Yes. He'd seen the problem, but not with any sort of regularity. It seems it is not a problem with the saddle rails. It's a problem with the saddle rails when they are clamped in certain hardware. John said he saw it the most with Cervelo's clamps, but they may also be a function of Cervelo's popularity.
In any case, that's why he redesigned the saddle to use Cro-Mo rails last year.
But he's redesigning the seat again, and I'm going to help with it. Might see if we can get someone to do FEA on it. Here's what I know:
- I've ridden an HC or SHC 170 saddle from 2009-2015 (except for 2014) without an issue. Probably 50-60,000 miles. And I would typically ride a saddle for two years or more. In that time, I had three different types of clamping hardware: Thomson and Specialized and, for 2015 only, Dimond. This was my first issue.
- The problem clearly happens, but it's not overwhelming. I described it as unlikely, but definitely not impossible or even improbable. And it seems, at first glance anyway, to be a function of more than just the saddle.
- John has seen it with the Cervelo most often, but I haven't asked what other bikes are on the list. I have now seen it with a Dimond. My friend Jay saw it twice on a SpeedConcept, but using the old-style clamp that was identical to the Specialized clamp that I never had an issue with.
So, basically, there is no clear conclusion. It was enough a problem that John switched to cro-mo, but not enough of a problem that I couldn't log countless miles without an issue until Saturday.
I do note that Kraig Willet's broken Fizik also had solid Ti rails. And that Fizik no longer uses solid Ti but instead carbon, cro-mo, or a their own proprietary k:ium alloy. Hollow metal rails seems like a better idea to me than solid, as they should be more likely to buckle than fracture.
"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
