Anyone out there know of a good carbon or aluminium post with extra set back?
I want to get my seat aft position back further to liberate some more power. Currently I don't have a plumb line from my knee through the pedal axle, more like the knee forward 5 cm more than it should be. I have a standard offset post now (Ritchey) but can't get back far enough. I am 6'4", but legs disproportionally long compared to torso. I have a 58 cm frame, which maybe on the small side for my height, but remains stiff. I could go the larger frame route if necessary, but the 60 cm frames are getting flexy.

Any help?

This allows you to adjust 10 to 50mm back:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=BUY_PRODUCT_STANDARD&PRODUCT.ID=3241&CATEGORY.ID=34&MODE=&TFC=TRUE

Not exactly light but not a boat anchor either.

Here's one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bicycle-Seat-Post-Truvativ-XR-27-2-Mountain-Bike-MTB_W0QQitemZ280080586134QQcmdZViewItem

I use one of these with a Brooks Swift (Brooks saddles are known for needing extra setback) and it's worked well for over a year...

Some of the Easton seatposts have huge amounts of setback. I know that they are supplied in carbon (EC-70), but don't know if the still make the EA-70 in aluminum.

I dig my Thomson seatpost, but that won't do you much help, with only a 16mm setback.

Something seems amiss here. Recall that by itself, a larger frame wouldn't buy you anything - the angle remains the same. Sometimes the larger frames are slacker, but from a 58 to a 60 it's usually a degree or less, which would only get you around a cm. Plus you'd be adding to the TT, which wouldn't seem to suit your needs at all.

The KOPS measurement is kinda iffy. Ask three different (knowledgeable) guys how to measure it and you'll get four different answers. What's more, it has nearly nothing to do with power production. That's far more a function of the angle between the hip and torso, and KOPS is only a co-incidental number there.

Being long-legged won't require a deeply setback seatpost; being long-femur'd in relation to the lower leg may. Thought of properly, setback is more a function of back angle and drop than of leg proportion - think of it as setting the rotation around the BB, rather than forward and aft in relation to it. An upright MTB has more setback than a TT position, to mark out the ends of the range. Both are about power, neither are about KOPS.

I'm not saying what you are doing is right or wrong - There's not anywhere near enought information to suggest that. But 5cm's seems a lot to be looking to fix with setback, so it might be worth a second thought. Perhaps your saddle is too low, yielding an incorrect KOPS number? Maybe you are measuring off the front of the knee to the center of the spindle, creating another couple of cm's of error? Perhaps you are setting up for a low racing position, making the knee naturally rotated forward of KOPS for your build?

Just some thoughts. Can't see, so can't say.

Check out the classified section of this forum. There is a Look post that might suit you.

Anyone out there know of a good carbon or aluminium post with extra set back?
I want to get my seat aft position back further to liberate some more power. Currently I don't have a plumb line from my knee through the pedal axle, more like the knee forward 5 cm more than it should be. I have a standard offset post now (Ritchey) but can't get back far enough. I am 6'4", but legs disproportionally long compared to torso. I have a 58 cm frame, which maybe on the small side for my height, but remains stiff. I could go the larger frame route if necessary, but the 60 cm frames are getting flexy.

Any help?

I have FSA K-Force Carbon Lite seat post. It is rather expensive but good. It comes in 3 different setbacks and the one I have is with the max setback = 32.5mm (some say 35mm). The cheaper aluminium version is FSA SL220 with same 32.5mm setback. I have it on my second bike. Check out the seat tube diameter of your bike/existing seatpost before you buy a new seatpost. FSA K-force Carbon Lite does come in several diameters. I have 27.2mm in both seat posts.

What I like about both of these two FSA seat-posts is their 2-bolt clamp design which allows better precision to level the saddle completely compared to some single bolt clamp designs which are more trickly to set to desired angle.

re KOPS - dont obsess about it - it is only a beginners starting point although more people need to be a little *behind* KOPS (-5mm to -20mm range). I have not met too many who find it best to be ahead of KOPS but your experience may vary. KOPS is just a static formula and not much more.

Thanks for the info, some good suggestions. I have an all aluminium frame, and so might take the op to upgrade to a carbon post with extra set back. Should be able to find a comfortable position, and even if the actual seat position in relation to the pedals doesn't change much, in the current set up I've actually got the seat post clamping on the very front of the seat rails, outside of the graduated rail area. This means the back of the seat flexes a bit more than it should, and it is probably prone to breaking, so a better post is a must.

