Q45 stock seat to Bacchetta Recurve seat

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On my new to me Q45 , I had gotten comfortable on the bike, but was experiencing some pain in my mid back area where the stock seat was digging in. I am a bit of a Clydesdale rider and I do not think the stock seat was made for wide shoulders. I searched the forums and had seen the notes about the Thor seat, but I also saw the cost and long lead times. While searching YouTube, I saw a post about An Outdoor Jim’s swap to a Bacchetta Recurve seat.

Since I had a Bacchetta Bella, I thought I would give it a go. Thing worked like a champ on the Q45. Had to rework my fit as the leg angle changed. My original fear when making this swap was, will I have enough room in the cockpit (Clydesdale) and will my legs be able to touch (I have short legs). Happy to report that
I have the belly room and legs seem to have easier contact with the ground. When making the swap, you remove the short bracket from the stock seat and reapply to the Bacchetta seat pan. That is the only real drilling and customization you have to do. Once that short bracket is on the Bacchetta seat pan, you can mount in one of two spots on the Cruzbike..I chose the rear upper mounting spots and attached Withe QR skewer. I also removed some of the stock attachment parts for the rear of the rear and used it for reattaching the Recurve seat. Below are some pictures.

 

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I had some nylon spacers I had accumulated from some yesteryear project that I used to take up some space on the upper Recurve mounting area (where the Bacchetta seat struts normally attach). I went to Home Depot and purchased some 10 - 24 all thread and some nuts, cut it to length and secured the upper seat attachment point. Only time will tell if that all thread is stout enough to maintain the connection over the years I plan on riding the Q45. It is the same rod thickness as the QR skewer, but the all thread has, well threads cut into it, which could compromise the strength of the rod. If I could have located a QR skewer that was 7.5 to 8”, that would have been perfect, but I do not think those things are available. Pictures of rod below and how it goes through stock attachment points.

 

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Thank you for the helpful photos.

Has anyone had problems with using just one seat mount tube to carry full body weight?

Is one seat mount tube strong enough for rough gravel riding?