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forward seat post
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I have a cannodale r1000 road bike with aero bars that i have been using for the past 3 years in triathlon/ironman races. i'd love to pop for a tri bike but will probably have to wait another year or so. any thoughts on whether i should use a forward seat post and, if so, recommendations on brands?



Thanks, e
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Re: forward seat post [lil e] [ In reply to ]
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AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! I hate forward seat posts! OK, I got that out of my system. The pros: The bike will work better with aerobars in the aero position. The cons: Shifts weight forward and adversely influences handling. Does it make your road bike a tri bike? Nope. Will it help? Maybe. If this is your only alternative try going to a little shorter stem and a Thomson straight seatpost as opposed to jumping to the forward bending post right away. Maybe you are a 76 degree seat angle kind of guy. Not everybody's measurements mandate a 78 degree seat tube angle, although a lot sure do. Bottom line, if you can avoid using a forward angle seatpost it may be in your best interest.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: forward seat post [lil e] [ In reply to ]
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Hey check out bicycleworks.com... they have a great article on a new position that is being adopted by many riders. It uses a traditional seat tube angle and a more 'unorthodox' style/arrangement. It looks like it will take a bit of training to get used to it but it offers the possibility of better times then the traditional tribike setup with no cost to you (with the exception of the new aerobars they recommend if you chose add those.)
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Re: forward seat post [chrislamb] [ In reply to ]
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Chris,

Got a link? I can't seem to find the article.Thanks.
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Re: forward seat post [lil e] [ In reply to ]
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My suggestion having owned both is to also have a look at the M2 Racer Power Module seat shifter rather than a forward seat post. It is more versatile, much quicker to move seat position than change post, and you can shift on the fly. Here is a review. http://www.slowtwitch.com/...product/m2racer.html
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Re: forward seat post [Tom in AL] [ In reply to ]
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http://www.bicyclesports.com/technical/

Here you go. There are some pictures included also which help out quite a bit.
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Re: forward seat post [chrislamb] [ In reply to ]
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You're referring to John Cobb's "big slam" position which has been discussed on this forum on several occassions. Also read "Dave's Page" as well as the three articles by Cobb. I've tried it and it certainly felt powerful. However, the jury is out as to what works better for me on a road bike, either the big slam or putting the seat at about 75/76 degrees. At least you've got the two options to try.
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Re: forward seat post [lil e] [ In reply to ]
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I can't give you advice if you should use a forward seat post. But I like the Corima Ellipse Carbon seat post. You can use it in normal position or turn it around to 'triathlon' position.
And the Corima Ellipse carebon seat post is one of the lightest seat post aviable (153 to 179g).

The link is http://www.corima.com/corima/gb/produits/accessoires/tige_selle.html
They have some good pictures and scetches at this link.

tri-zone.com sells this seat post: http://www.tri-zone.com/Catalog/BikeAccess.html

Felix

http://www.weilenmann.ch.vu
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Re: forward seat post [lil e] [ In reply to ]
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leaving aside the issue of whether it is the ideal arrangement or not. . .there are a couple posts you might want to look at. the profile fast forward is pretty visible, but is heavy, and pretty radically forward ( not exactly sure the number of inches/cm), and with apologies to owners of same is kinda unsightly iff'n you ask me. the corima is certainly swank, but way pricy. a raceface xy offset post will switch around very nicely, is sorta lightish, available in all sizes under the sun, can be found cheap at numerous mt biky mailorder places, looks good, and will change your position 2 inches or around 4 degrees depending on how tall you are. the bent thompson will do the same tho the offset is a tad less and this might be what you want. the straight zero offset thompson is another option, a great post which would move you around 2 degrees forward into the seemingly increasingly popular 76 degree range. . . . .
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Re: forward seat post [lil e] [ In reply to ]
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I've got a cheap Trek road bike on which I put aerobars and a profile forward seat post. The handling stinks. Put on an aerodrink and you're really asking for trouble. However, I fit much better in the aero position, I can get more aero and I'm more comfortable in the aero position. My bike and run splits are better since I've been using the forward seat post, but I can't separate the seat post improvements from normal training improvements.

Thankfully, I live in the coastal flatlands of TX. A typical race is the Corpus Christi sprint tri - go 10 miles in a straight line, perfectly flat, into a 30 mph wind then turn around and go back. Handling is not too much of an issue.

BTW, I don't know what most forward seat posts weigh, but the profile seemed to add 50% to my bikes overall weight. It must be made out of lead.
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Re: forward seat post [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Cerveloguy,

Will the M2 racer power module allow you to move more forward than a standard seatpost/seat? Reading the product description, it looks like the device simply allows the rider to easily shift the seat fore and aft--not increase the extent to which you can shift the seat forward. In other words, If I have already tried moving the seat as far forward as possible on the rails of a standard seatpost, and if that was not far enough forward to effectively use the aerobars, will the M2 allow me to move any further forward? Thanks.
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Re: forward seat post [Tom in AL] [ In reply to ]
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Yes it does. The M2 Racer power module gives a fair amount of adjustment. It's on rails just like your seat, so you have that adjustment, plus the actual shift of about an extra 4 cms as well. If you shift the unit as far forward on it's rails and then put the shift mechanism max forward it should be about the same as my Profile forward seat post. I got this for x-mas from my wife since she knew I wanted to play with it on my TCR-1. I like the versatility and the time saved when making adjustments. It only cost around forty bucks.

From my experience, I would suggest not running a road bike at 78 degrees but instead stay at 75/76 degrees. My TCR works good at this. I've added a one size smaller pair of Syntace C2's and it fits great. I found when I ran the TCR at 78 degrees it felt front heavy and unstable. I believe that 75/76 degrees is often better than 78 degrees anyways if you ride on a hilly course such as in our area.
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Re: forward seat post [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Cerveloguy. I think I'll try the M2. I have been riding a profile forward seatpost for a couple of years, and it is clunky. I am looking for the best solution for transitioning to the aero position during PC adaptation (I'd like to be able to use the pc's in sprint races, but I'd like to do it aero, if possible). With the M2, I should be able to use my traditional seatpost, and gradually move the seat forward on the rails as adaptation increases, making it easier to get aero. The other alteranative is to try the big slam, but that would mean buying another stem and a set of jammers. Does anyone have any thoughts on which position (big slam vs. forward) would be easier to ride with PC's from a hip angle standpoint? Thank you for your patience; I'm fairly ignorant in the ways of bike setup.
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Re: forward seat post [Tom in AL] [ In reply to ]
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I don't have PC's but out of the two of them riding forward 75/76 on a road bike seems a little easier to me than the "big slam", but that could be that the slam just takes some getting use to. I notice that I seem to work my quads more in the slam position.
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