Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

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slowster
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Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by slowster »

I have built up a touring/runabout MTB, and to complete the build I used a seatpost from an old bike with 12mm of setback. Initial rides revealed too much weight on my hands and comparison with another bike indicates that I need to move the saddle back by at least 15mm, and probably more like 20mm.

As ever there do not appear to be many seatposts with that much setback, especially in 350mm-400mm length (the Velo Orange Gand Cru/Planet X Holdsworth is only 300mm). I've identified the following possible candidates, and would be grateful if anyone has any other suggestions, or would particularly recommend for/against any of these:

Humpert Ergotec Futura - adjustable up to 50mm setback (available from Bike Discount in Germany for £51)
FSA K Force carbon - 32mm (typically over £150 from most retailers)
Genetic Syngenic Slider - adjustable up to 30mm (£62 from SJS)

The FSA is pointlessly expensive for me (I'm not bothered about the weight and I don't need Di2 battery storage), and there are few reports of failures amongst the customer reviews on Chain Reaction Cycles for the 25mm setback version.

Of the other two, the Humpert offers much more setback, in fact far more than I need, but neverthless potentially a very useful thing to have to be able to experiment with saddle position on frames with steep seat tubes. My initial impression was that the design must put a lot of load on the arms and joints connecting the clamp with the post, and I shared the reservations expressed about the durability of the design in this 2014 thread. However, since then at least a couple of forum members, Vorpal and reohn2, have bought and used the post and appear to have been pleased with it, e.g. as mentioned in this 2019 thread. I could not find many online reviews, but most were positive and there was only one significant negative review, which was by a customer of Rose Bikes who reported that they could not tighten the fastening sufficiently to stop the saddle regularly tilting in use, and the allen bolt fastener eventually broke, presumably from being repeatedly (over) tightened.

The Genetic looks like a more basic design which I would have expected to be stronger and more reliable than the Humpert, and was my initial choice, but now I am leaning to the Humpert despite the experience of the Rose Bike's reviewer. Assuming that Humpert have sold a reasonable number of the Futura seatposts over the last five years, I would have expected quite a few more negative reviews and criticisms of the item online in fora if the design were flawed and not strong or reliable enough.
brumster
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by brumster »

Currently out of stock with SJS Cycles, and not sure on the exact layback.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/seat-posts/tmars-sd432-long-layback-seat-post-black-350-x-272-mm/
mercalia
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by mercalia »

There is also the VK saddle adjuster

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/saddles/vk-saddle-adjuster/?sessionid=a4c90d404f8797956c2a424ef1871f38ea762e0f

is a heavy blob of metal but does the job ( has to be )

A very useful item for adjusting saddle postion ( I have one and wouldnt be without it) requires a 2 rail saddle like Brooks
amediasatex
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by amediasatex »

But late but I’ve got one of the Ergotec Futuras going spare if you or anyone else needs one.
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Tail End Charlie
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by Tail End Charlie »

I could be Interested in that, if the OP isn't. How old is it and how much would you want for it?
slowster
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by slowster »

Thank you all for the replies. I did not follow up my original post sooner because I decided to buy the Ergotec Futura and have been trying it out.

It surprised me how substantial it is, but that does come at quite a weight penalty (approximately 530g if I remember correctly). Although the clamps around the rails are secured with a dedicated bolt, the main single bolt serves to tighten both the tilt of the clamps and the tilt of the big pivot. Combined with the fact that the rail clamps have notches that made adjustment to get the set back and tilt that I wanted slightly finnicky.

Neverthless I seems to me to be a good and useful piece of equipment, which has enabled me to confirm just how much set back I want/need on the bike. Now that I know that, I am going to try replacing it with a much cheaper (and lighter) seat post which I now think should give just about enough set back. I'm going to keep the Futura because steep seat angles are so common that I'm sure I will have need of it again.
LittleGreyCat
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

I think I need a slight extra setback and the saddle is as far back as it will go.

From the thread above the choice seems to be the Futura or the VK.

Are there any further thoughts over which is the better?
The Futura looks a lot more "techie" but each for and aft adjustment seems to also change the saddle height.
Vorpal
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by Vorpal »

I have the Ergotec one on my tourer & I love it. I found it a bit fiddly to get into the right position, and it's a bit on the heavy side, but very comfortable. I think it is helped by having a little more give than many seatposts.

edited to add: discussion also on this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=118258 which is what prompted me to order one.
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slowster
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Re: Available 350mm/400mm 27.2 seatposts with ~30mm or more setback?

Post by slowster »

LittleGreyCat wrote:I think I need a slight extra setback and the saddle is as far back as it will go.

From the thread above the choice seems to be the Futura or the VK.

Are there any further thoughts over which is the better?
The Futura looks a lot more "techie" but each for and aft adjustment seems to also change the saddle height.

My choice was limited by the need for a long post for an MTB. If you only need a 300mm post then the Planet X Holdsworth seatpost in silver or black is likely to be a good and very inexpensive option, and as some of us noted on this thread today, it looks like SJS's JTek brand offer the same seatpost in a 350mm length in silver.
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