Seatpost change to increase "comfort" on C60

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swright
Posts: 41
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:29 pm

by swright

I have read multiple positive reviews of the Specialized CG-R Carbon seatpost (27.2) -- it's got a vibration-damping insert claiming 18mm of vertical compliance and the aesthetics are decent. I have not ridden one, however.

Product spec. at https://www.specialized.com/us/en/cg-r- ... t/p/130709

Scott
2003 Klein Q Carbon Race (aluminum with carbon fiber seatstays) in purple haze, Campagnolo Record 11s groupset, Bora 50 Ultra (rim-brake clincher) wheelset, full Deda Elementi finishing kit, Fabric ALM Ultimate saddle [7.2kg/15.9lbs]

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Calnago
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by Calnago

wheelbuilder wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:31 pm
... see if your body can re-adapt to it again before you go all old man endurance bike on it! I say this as a public service announcement to all 50-plus roadies out there.
...Don't immediately go periscope stem at the first sign of discomfort. I am 51 and simply refuse to adjust my fit or geometry to adapt to an ageing body. I can still manage 10.8 cm of bar drop and one 5mm spacer. I refuse to give in. It is ok to be uncomfortable for short periods of time in your life! You are currently at the crossroads! You can either fight it or give in! Choose to fight for all of us! Stretching/core/long walks all help!
Inspirational Public Service Announcement. LMAO. Don't go "old man endurance bike"... lol.
And the "periscope" stem anaology, that's what I think most aero offerings look like these days, even if they don't have a bunch of spacers... like they should be coming out of a submarine or something.
10.8cm of bar drop? That's substantial, but you can't talk about bar drop without taking into account the bars you're using and the position of the hoods. For example, some guys have their hoods positioned on their bars such that the hoods end up being higher than the bars at the stem, effectively less than the traditionally measured saddle/bar drop. That can be a function of the bars as well, and just personal preference. Where are your hoods in relation to the 10.8cm of traditional drop?... are they higher or lower than that number? I'm wrestling with a slight change as well on one of my bikes. I run a classic bar with 8.4cm of saddle/bar drop. But the downward ramp of the classic bar has my hoods almost 2cm lowever than that number. I like that because the hands on the bar next to the stem position is my "comfort cruising position", then as I move to the hoods, then the drops, each position gets substantially lower and hence, more aggressive. But I am in the process of trying out a different bar shape where the levers would be placed such that there would be essentially no "ramp" downwards. They'd be pretty much at the same height as the bars next to the stem. I'm just playin' around a bit for the time being.

I'm getting old, but my reading glasses are as close as I'm going to get to a damn periscope jutting out from my headtube :).

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Bigger Gear
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Location: Wet coast, Canada

by Bigger Gear

yinya wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:18 am
Can you comment on the Corsa Control. Sorry about the hijack. Mainly puncture resistance, and feel/wet grip?


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I don't have huge hours on the Corsa Control but so far so good. Very similar to the Open All-Weather, but maybe a bit better road feel. Haven't done a ton of wet riding on them but I hit a few corners today on damp roads and they felt great. On a HED C2 rim they are about 27.2 mm wide for a nominal 25.

Bigger Gear
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by Bigger Gear

I"m certainly not going all "periscope" with my setup. I never raced with a massive drop, usually around 7 cm. I'm now up to 6-6.5 cm but a bit of that is that I'm testing some Speedplay specific shoes which have lowered my saddle by about 5 mm. In terms of reach, I'm finding that those numbers have changed a bit because the current generation Shimano 11spd stuff has longer hood reach than the old 8/9/10spd for either Shimano or Campy. So that has to be factored in as well.

Cal, I hear you on the different bar situation. I used to love bars like the Italian shallow drop (aka Cinelli 64 bend), but with modern levers I found they did not set up as well. For a while I had a mix of bars but now I have either ENVE shallow for carbon, or Ritchey Curve WCS if I'm using alloy. They are very similar in shape and makes setting up multiple bikes much easier.

reedplayer
Posts: 816
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:10 am

by reedplayer

wheelbuilder wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:31 pm
Stretching/core/long walks all help!
+1!
stretching/core on a daily basis, regularly walking instead of going by car, and you quick forget about being 50 y old! :thumbup:

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wheelbuilder
Posts: 1193
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 2:10 am

by wheelbuilder

Calnago wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 7:35 pm
wheelbuilder wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:31 pm
... see if your body can re-adapt to it again before you go all old man endurance bike on it! I say this as a public service announcement to all 50-plus roadies out there.
...Don't immediately go periscope stem at the first sign of discomfort. I am 51 and simply refuse to adjust my fit or geometry to adapt to an ageing body. I can still manage 10.8 cm of bar drop and one 5mm spacer. I refuse to give in. It is ok to be uncomfortable for short periods of time in your life! You are currently at the crossroads! You can either fight it or give in! Choose to fight for all of us! Stretching/core/long walks all help!
Inspirational Public Service Announcement. LMAO. Don't go "old man endurance bike"... lol.
And the "periscope" stem anaology, that's what I think most aero offerings look like these days, even if they don't have a bunch of spacers... like they should be coming out of a submarine or something.
10.8cm of bar drop? That's substantial, but you can't talk about bar drop without taking into account the bars you're using and the position of the hoods. For example, some guys have their hoods positioned on their bars such that the hoods end up being higher than the bars at the stem, effectively less than the traditionally measured saddle/bar drop. That can be a function of the bars as well, and just personal preference. Where are your hoods in relation to the 10.8cm of traditional drop?... are they higher or lower than that number? I'm wrestling with a slight change as well on one of my bikes. I run a classic bar with 8.4cm of saddle/bar drop. But the downward ramp of the classic bar has my hoods almost 2cm lowever than that number. I like that because the hands on the bar next to the stem position is my "comfort cruising position", then as I move to the hoods, then the drops, each position gets substantially lower and hence, more aggressive. But I am in the process of trying out a different bar shape where the levers would be placed such that there would be essentially no "ramp" downwards. They'd be pretty much at the same height as the bars next to the stem. I'm just playin' around a bit for the time being.

