I’m a noobie, just got a new road bike so I don’t have to race in my hybrid. Now I’m thinking about getting a forward seatpost. Has anyone tried putting one a road bike? And did it help?
And I did try turning my current seatpost around but I couldn’t get my seat angle right after I did that, so I turned it back around.
I went to my local bike shop and got a seatpost that’s just a straight shaft. The clamp mechanism is a separate piece that wraps around the narrow part of the top of the post. These are usually found on cheaper bikes, and my LBS gave it to me for free. This made it very easy to turn it around, and have any seat angle I want. Fast, cheap, easy.
It made a huge difference, and I’d never go back.
I think I understand. How can I tell whether or not my current seatpost is “cheap” enough to rotate the clamp mechanism? I haven’t had a chance to look yet, but I will try to figure out on my own. Thanks for the idea! Sounds simple!
I think you’re talking about the rail/saddle clamp?
A sufficiently cheap seatpost doesn’t have the clamp mechanism as part of the post. It’s nothing more than a straight shaft, narrower at the top. The clamp/rail thingy is a separate part.
Got it! I need to go hunting a little then. Anyway, how much of change did you notice between having the seat back and seat forward? Thanks again for the help!
It’s quite a bit farther forward, and I had read about the advantages so I wanted a cheap way to try it out. It took some getting used to, but after a few weeks, it felt perfectly natural. The main advantage is not having my knees in my chest from the “closed” angle. Moving forward relative to the cranks opens the hip angle, so you get better power and less constrained breathing. A minor disadvantage is that there’s more weight on the front wheel, so handling is slightly more squirelly. A true triathlon or time-trial bike is designed with a longer front end to address this problem. My bike is just a road bike that I’ve put triathlon handlebars and shift levers on.
Take your old seatpost with you on your hunt. The diameter has to match exactly. My original seatpost was a 27.2mm diameter. When I put in a 27.0mm post, I had to shim it for the seatpost clamp to work. I later found a 27.2 aluminum post (most posts of this design are chromed steel).