All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

The most common safety risks that we come across in our daily work around bicycle safety, technology and operating instructions are also published by us in articles in the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR (Europe's road bike magazine no. 1), BIKE (Europe's mountain bike magazine no. 1), MYBIKE and EMTB in order to make this information, which is important for the industry, available to a wider public.

For many years now, the Eurobike Show Daily, trade fair magazine of the annual Eurobike Show, has also given us the opportunity to publish our view of major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent expert presentations about all areas of bicycle technology and the bicycle market. In addition, we are quoted by further special-interest magazines of the industry and the trade as well as increasingly by radio and television in their media reports, which shows us that we are spot on with our advice. The section "News" informs you about the latest news from our specialist areas. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to areas of interest.

TOUR 06/2011
Reading time 1:20 minutes

Never without torque wrench

Seat post assembly - never without torque wrench

TOUR: Are seat posts particularly prone to defects?
ZEDLER: Broken seat posts are among the most common damage on bicycles with partly serious consequences for the rider’s life and limb. The single-bolt patent clamping of lots of often simple seat posts is far on top of our loss statistics. This type requires extremely high and precise torque settings which must be observed strictly and which can’t be achieved with a minitool or an Allen key. The dual function as adjusting device and single hold of the saddle is what all too often brakes these bolts literally the neck.

Are there any principal differences between aluminium and carbon seat posts?
High value aluminium seat posts with double bolt clamping often do not cause any problems. In the case of carbon seat posts the problems have shifted from the seat post head to the clamp of the seat post in the frame. To achieve a reliable hold, it is often the case that clamping forces are used which crush the sensitive to pressure carbon tube and lead to an initial damage. If additional stress occurs, in particular due to tough road impacts, pre-damaged carbon seat posts can fail.

How can you prevent a seat post breakage?
The mounting is of major importance. The seat post diameter must precisely match the seat tube. The seat tube must slide into the seat tube without play. It is necessary to apply carbon assembly paste on the clamping surface to increase the friction and to be able to reduce the torque values of the bolts.

What to do when no torque wrench is at hand?
Even with a minitool you can pre-damage a seat post. Therefore, it is inevitable to use a torque wrench for mounting. By the time it will also give you a feeling for torque values, it is a good master. Once you have understood that, you are even able to readjust a carbon seat post on your way.

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