Folks on Spokes
PO Box 763
Matteson, IL
Serving Chicago's Southland |
Urban riding presents a whole different series of challenges to the cyclist.
While most Folks on Spokes members prefer suburban and country riding, occasionally we enjoy a trip down Chicago's lake Shore Drive or other urban areas. Surrounded by an urban setting, sometimes, we find the need to remove our seat and take it with us so we have it when we return to complete our ride. Sorry, but it's an urban fact of life that sometimes devices held in place with a quick release are--well --quickly released.
Seat height is one of the keys to a comfortable and efficient ride. If the seat height isn't adjusted properly, rider alignment will be seriously compromised leading to strained arms, shoulders and legs. It's important then to re-align your seat when you get back from your urban stroll.
Right: Wrapping tape around the stem allows the rider to return to the same height quickly and consistently.
The plain, simple truth is it's hard to find the right seat height. A quarter inch up or down, forward or backwards, can make a tremendous difference. Once you do find the right height you'll want to return to that height quickly and consistently.
To help, Jim pointed out that you should mark your seat stem with an awl, engraving tool or a similar sharp tool. Make your marks where the stem and tube come together for quick referencing. As an alternate, you could wrap electrical tape around the seat stem to limit how far the stem penetrates into the tube. Make sure to wrap the tube with several layers of tape to keep the stem from sliding down to far into the tube.
It's also important to remove any burrs inside the seat tube and coat it with an anti-seize compound so that the seat stem won't seize up and you can't remove the seat at all. Hey, on the bright side though, if the stem seizes up, a thief will have a harder time removing the seat.
Note: These particular tips are relevant for preventing the seat from being stolen and no forward or backwards adjustment is necessary. Adjusting the bike seat forward or backward is covered in another tip.
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left: Check inside the tube for burrs or sharp bits of steel or aluminium left over from when your bike was made. below: Use a screwdriver or file to remove burrs and coat with anti-seize compound |
Key points to remember:
- Use an awl or similar tool to mark
the seat height whre the stem and tube come together OR
- Wrap electrician's tape around the
seat stem to mark your height
- Remove any burrs inside the tube
- Use an anti-seize compound inside the tube to keep the stem from seizing up so you can remove and/or re-adjust your seat height.