Quest seat angle?
- Thread starter Nanda H.
- Start date
Re: seat angle?
There are some adjustment holes on the rear upper seat stays that would get you close, and then sliding in the seat tube might take it a little further. 45deg works great on the Silvio, but I believe on the lower bb Quest (at least the 451) you'd be riding with a constant wedgie...feeling like you are sliding forward off the seat to some extent at the bb height is much less. Sitting more upright in traffic is helpful (getting more useable neck rotation) and gets into more power with the more close hip/torso angle. I thought the seat angle looked very upright on the 451 when I first set it up, but it's feels just right now.
There are some adjustment holes on the rear upper seat stays that would get you close, and then sliding in the seat tube might take it a little further. 45deg works great on the Silvio, but I believe on the lower bb Quest (at least the 451) you'd be riding with a constant wedgie...feeling like you are sliding forward off the seat to some extent at the bb height is much less. Sitting more upright in traffic is helpful (getting more useable neck rotation) and gets into more power with the more close hip/torso angle. I thought the seat angle looked very upright on the 451 when I first set it up, but it's feels just right now.
John Zabriskie
Member
Re: seat angle?
The short answer to your question is yes, you can get 45°. But, will the riding position feel the same as your Silvio? I don't think so. I think this is due to the BB height, relative to the seat; it's lower than the seat on the Quest, whereas on my Silvio it's higher than the seat. Changing over to the long chainstay (the Q559 or from the Sofrider) would raise the BB height compared to a stock Q451.
I did the seat angle experiment on the Q451 in an unloaded state, measuring just above the region with the unused center mounting hole. The shallowest seat angle I can get to is 41°. The is with the seat support tube inserted only 1-1/2 inches in the seat tube clamp & the support stays attached in the innermost set of holes. The other hole locations (middle & outer) yield angles of 47° & 52°. This seat support tube position seems like it is not "in" far enough, since the angularity between the support stays (attached via the inner set of holes) & seat is too shallow, approaching less than 15°, as you can see in the photo below.
I would never recommend this position, as it seems if under high seat loading, you might "snap through". After some experimenting, I got the 45° reading you're after with the seat support tube inserted 1-3/4". The seat stays were closer to 45° angularity from the seat, which I feel is much safer, although closer to perpendicular would be ideal. Also, the insertion depth was better than my "1.5 X the tube diameter" rule-of-thumb.
My wife, a new recumbent rider just learning to ride, liked the seat adjusted to more of an upright position. When I set it up for her, the seat support tube was inserted 3 inches & the seat angles are 47°, 52° & 57°.
I'll run through this exercise on the Q559, once I unpack it & set it up, but I expect no different results, unless different sized tires are fitted front & rear. [i.e. -- front 2.1 x 26, rear 1.0 x 26; this should lessen the seat angle some.]
Finally, after seeing Doug Burton's post about the "29er" Sofrider, I thought, "Let's do this to the Quest!" Unfortunately, a "29er" Quest is not a possibility yet, unless you cut off the kickstand mount & get a front fork off of a Sofrider/Freerider.
The short answer to your question is yes, you can get 45°. But, will the riding position feel the same as your Silvio? I don't think so. I think this is due to the BB height, relative to the seat; it's lower than the seat on the Quest, whereas on my Silvio it's higher than the seat. Changing over to the long chainstay (the Q559 or from the Sofrider) would raise the BB height compared to a stock Q451.
I did the seat angle experiment on the Q451 in an unloaded state, measuring just above the region with the unused center mounting hole. The shallowest seat angle I can get to is 41°. The is with the seat support tube inserted only 1-1/2 inches in the seat tube clamp & the support stays attached in the innermost set of holes. The other hole locations (middle & outer) yield angles of 47° & 52°. This seat support tube position seems like it is not "in" far enough, since the angularity between the support stays (attached via the inner set of holes) & seat is too shallow, approaching less than 15°, as you can see in the photo below.
I would never recommend this position, as it seems if under high seat loading, you might "snap through". After some experimenting, I got the 45° reading you're after with the seat support tube inserted 1-3/4". The seat stays were closer to 45° angularity from the seat, which I feel is much safer, although closer to perpendicular would be ideal. Also, the insertion depth was better than my "1.5 X the tube diameter" rule-of-thumb.
