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

In our daily work as we deal with bicycle safety, technology and user manuals we come across lots of safety risks. The most frequent ones are published in articles of the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 and E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin to make this information important for the sector accessible to a wider public.

For many years now the Eurobike Show Daily accompanying the annual international Eurobike Show has given us the opportunity to publish our perspective on major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent lectures about all topics relating to bicycle technology and bicycle market. In addition, we are regularly cited by further special-interest magazines or trade journals as well as more and more by radio and television and in their media reports, which shows us that we are completely right with our information. The section NEWS informs you about the latest news from our specialist fields. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to topics of interest.

TOUR 11/2016
Reading time 1:00 minute

Saddle installation

Reader's question

The saddle rails often have a marking indicating the saddle’s range of movement towards the front or the rear. I must confess that I do not really understand this marking, as the top clamp of the seatpost used on my bike so far are (almost) as wide as the marked area! Assuming that the clamp plates of the seatpost must be positioned within the marking, I cannot change the saddle adjustment by more than one or two millimetres to the front or the rear. Or do I misinterpret the marking? Would it be still correct to install the saddle in a way that only a small part of the clamp plate is still within the marked area?

Reply by Dirk Zedler, TOUR technology expert and bicycle expert

After a few saddle rails had failed due to improper clamping, the saddle manufacturers had begun to mark the clamping area, unfortunately, not always clearly, for example with a limit stop marking. Normally, the front edge of the seatpost top clamp should be positioned within the marking. But, keep in mind, that according to the length of the clamp its rear area might get stuck in the rear area of the rails. This should be avoided, because the rails might break. Therefore, make sure to remain within the marked area and to leave a space of 10 millimetres at least to the beginning of the bend in the rear. You find more of such useful information in the books "Road Bike Maintenance and Repair Manual" and "Advanced Road Bike Maintenance" published like the TOUR-magazine by Delius Klasing Verlag. Have a lot of fun screwing on your bike!

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