Carbon Saddle rails

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jtsoderman
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:32 pm

by jtsoderman

Just got a new Fizik antares saddle with carbon rails. All of my previous saddles have had metal rails of some variety. Do any of you put any carbon assembly compound or grease on them before clamping. With my old metal rails I would get creaking every once in a while and a bit of grease always seemed to help.
Thoughts? :noidea:

Thanks in advance.

sungod
Posts: 1702
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:37 pm

by sungod

try it without, if it creaks, try a bit of assembly compound (not grease)

i've not had any creaking with cf rail saddles when i didn't use it, but there are so many different rail/clamp combinations that there's no right answer that'll cover them all

i find the slight stickiness causes dust/dirt to get on the rails and clamp, so if it's not needed i prefer to leave it off

by Weenie


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gravity
Posts: 657
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:01 am

by gravity

this might sound noob-ish but everytime i ask, i'll get different contradicting answer.

Why do you buy carbon or titanium-railed saddle? Some say because of weight saving, but some say because of comfort issue due to carbon flexes?

Shed me a light.

kevhogaz
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:18 am
Location: Arizona

by kevhogaz

I've got quite a few miles on my Antares with carbon rails, and no noises as of yet. Mine has a cloth wrap of some sort over the rails, I thought that was for noise suppression.

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CharlesM
Posts: 5759
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:37 am
Location: Phoenix Arizona

by CharlesM

Fizik rails have the wrap...

There's no other product needed.

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Miller
Posts: 2764
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: Reading, UK

by Miller

gravity wrote:this might sound noob-ish but everytime i ask, i'll get different contradicting answer.
Why do you buy carbon or titanium-railed saddle? Some say because of weight saving, but some say because of comfort issue due to carbon flexes?
Shed me a light.


Because they're high-end components and someone has to buy high-end stuff? As for the saddle rails, I'd say there might be a bit of flex with titanium but the carbon rails are pretty stiff.

racingcondor
Posts: 194
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:22 pm

by racingcondor

I bought one because with a black bike, black seatpost and black saddle (except the 'wings') it looked better :oops: (the Antares being very flat shows a lot of rail). The paint scheme on my bike meant that I was going custom anyway and I decided I could afford the extra.

The carbon version is a lot stiffer than my Kium version though (both new this year) and I have to say I would pay the extra again.

EDIT - As has been said. No grease or assembly paste required but since you're keeping the torque low you might want some threadlock on the bolts, my Deda Zero100 does occasionally come undone.

by Weenie


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Biplrsaba
Posts: 52
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:18 pm

by Biplrsaba

Watch those torque values. Super important not to over tighten.

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