My wife, a new recumbent rider just learning to ride, liked the seat adjusted to more of an upright position. When I set it up for her, the seat support tube was inserted 3 inches & the seat angles are 47°, 52° & 57°.
I'll run through this exercise on the Q559, once I unpack it & set it up, but I expect no different results, unless different sized tires are fitted front & rear. [i.e. -- front 2.1 x 26, rear 1.0 x 26; this should lessen the seat angle some.]
Finally, after seeing Doug Burton's post about the "29er" Sofrider, I thought, "Let's do this to the Quest!" Unfortunately, a "29er" Quest is not a possibility yet, unless you cut off the kickstand mount & get a front fork off of a Sofrider/Freerider.
John Zabriskie
Member
Re: seat angle?
Here is the photo.
Here is the photo.
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Re: seat angle?
John, thanks for this study.
What happens if you flip the seat post 180 degs. I think there is one more very low vendetta like angle to be had.
I don't feel the need to have the struts perpendicular to the seat that much. Angling down 45 is fine and I like the look of it better that way too, reduces the amount of seat post visible.
John, thanks for this study.
What happens if you flip the seat post 180 degs. I think there is one more very low vendetta like angle to be had.
I don't feel the need to have the struts perpendicular to the seat that much. Angling down 45 is fine and I like the look of it better that way too, reduces the amount of seat post visible.
John Zabriskie
Member
You're right, John. @ a 180° seat post flip, the inner set of holes is not useable. The middle hole set on the seat stays gives just under 25° (see photo below), while the outer set of holes gives 29°.
Although I didn't try to ride it in this configuration (due to the snow), just sitting on it, I felt more comfortable at 29°. Further, I think the handlebars could be lowered a couple of inches on the steering stem. If the longer Q559 chainstays were used, the BB might be above the seat bottom, allowing an even better torso position in the wind shadow of the cranks & legs.
Although I didn't try to ride it in this configuration (due to the snow), just sitting on it, I felt more comfortable at 29°. Further, I think the handlebars could be lowered a couple of inches on the steering stem. If the longer Q559 chainstays were used, the BB might be above the seat bottom, allowing an even better torso position in the wind shadow of the cranks & legs.
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Thanks for doing that John its great to have those measurements on it too.
We better note that on a 559, the seat post might be interferring with the wheel in this way-low position, so probably a 451er trick only.
We better note that on a 559, the seat post might be interferring with the wheel in this way-low position, so probably a 451er trick only.
John Zabriskie
Member
Here's a photo of the Quest 559 with the seat set up Vendetta-style. I also flipped the handlebar riser toward the rear, so the reach was more comfortable. I've got the seat pan mounted in the forward set of holes & the seat stays in the outermost holes. This yields a 25.5° seat angle as you can see in the 2nd photo. The clearance between the seat support tube & rear tire is only 2 1/16" [52.4mm] unloaded. Inspired by the Olympic luge & skeleton events, I decided to actually attempt to ride it down the street even though it was 12:30 at night. It feels very fast, but is tough for me to see forward very well for two reasons -- 1) the steering extension tube, handlebars & cables are right in your line of vision & 2) my bifocals caused everything to be out of focus because of the shallow neck angle. My headlight was quite ineffective.
Riding the bike with no traffic around is no problem, however turning around in the street is a little awkward. You'll want to sit up some. Aside from the neck position, the riding position is very comfortable. If the roads stay snowless & dry, I'll try riding it on the open road. I'd also like to do some coastdown tests against the Silvio & the Q451 if the weather cooperates this weekend. I'll also try to take some head-on frontal pictures of each so the cross-sectional area can be compared directly.
Riding the bike with no traffic around is no problem, however turning around in the street is a little awkward. You'll want to sit up some. Aside from the neck position, the riding position is very comfortable. If the roads stay snowless & dry, I'll try riding it on the open road. I'd also like to do some coastdown tests against the Silvio & the Q451 if the weather cooperates this weekend. I'll also try to take some head-on frontal pictures of each so the cross-sectional area can be compared directly.
John Zabriskie
Member
Here's the 2nd photo with the seat angle measured. You can also see the rather small tire clearance to the seat support tube, just 2 1/16" [52.4mm]. It would be nice to be able to raise the seat angle some, like to 30 or 35°. Maybe a set of longer seat extensions are in order?
John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
Possibly reduce the length of the seat post between the bend and the cross bar.
