T50 seat advice needed

[Brad R]

Did it change the handling of the bike, since I assume your arms are straighter? I am going to have my seat struts shortened tomorrow but probably not quite that much, although I understand I would still have the option of sitting a little more upright. I don't know how long the stays are.

Vicki,

It has been several weeks since I first lowered my seat back lower than the stock arrangement allowed. My arms were still pretty bent.

My perception at the time was that a @ratz comment was exactly correct. Getting more weight on your back connects you more securely to the bike and makes it feel more stable. The effect is a little subtle, but I found it easier to hold a straight line when I wanted to.

It puts less weight on the front wheel. If going up a steep hill, you will have to pull on the bars to sit up and get more weight over the drive wheel to avoid wheel slip.

I have a 20% grade driveway (only about 20 or 30 yards long) and sometimes I make it up and sometimes my wheel slips and I walk the rest of the way up. The great thing about this bike is that it is easy to get my feet down and get off the bike even on the steep grade.

Good luck with with the seat modification.

Brad

 

[Brad R]

First, I apologize for not having a picture to post. I will try to get pictures tomorrow.

I have my Thor carbon Sport seat mounted.

I have a few observations.

1) I should probably have gotten a GS Easy. I wasn't really planning on going as low as 30 degrees and the GS Easy would have a longer seat pan. Part of the reason that I ordered the Sport was a worry that the low bottom bracket on the T50 would cause the Easy to have interference with bottom of thighs. I don't know if that would be a problem, but the Sport has a pretty short seat pan for a guy with my girth. Of course, I was in a bit of a hurry and he had a reinforced (for >90kg rider) Sport seat in stock. That helped drive my decision. I ordered mine before the build report for the S40 that indicated a GS Easy works well at the 40 degree seat angle. This suggests that the seat front would probably be fine.

2) The seat can be mounted to the stock seat base but needs spacers or cutting the seat base so that it fits between the seat rails. I ended up putting a section of 2x4 between the base and the seat. This allowed me to get the required recline with a less cutting if the seat stays. There are pictures of my spacers in an earlier post.

3) The seat has a bigger lumbar support curve than I am comfortable with. I am making it work by putting extra padding on the high part of the seat above the lumbar curve. I am 180 cm tall. This is above the 175 cm suggested boundary between medium and large. I wonder if a medium would have fit me better. You might want to have email discussion with Greg about the proper fit before you order. He is very friendly and helpful. I didn't ask if any of his other seats have less prominent lumbar curves.

4) I need to order the right Ventisit pad. I am using the utility seat Ventisit pad. It is not wide enough. I am going to try a couple other things before I buy another pad. Greg sells the pads for a good price, but it would have added a week delay to the shipping time and I didn't want to wait.

5) Even though it is a work in progress, I am comfortable for longer periods. I rode for 70 minutes straight tonight. That said, I am at a lower seat back angle with the Thor than I ever used on the stock seat. So it is not a perfect comparison. I suggest you work on getting the stock seat more reclined before you spend money on another seat.

6) The carbon seat is loud. The seat acts like a sound board that amplifies the road noise. I think most of the effect is from the part of the seat above the seat stay mount. I find that if I put weight or pressure on the seat back above the upper seat mount point, it substantially reduces the magnitude of the noise. This is another place where a medium seat might work better for me.

Does anyone with a carbon seat know if it is quieter with a brain box or similar seat bag hanging over the top?

 

[Vicki C.]

Vicki,

It has been several weeks since I first lowered my seat back lower than the stock arrangement allowed. My arms were still pretty bent.

My perception at the time was that a @ratz comment was exactly correct. Getting more weight on your back connects you more securely to the bike and makes it feel more stable. The effect is a little subtle, but I found it easier to hold a straight line when I wanted to.

It puts less weight on the front wheel. If going up a steep hill, you will have to pull on the bars to sit up and get more weight over the drive wheel to avoid wheel slip.

I have a 20% grade driveway (only about 20 or 30 yards long) and sometimes I make it up and sometimes my wheel slips and I walk the rest of the way up. The great thing about this bike is that it is easy to get my feet down and get off the bike even on the steep grade.

Good luck with with the seat modification.

Brad

I think my seat is now at about 42° from the original 50 after cutting a couple inches off the struts. Also took some finagling to remount the rack with the lower attachment points. I will ride it for the first time tomorrow morning and see how my behind feels. Arms a little straighter but still a bend.

 

[Vicki C.]

Update:. Two rides yesterday and I can feel the difference in where the pressure from the seat is and it is definitely no longer focused on my way low back and tailbone. The comfort level definitely increased.

The additional surprise was that I can feel the difference even an additional 8° of recline makes to aerodynamics without going to extremes.