I'm getting old, but my reading glasses are as close as I'm going to get to a damn periscope jutting out from my headtube :).

Image

Ever so slightly lower than the tops, with a very horizontal hood position..... I know what you mean though.....some riders have their hoods angled up quite a bit and the hoods themselves end up taller than the tops of the bars...

Image
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TheKaiser
Posts: 653
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

mag wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:26 pm
Few things that may help a little
Seatpost
27.2 seatpost would definitely help, though it won't look nice. Still if you're able to test it, give it a try at least to find out whether it's worth it.
There are some seatposts with increased comfort, those I know:
- Canyon VCLS (classic 1-piece, can be bought via ebay) / VCLS 2.0 (2-piece, more comfortable but looks ugly to me, also sold as Ergon CF3) - 27.2 only
- Ritchey WCS/SuperLogic FlexLogic - 27.2, 30.9, 31.6
- Niner RDO - 27.2, 30.9, 31.6
You may at least try those 30.9 mm ones which may look less ugly.
The Canyon works really well, but it's 27.2 mm only and good old VCLS (1.0) one may be harder to find.
I second the suggestions for the Canyon posts. The VCLS 2.0 is amazing in terms of providing compliance, and the Chinese clones of it are super cheap on ebay/Aliexpress, so if you are a bit hesitant there is really no harm in buying one along with an appropriately sized shim and just trying it out. The post and shim would be under $30usd from what I recall. It comes in both a short and long offset model.

Josh Poertner, now owner of Silca, did all that research at Zipp back when he was the main engineer there and found that riders could not distinguish a comfort difference between frames, once they controlled for the seatpost. In other words, the seatpost is where the magic was happening, so your current bike should be able to be much improved.

If you wanted to try a similar approach to the front end, you could look at the Shockstop stem: https://redshiftsports.com/stem
It is getting some good reviews in the press, and actually, surprisingly, doesn't look odd. From a distance, or while the bike is in motion, an observer wouldn't even realise it isn't just a regular ol' rigid stem.

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pdlpsher1
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Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

I don’t think the Ergon seatpost will work. The OP only has 16cm of seatpost above the clamp. The Ergon needs more to work. I have this seatpost and it’s fantastic when installed correctly.


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jfranci3
Posts: 1572
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:21 pm

by jfranci3

I have the Specialized CG-R post on my bike. Works great. You don't notice it, but it takes an abusive impact down to a hard one. Basically, a little water in your whisky. It wouldn't be appropriate on a C60. There are a bunch of deflecting seat posts there there - the canyon / ergon on being the best if you're the right weight.

http://forums.mtbr.com/attachments/endu ... ne2012.jpg

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

I think you're stuck. You can't get goofy with a seatpost on a C60, it just aint right.

Max out on your tires and set the pressure as low as you can tolerate. The only other option is to find a saddle that provides more cushioning. If you can tolerate a saddle with abundant padding, and if you find one you like, it can solve a lot of your issue.

I have one bike that is ridiculously comfortable. The frame has massive tubes and is superstiff but it has miles of 27.2 seatpost. As noted by others the seatpost is the key. The other ingredient is a fork that is not a brick but has some "toe up" flex. Takes a lot of the sting out of the hands.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

jih
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

Bigger Gear wrote:
Fri Mar 23, 2018 1:43 am
Yeah I'm already in the lower pressure camp, I run 80F and 85R with the Vittoria Corsa Control 25 on HED Belgium +. When I throw on the Enve 3.4 clinchers with Conti GP4000 in a 23 I run 85F and 90R.
That's still not terribly low on a HED plus-width rim. They have a video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX7SCWlcix4

I'd try setting up tubeless and running at 70/75, especially if you're not that heavy.

jfranci3
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Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:21 pm

by jfranci3

I didn’t see it, what seatpost is on the bike now? Saddle? Wheels? Handlebars (when I changed to a comfy post, it became clear my bars were also a problem)?

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

There's nothing to solve here. I felt exactly the same thing riding my C59 after months on my winter/gravel bike. He'll get used to the C60 again with some rides and good weather.

Bigger Gear
Posts: 560
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:58 pm
Location: Wet coast, Canada

by Bigger Gear

Sorry did not specify but the seatpost is the stock Colnago post. Bar and stem are ENVE.

Thanks everyone for the opinions. I think AJS914 sums it up "Nothing to solve".

petepeterson
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by petepeterson

I have nothing but great things to say about my 26mm Turbo Cottons. They are currently my favorite clincher tire. Great looks, nice supple casing, and so far good luck on flats (touch wood). No issues with fit on mine. Love this setup!!! You probably recognize the location. Taken during that nice couple days we had two weeks back in YVR....
Image

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