang on the first time.
- Also, don't even try to torque the front bolt, just use the finger knurl knob to lower it or raise it as you see fit at the beginning before you even begin to tighten the rear. I know the number on the seatpost for the rear bolt says 8Nm, but like so many of these torque numbers, look at that as Maximum that the bolt can withstand, not the recommended torque. Use the least amount of torque necessary to do the job. 4Nm or so seems plenty for me, and I''m a big guy.

Hope that makes some sense... it's one of those things that you kind of just have to figure out for yourself.

[3Pio]

Lots of seatposts are very finicky for adjustments. This is one. I found that it's kind of a trial and error process. I use a digital level on a straight edge across the top of the entire saddle to make sure I get things exactly how I want them to end up. That's just the tool that tells me how close I am, if you want to just eyeball it then fine, but I find that a very slight change in angle can really be quite critical.

First, very lightly grease the half moon cutout on the saddle post that the saddle hardware pivots upon. You want this to be smooth and allow the tilt to move freely, so do not use carbon paste here.
- Get things close to where you think you want them to be, fore and aft, approximate tilt etc. Now make sure the reat adjusting bolt is completely loose.
- Use the front adjusting bolt to bring the nose down significantly from where you want it to end up. The torque you apply on the rear bolt will bring everything back up.
- I never have had to use more than 4Nm torque to hold everything, but what you want to do is make sure all bolts are pulling in their natural line if that makes sense. Position the bars that hold the tops of the saddle rails so that they are in their natural line (I can't think of any better way to describe it) and that they are not angled, meaning if they slipped into their natural line, everything would become loose. If that doesn't make sense don't worry too much about it for now, because you'll eventually figure it out when you see what happens if it's not.
- Now start tightening the rear bolt. What you are striving for here is when you've reached 4Nm, the torque has pulled the front of the saddle up to where you want it, or maybe just a tad shy of that for now. So, if the front is going to obviously end up way too high, just stop, loosen off the rear bolt, and turn the front one in so that it doesn't come up as high at 4Nm. This is very much a trial and error process, and can be quite tedious to get perfect.
- Now, once you get it to where you think it's almost perfect, just really pound on the back of the seat as hard as you can with your fist or whatever. This will probably bring the saddle nose up a tad more, and why I recommended bringing the saddle nose up just shy of where you want it to end up in the previous step. This "hit" will allow the clamp to sort of settle in on the lightly greased post. You'll probably hear a "crack" or two as it makes it's micromovements. That's not anything breaking, it's just that it's all very tight at this point so any micromovement is going to make a noise. I look at this step as the equivalent to "stress relieving" spokes if you've ever built a wheel. If you don't do it now, it will happen on the road, but then you're saddle may be tilted again, so do it now.
- Now, after all that, it's probably nose up again. Let out a couple of choice swear words of your choosing, and start over, now that you know which way you're trying to go. Repeat until it's perfect. There are no shortcuts, and it's rare you nail it bang on the first time.
- Also, don't even try to torque the front bolt, just use the finger knurl knob to lower it or raise it as you see fit at the beginning before you even begin to tighten the rear. I know the number on the seatpost for the rear bolt says 8Nm, but like so many of these torque numbers, look at that as Maximum that the bolt can withstand, not the recommended torque. Use the least amount of torque necessary to do the job. 4Nm or so seems plenty for me, and I''m a big guy.

Hope that makes some sense... it's one of those things that you kind of just have to figure out for yourself.

Thanks a lot about detailed instructions. I done everything what u suggest, except grease on the holding part of the seatpost, and the "hit" I never torque to the max writen on the comonents, and tried on this one with 5nm.. But since it always chage the angle, thought as first that is not enough, so that why tried more.

Btw, on seatpost clamp, i also used less torque then recommended and used carbon grease.. While riding, the seatost fold down a little bit, and got scratched because of that So now on this part i torque One Nm less then max writen on the seatpost clamp.

I'll definetly try trick with grease and hit , and let u know.. Thanks a lot again

[Lemond75]

I've got the same problem on mine; even with the front bolt fully wound up, most of the saddles I've tried have ended up nose up a little. The only one I've been able to get where I wanted it to be was an SMP Dynamic. V frustrating!