So, here at Midwest Coast Customs I’ve been busy pimpin’ my ride. I have an old (purchased 2/3 of my lifetime ago…I’m 23) mountain bike that had been sitting outside for 2 years (in Chicago) and then in my basement for 2-3 more. It weighs at least 53 pounds and has a chain and gear set that had magically coalesced into a big orange and black monocoque-esque slab of metal. After some bolt wrangling, seat post twisting, four letter wording, and half a bottle of white lightening I have turned my KHS Shitthisisheavy into a svelte, nimble, road warrior. Well, no, not really, it’s still a heavy piece of shit but I can at least pedal it down the street now without it crunching.
Anyway, I’ve grown a little since I was 8 and the seatpost is a wee bit too short. I rode about 3 miles around the neighborhood and damn are my quads hurting, right above the knee. I was sittin’ so low I felt like I should have had some big, baggy pants on, my ass hanging out, and throwback jersey on but alas I was out there tearing it up in a pair of pajama pants and a polo shirt. So, to my point…can I a) buy a LOOOONG seatpost and put it in there (with a good 3-4 inches inside the frame) or b) go to home depot and find an equivalent OD piece of steel tubing with sufficient wall thickness, knurl the ends to “grab” the seatpost hole and saddle, and kind of make my own long seatpost? Or c) am I just a retard and I’ll snap the damn thing with and end up being penetrated to death by my own bicycle? Is there a safe limit to how long one can make their seatpost? I’d imagine this is also material dependent. This is going to be a big, heavy training bike so I’m not worried about the lightest, sexiest stuff out there. That is all.