Why do people use long seat posts

[biggs682]

I pulled a seat post out of a recent purchase of mine and in horror i found there was aprox 10" of post inside the frame , just the thought of trying to remove that lot if it was slightly stuck or stiff to remove .

why dont people chop of the excess or use a shorter post its got to be easier and or keep them greased up .

 

[fossyant]

I chop off the excess. Same with my fixed, think the LBS used an MTB post. No name so lopped off 6 inches. Best having carbon a little long anyway as it will reduce stress.

 

[Drago]

Seems to be a fashion this days. Most of the frame breakage I've seen have been on bikes with acres of exposed post, right at the crossbar-seat tube join.

As for excess inside the frame, I'm a heavy old connoisseur of cake, so I fit 400mm posts to all my bikes to spread the load.

 

[User6179]

I had to cut mine as it was hitting the bolt for the bottle cage ,it was nearly half a metre long .

 

[Drago]

That's a mighty long bottle cage bolt!

 

[User6179]

That's a mighty long bottle cage bolt!

Not that long considering the bottles I use

 

[Cubist]

Playful frame? The post total on this is 420mm, the top 125 mm of post slides down out of the way on request, leaving 50 or 60 mm of exposed seatpost, and the rest inside the frame. The long portion left inside the frame ensures an even spread of load inside the steel tubing for when I'm riding with the post all the way up.
.

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

I would say is a new fashion.. An old rider told me that is no need for those loooong things..

I believe him...

Still don't we all want to look a bit like a pro?

 

[Jody]

Even with a 16" frame and a low sloping top tube my knackers still touch. I can't get the right pedal position without a long seat post. But I have a dropper like Cubist, so there is still a lot in the down tube when the post is up. Lower top tubes also give me more room for maneuver when the going gets rough.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I pulled a seat post out of a recent purchase of mine and in horror i found there was aprox 10" of post inside the frame , just the thought of trying to remove that lot if it was slightly stuck or stiff to remove .

why dont people chop of the excess or use a shorter post its got to be easier and or keep them greased up .

Rourkes chopped the seat-post from my Giant to fit the new frame ..... unfortunately I wanted to put it back on the Giant and now it doesn't fit ....

 

[youngoldbloke]

Sometimes its just a question of what's in stock - I've also had to cut down a seatpost to avoid fouling the bottle cage bolt, rather than wait to until the right length was available. As to fashion - it's not that new, though frames were worn bigger in the old days, but we didn't have compact frames or sloping top tubes then.

 

[raleighnut]

I've got one of these (Maz bought it for me)



I had a 600mm seat post manufactured to get the height right, admittedly it was a bit long as at full insertion into the frame it's just right for me but won't suit anyone shorter unless they cut it down but if you're having one made it is easier to cut a bit off than to stick a bit on.
Then I saw a Brompton (rare up here) and that seatpost would have done fine.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I'm tall, so I appreciate folk not chopping their seat post. I usually ride mine at or near limit.