After close to 700 miles since I got the bike last month, I feel as if it might be dialed in (still planning to try some different seat pads ultimately). And much gratitude to those who helped, including my local bike shop and Cruzbike dealer, Clovis Bicycle Company and Dan Caton, and Maria Parker. But don't think you have heard the last of me yet. I am sure I will still have questions.

Photo in next post.

 

[Vicki C.]

Final (for now) build with lowered seat back and double crank set added.

 

[RAR]

Looking good !

 

[Brad R]

Update:. Two rides yesterday and I can feel the difference in where the pressure from the seat is and it is definitely no longer focused on my way low back and tailbone. The comfort level definitely increased.

The additional surprise was that I can feel the difference even an additional 8° of recline makes to aerodynamics without going to extremes.

After close to 700 miles since I got the bike last month, I feel as if it might be dialed in (still planning to try some different seat pads ultimately). And much gratitude to those who helped, including my local bike shop and Cruzbike dealer, Clovis Bicycle Company and Dan Caton, and Maria Parker. But don't think you have heard the last of me yet. I am sure I will still have questions.

Photo in next post.

It is great to read that you are finding comfort. Enjoy the ride.

Your bike looks great!

 

[Vicki C.]

It is great to read that you are finding comfort. Enjoy the ride.

Your bike looks great!

And how are YOU doing?

 

[Brad R]

And how are YOU doing?

I am pretty happy with my setup. I have most recently been riding these two positions.


This is about 33.4 degrees. The seat stay is about an inch higher with this position than with the one below. The adjustable lower seat mount is about 1/2 inch higher in this position than the one below.



This is about 31.1 degrees. If I keep this one, I will have to modify the handlebars because I have to reach to far.

So, I will probably stay with the 33.4 degree position.

The 2x4 block under the seat looks a little unfinished, but the extra height allows me to see over my handlebars easily even with the <35 degree seat angle. If I go with such a low angle at the lower seat height, I will have to rework the handlebars.

I am still working on the cushions. I cut the stock cushion into several pieces. Tonight I rode with the seat pan part of the stock cushion on the seat pan under the utility Ventisit. I have another piece of the stock cushion under on the Ventisit at shoulder level above the lumbar curve.

This worked quite well but I think it can work better with @Doug Burton 's suggestion to reduce the lower pad's thickness in the center. The other option is to get a wider Ventisit pad.

Tonight I rode 16 miles at an average of 17 mph which is close to maximum effort for me as my heart rate was averaging 160 with a range of 150 to 170 for the last 10 miles. I didn't have any issues with butt pain or numbness, but did have a little pressure on my right leg because the Ventisit shifted a little to the left. The left leg was very comfortable. This makes me think that a little wider cushion would help a lot with my comfort even at higher seat angles.

I never tried the stock seat at this low of an angle. So, I might have gotten comfortable on it had I kept trying to adjust it. I am on vacation the next couple weeks. I plan to experiment more including the stock seat when I get back.

My next challenge will be storage on the bike. I might go for a Brain Box as a simpler solution than getting a rack mounted with the short and nearly vertical seat stays. I might try to get something to hang behind the seat in the triangle between seat, seat stays and frame.

For the moment, I am hanging a small handlebar bag off the back of the seat.

In any case, I can ride more than an hour at a time in comfort. My speed is faster than any other bike I have owned. I recently changed my 36 tooth chainring for a 40 tooth oval ring and I am in top gear a lot (even on nearly level ground). I might have to get a bigger one or give up on the 1x11.

I am enjoying the ride immensely. Thanks for asking.

 

[Gary123]

Bet it rides like you're sitting on a block of wood. Glad it's working for you.

 

[Bill K]

My next challenge will be storage on the bike. I might go for a Brain Box as a simpler solution than getting a rack mounted with the short and nearly vertical seat stays. I might try to get something to hang behind the seat in the triangle between seat, seat stays and frame.

I've been using a BrainBox, and it works quite well for commuting (I'm still using the EuroMesh seat, but the BB also fits the stock seat nicely).
However, it might not fit as well if you lowered the seat angle by drilling holes at the top of the backrest for the seat support bracket.

 

[Brad R]

Bet it rides like you're sitting on a block of wood. Glad it's working for you.

I have a half inch stack of rubber washers between the seat and the wood. So, there is pretty good isolation.

 

[Brad R]

I've been using a BrainBox, and it works quite well for commuting (I'm still using the EuroMesh seat, but the BB also fits the stock seat nicely).
However, it might not fit as well if you lowered the seat angle by drilling holes at the top of the backrest for the seat support bracket.

I was thinking about using the BrainBox with the Thor seat that I bought. Will it work for a seat with a curved top?

Since I cut the seat stays, I wouldn't be using the high mount on the stock seat.