Steve Hogg has this clever balance test for saddle fore/aft position. Find a flat stretch of road, put your bike into a somewhat tough gear, hands in drops. Remove your hands from the drops, you should be able to barely maintain balance while pedaling. If you fall forward uncontrollably your seat is probably too far forward. If balance isn't a problem, then you might be too far back... going too far back will reduce your ability to spin smoothly.

More info here:
http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/further%20reading.htm

Hope you find this link helpful. I apologize beforehand if the link doesn't work ... first time I've tried it.
http://www.titec.com/pdmain.php?class=4&series=13&id=48
Also, take note that your LBS will probably have seatpost shims if your bikes seat tube does not exactly handle the sizes of the Titec seatpost.

Before getting too extreme with your setback, seriously look into the above suggestions on recommended bike fit.

Look ergopost has a ton of setback. Somewhere in the 20-40mm neighborhood. It has three setback options to choose from. I have an ergopost2 I am looking to sell. It has one ride on it and is 350mm in length. I will be posting it on ebay soon.

Okay. you asked a question about your bar height on the other section.

6'4" using 58cm frame does not work!!!

Hello all,
Interesting stuff all this. ALl i can say is that if i put my seat back far enough to get my knee over the pedal spindle, it overstretches my lower back, and i end up having to put an 8cm stem on which feels all wrong.
I wonder if anyone agrees with me that maybe the way to avoid injury and pain is to copy the SILHOUETTE of a comfortable rider, ie arm angle, torso angle to floor, leg bend etc.....?
Keep up the good work guys
JOn

I have FSA K-Force Carbon Lite seat post. It is rather expensive but good. It comes in 3 different setbacks and the one I have is with the max setback = 32.5mm (some say 35mm). The cheaper aluminium version is FSA SL220 with same 32.5mm setback. I have it on my second bike. Check out the seat tube diameter of your bike/existing seatpost before you buy a new seatpost. FSA K-force Carbon Lite does come in several diameters. I have 27.2mm in both seat posts.

What I like about both of these two FSA seat-posts is their 2-bolt clamp design which allows better precision to level the saddle completely compared to some single bolt clamp designs which are more trickly to set to desired angle.

re KOPS - dont obsess about it - it is only a beginners starting point although more people need to be a little *behind* KOPS (-5mm to -20mm range). I have not met too many who find it best to be ahead of KOPS but your experience may vary. KOPS is just a static formula and not much more.

I have this aluminium seapost FSA SL220 and loved.But hard to find in 27.2 diameters.:thumbsup:

Hello all,
Interesting stuff all this. ALl i can say is that if i put my seat back far enough to get my knee over the pedal spindle, it overstretches my lower back, and i end up having to put an 8cm stem on which feels all wrong.
I wonder if anyone agrees with me that maybe the way to avoid injury and pain is to copy the SILHOUETTE of a comfortable rider, ie arm angle, torso angle to floor, leg bend etc.....?
Keep up the good work guys
JOn

What you're saying, if I'm reading it right, doesn't make sense. Which comfortable rider would you like to base your silhouette on? The one who is very flexible and has a 7 cm drop to the bars? The geezer like me who only has a small drop? Somebody who likes a long reach to the bars? I also don't see how copying the appearance of someone else with no regard to position over the cranks would make any sense either, but for now I'll go with my first argument.

Comfort is all about you fitting right on your bike. If you can't get your knees in the right place relative to your cranks (whatever the best position is for you), and still have a comfortable reach without going to extremes with stems and whatnot, then your bike flat out doesn't fit you.

If you're OK with your knee position and like your reach, why would you bother trying to get a KOPS position?

Try to use the fitting tool at competitivecyclist
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

I'm in the same situation as you and found myself sitting too low. That's why my knees were so close to the vertical through the BB, while being set back quite a lot.
My pb however is that I am not flexible enough to stretch my legs out the way they suggest so i'm still sitting 2.5 cm lower than their lowest suggested position. Anyway while sitting higher up, you get more power and your knees further back. (And I got some knee pain too when trying to sit too far behind)

good luck,
br

here's a nother resource for bicycle fit, more of a dynamic approach rather than going by some formulas that may or may-not work for you:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=2006/letters11-14#5
http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/further%20reading.htm

In a nutshell, you want to be back far enough where you need very little effort from your upper body muscles to support your torso, while you are riding on the flats at a moderately difficult effort. The further back you move your saddle the more balanced you become on the bike, the further forward, the more you load your arms/shoulder/torso muscles. Also, the further back you go, the less you load your quads, but too far back will make spinning smoothly difficult. I think a good starting point would be a KOPS position, then moving back every so slightly until you find that equilibrium point. Only then should you adjust your handlebar height and stem length.