Colnago C64 seatpost wedge bolt specs?

[bikeboy1tr]

I loosened my clamping mech again today and this time as I am turning the bolt I notice that the whole assembly is rising up out of the pocket that it sits in, so I continued until it was completely out of the frame and removed it. I did not smack the bolt with the heel of my hand but I did hear it pop when I was loosening the bolt. The post still doesnt adjust easily but I know its not being held by the clamp at all whatsoever. I think from here on in this will be the method of adjustment for seat height for me. I think this is one of the best clamps I have worked with in my time.

[wilwil]

I torque mine to 5 NM. If it s not tight enough the post does slip down. It always needs a whack under the saddle to release it. I dont use carbon paste. Slightly annoying that you have to hold the bike vertically to insert the seatpost.

Calnago: I have ended up cabling it crossing in the downtube because the conventional way causes the gear cables to be literally sprung loaded against the headtube due to the routing into the top of the downtube. There is also the possiblity of rubbing on the top of the downtube lug. Not really a satisfactory design but I guess most people will go electronic.

[Calnago]

@Wilwil: if I had a C64 I would for sure be crossing the cables internally, for the reasons you state. When I wrote my C64 thread back in February I specifically mocked it up to see how the routing would work out, having to make its way into the new port in the downtube, and was convinced I could do a super clean build that way. You just kind of have to make sure you’ve finalized where the bars are going to be first because it doesn’t leave as much housing for height adjustments as the Criss/crossing in front does.
BMC has a similar port for routing the cables in the downtube and they don’t have a problem displaying their bikes as such. It’s just so much better. Already had to put some clear stickers on the headtube of one guy’s C64 to prevent any further rubbing away of the finish.

[Freewayflyer]

Hi !
Reading your posts brings me to share my thoughts and questions about C64 seatpost assembly & maintanence.

Hope this will help others and me on the same issue with knowledge from other's experience.

I have not yet tried to dismount the seat post on my C64 but I intend to do so soon in order grease the the back of the wedge and the frame metal insert that it slides against when torqued and, to renew the antislipage paste on the seatpost.

It's been a year since I've bought the bike...it's time for some maintanance although it was barely ridden due to work and family obligations.

So...a few questions...just to be prepared for any situation that I may encounter...:

Has anyone had experience with Effetto Mariposa CarboGrip (spray / paste) for this or any other carbon seatpost assembly ?
It's suposed to prevent slipage and seizing as well. (I still haven't used it, only ordered it). It does not contain glass or anyother grains for friction so it does not scratch the carbon or the paint.

Also, Effetto Mariposa have a spray called CarboMove intended for freeing stuck compononents like carbon seatposts. It is some kind of solvent and lubricant that penetrates between the seat post and seat tube, lubricates the contact surfaces and disolves the antislipage paste.

Their website sais it does not harm carbon. Could it be ? I've read on other sites that grease or oil can damage the carbon resin...so what about solvents ? Has anyone used it or something similar ?

Lastly, some antislipage pastes products, among them the original Colnago antislipage paste that came with the C64 frameset sugests that clamping torques can be reduced as much as 30% when those pastes are applied to carbon assemblies.

My seatpost is torqued to 5Nm.
30% less from the 6Nm max - the wedge bolt limit is ~ 4.2 Nm.
Would you reduce it that much ?

Thanks for your thoughts !
Enjoy your C64's it rides magnificent !
Can't wait to go back riding it after some maintanence and redadjustments that need to be done.

Cheers !!!

[wilwil]

I have now found my seatpost clicks without carbon paste. I haven't heard of paste that doesnt scratch so my seat post is a bit of mess below the frame line. The post is quite loose in the frame when the clamp is undone enough for it to slip down on its own accord. Im not convinced about D shaped posts although my Strava times are minutes faster.

[bikeboy1tr]

I have recently discovered that my seat clamp may not have been engaging completely as when I torqued it to 6 I felt that the head of the bolt had some small movement so I removed the assembly to double check that the wedge was sitting properly which it was and then reinstalled and same thing. I removed the wedge bolt and put a die on it to run some threads right to the underside of the bolt head. Cleaned it all up and smear paste on the post and torqued it to 5 NM instead. My post is pretty tight inside the seat tube so not much torque is needed really.
As for the paste type I cannot recall what brand it is but it came with the V2R.

[Titanium22]

I read this thread after trying to adjust my post and found it stuck. To fix;

I loosened the bolt about 3-4mm, and then gave the allen socket a tap with the hammer

Wedge could be heard to seperate, post then moved easily.

On removal there was quite a bit of dirt and wetness. This surprised me as I have done about 1500 miles, and only got caught in a shower once I think. After fitting everything back together and tightning up, and smudged a bit of grease in the crack between the frame and post, to stop water going down, and refitted the black rubber collar.

See what its like in another 1500miles.

[mag]

Yes it's quite easy for some dirt to get in there.
But you appear to have that rubber thingy in the gap between the seat tube and seatpost (it was added in later C64s so I don't have it for example). If that's the case it really isn't effective much.

I wrapped a self-vulcanizing tape around that gap and that seems to work quite well.

[Titanium22]

The rubber collar, only hides the joint, it is not effective at all in sealing the gap.

[ms6073]

Seems like filling the gap with a thin bead of silicone would help prevent water ingress, not to metion help avoid problems should there be a Di2 battery in the searpost.