 

[Vicki C.]

I am pretty happy with my setup. I have most recently been riding these two positions.

View attachment 5357
This is about 33.4 degrees. The seat stay is about an inch higher with this position than with the one below. The adjustable lower seat mount is about 1/2 inch higher in this position than the one below.


View attachment 5358
This is about 31.1 degrees. If I keep this one, I will have to modify the handlebars because I have to reach to far.

So, I will probably stay with the 33.4 degree position.

The 2x4 block under the seat looks a little unfinished, but the extra height allows me to see over my handlebars easily even with the <35 degree seat angle. If I go with such a low angle at the lower seat height, I will have to rework the handlebars.

I am still working on the cushions. I cut the stock cushion into several pieces. Tonight I rode with the seat pan part of the stock cushion on the seat pan under the utility Ventisit. I have another piece of the stock cushion under on the Ventisit at shoulder level above the lumbar curve.

This worked quite well but I think it can work better with @Doug Burton 's suggestion to reduce the lower pad's thickness in the center. The other option is to get a wider Ventisit pad.

Tonight I rode 16 miles at an average of 17 mph which is close to maximum effort for me as my heart rate was averaging 160 with a range of 150 to 170 for the last 10 miles. I didn't have any issues with butt pain or numbness, but did have a little pressure on my right leg because the Ventisit shifted a little to the left. The left leg was very comfortable. This makes me think that a little wider cushion would help a lot with my comfort even at higher seat angles.

I never tried the stock seat at this low of an angle. So, I might have gotten comfortable on it had I kept trying to adjust it. I am on vacation the next couple weeks. I plan to experiment more including the stock seat when I get back.

My next challenge will be storage on the bike. I might go for a Brain Box as a simpler solution than getting a rack mounted with the short and nearly vertical seat stays. I might try to get something to hang behind the seat in the triangle between seat, seat stays and frame.

For the moment, I am hanging a small handlebar bag off the back of the seat.

In any case, I can ride more than an hour at a time in comfort. My speed is faster than any other bike I have owned. I recently changed my 36 tooth chainring for a 40 tooth oval ring and I am in top gear a lot (even on nearly level ground). I might have to get a bigger one or give up on the 1x11.

I am enjoying the ride immensely. Thanks for asking.

Wow, you really laid it back! It looks good. Your average certainly beats mine!

 

[Gary123]

I have a half inch stack of rubber washers between the seat and the wood. So, there is pretty good

Just kidding. It's great to think outside the blocks er box. If it feels good ride it.

 

[Bill K]

I was thinking about using the BrainBox with the Thor seat that I bought. Will it work for a seat with a curved top?

I haven't seen a Thor seat so I can't answer, but if the Thor seat is much wider in the shoulder area than the T50 stock seat then the BrainBox might not be wide enough to fit.

 

[Brad R]

My T50 is on vacation with me. I am finding m setup very comfortable for rides of an hour. I haven't had a chance to do any rides that were significantly longer than an hour.

If I keep this position, I am going to have to make handlebar adjustments as I have to reach too far for the bars and I am pulling on them too much.

I went for a ride on the McAlpine trail in Charlotte NC with my family to break up the drive on Saturday. I highly recommend the trail. It is almost entirely paved or boardwalk. It is 5.8 miles one way. So it gives you an out and back distance up to 11.6 miles. It is well shaded and was comfortable even in a day with temperatures above 90. It is mostly flat. It is a MUP, so don't count ongoing too fast. We enjoyed it.

Now I am on Amelia Island in Florida. It has a nice bike trail that I did a pleasant 14 mile ride in this evening. Included a trip to the southern end of the island.

 

[Jeremy S]

If I keep this position, I am going to have to make handlebar adjustments as I have to reach too far for the bars and I am pulling on them too much.

This could be as simple as flipping the stem around to point toward you, and then potentially lowering the bars (which I did on my Sofrider way back when). Give it a try.

 

[ak-tux]

This could be as simple as flipping the stem around to point toward you, and then potentially lowering the bars (which I did on my Sofrider way back when). Give it a try.

Ditto! A longer reversed stem will also give you more options.

However, alternatively, for a stiffer, stronger and cleaner solution, later when you have more time, do an Emeljay steerer conversion:

I also modified my DIY using Emeljay ideas: However mine is on a budget so I little heavier with a 28.6mm steel tube (1-1/8") instead of Aluminium. I could swap for the lighter one later.

 

[Brad R]

This could be as simple as flipping the stem around to point toward you, and then potentially lowering the bars (which I did on my Sofrider way back when). Give it a try.

I will give it a try, but I think it will move the handlebars too far with my 80mm stem. I may need a stem that is shorter or has a different angle.