Carbon Seatpost?

Question

I’m looking at carbon sea tposts. What is the deal with “set back” in regards to performance?

A seat with 0 seat back vs 15 dedrees, etc. What does the setback allow for?

Anyone know anything about the Cannondale Wind Carbon SeatPost?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The set back allows for a more horizontal position of your back when racing. It also helps if you have a long torso and shorter legs. In those instances, you need a smaller frame size because of your inseam. However, the top tube may not be long enough for your long torso to fit adequately. The setback seat post (and/or longer stem) can help remedy this.



Go for a carbon seatpost. Like a previous answer said, it only really helps if you have an aluminum frame without carbon seatstays. One of my road bikes has an all-aluminum frame and came with a stock alloy seatpost. I didn't believe tha hype about carbon riding smoother at first until I trioed one. It does help with road shock- so much so that I thought that my rear tire wasn't fully inflated. It made a believer out of me. Also, the key to a good seatpost is to check around. Check out roadbikereviews.com and read what owners of different seatposts have to say about theirs. You'll get a better idea of what carbon seatpost seems right for you. Cannondale makes good stuff, but I wouldn't mess with stock brand seatposts. They usually aren't very good because most riders swap them out- just like saddles.

Answer 2

Hi

Setback is not measured in degrees, it's measured in millimeters. It's a measure of the horisontal displacement of the clamp in regards to where the saddle is mounted. So a seatpost with zero setback has the saddle more or less mounted straight on top of the post, and a seatpost with a 20 mm setback has a bend or head that effectively mounts the saddle 20 mm more backwards from the line of the seatpost.

Whether you need setback or not is a question of your frame geometry and your riding style. The setback controls the extremely important lenght that is the distance between where you rest and where the bottombracket is located. This distance is critically related to the lenght of your thigh and riding style. A LOT of thumb-rules are given with regards to this lenght, but nothing beats the personal experience you have gained during your own riding.

If you generally have a tendency to move your saddle forward in the mounting, then go for a seatpost with only little setback, if you, on the other hand, think that you have a tendency to move the saddle backwards in the mounting, then go for a seatpost with some setback - usually around 15 or 20 mm.

Answer 3

The set back sets the rider more forward or backward. Triathletes generally want to be as forward as possible. You'll sometimes see tri bikes with a seatpost that has a forward bend. The seatpost can also be used to compensate for a frame that doesn't fit quite right, e.g. a top tube that is too short would require a seatpost that has a larger setback to 'lengthen' the distance between the hips and the handlebars - in conjunction with a longer stem of course.



From a performance perspective, a more forward seating position is helpful for timetrialing and high cadences associated with track and criterium racing. You'll often see 'criterium' bikes with a very steep seat angle - pushing the rider more on top of the bottom bracket. This helps for quicker handling and higher cadence, but at the cost of comfort. A more backward position is helpful for longer distance riding and hill climbing - lower cadence, and also is a more compliant (softer) ride. Bikes with more relaxed angles are sometimes called 'european road geometry'. They are not especially suited to criteriums.



Sorry, can't help on the cannondale post.

Answer 4

I think the setback seatpost is for taller people. I could be wrong. Carbon seatposts kinda makeup for not having carbon seatstays in the frame. If you want a good seatpost, go with Deda, ITM, or FSA. As for the Cannondale post....I don't like anything made from Cannondale.

It's really CRACK 'N FALE.