If you find that you regularly change your off-road riding position; it's
helpful to have a quick-release seat-post clamp. Some bikes come with
these but it's an easy upgrade if yours didn't. We can show you a
quick-release bolt that'll fit.
Quick-And-Easy Seat Change
With a quick-release seat-post clamp, seat-height changes are as simple as
opening the QR, sliding the seat to the correct position and clamping
the QR closed. With practice, some riders can do this while riding, but
it's not easy. The best bet for most riders is to stop, adjust the seat
and continue riding.
Lower For Control The
most common time to lower a seat is when you're riding tricky sections
of trail such as dropoffs and rocky descents. Here, the correct
pedaling position isn't important. What's needed is a comfortable and
safe body position so you can apply body English to the bike to get
through the tricky sections with safety and style.
Lube The Post One
important and often-neglected point about seat adjustment is that
you've got to the keep the post lightly lubricated in the frame so it's
easy to move. Left dry, the post can actually freeze in the frame due
to corrosion and due to water that can seep between the seat post and
frame on wet rides. To prevent these types of problems and keep your
post moving freely, extract it about every couple of months (more
frequently if you ride in wet conditions a lot) and apply a little lube
to the inside of the seat tube on the frame (if you smear the lube on
the seat post, it'll get scraped off when you slide the post into the
frame).
Mark Your Seat Position
When you begin changing your seat position, you might forget where you had it in
the first place. That can be a pain if you spent a lot of time getting
your seat height right for optimum efficiency. The solution is to mark
the seat post with an indelible marker so you can always find your
original settings. It won't hurt to measure the distance from the top
of the saddle to the center of the bottom bracket. If you memorize this
number, even if your mark wears off, you'll be able to find the proper
position and re-mark the post. (Don't scratch the post to mark it
because this can weaken it and cause it to break.)
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