Saddle rails - risk of failure

Werehatrack wrote:

http://home.comcast.net/~wasatch5k/Saddle.jpg

Looks like mine. They aren't broke yet. I'm no featherweight. (For
a more definitive answer, I'd trust Chalo's opinion.)

I have laid waste to many a saddle rail, but not by breaking them.
They always bend.

I should note that I avoid Ti and tubular rails completely. However,
any material that can be formed into a saddle rail is probably ductile
enough to exhibit the same failure mode I've observed. This doesn't
count materials that are heat treated after forming, like Sandvik
Nanoflex.

It's only a guess, but I imagine that if a saddle rail is being loaded
such that its fatigue life is short enough to be a problem, the
occasional outlying peak load will probably be enough to bend it.

Chalo Colina

Bill Sornson wrote:
Wasatch5k wrote:

Just wondering,

I am running a high risk of saddle rail breakage by riding with the
saddle pushed back so far?

http://home.comcast.net/~wasatch5k/Saddle.jpg


Nope, looks fine. (If you pushed it back even more so that the rail's
/curve/ was in the clamp, then yeah I'd say you're asking for trouble.)

Go ride.


Great! Thanks for all of the replies.

n

Mine did. Selle Italia SLR.

"Bill Sornson" wrote:

wrote:
lube the rails, reduces metal loss.
the cheaper the post, the shorter the clamp, more stress per mm on the
rails

You OK today Gene? That made a lot of sense!

Whew... I was hoping someone else thought so too - when his posts make
sense, I start worrying about me.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 21:00:26 -0700, Mark Hickey
wrote:

"Bill Sornson" wrote:

wrote:
lube the rails, reduces metal loss.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
the cheaper the post, the shorter the clamp, more stress per mm on the
rails

You OK today Gene? That made a lot of sense!

Whew... I was hoping someone else thought so too - when his posts make
sense, I start worrying about me.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Dear Mark and Bill,

Er, how does lubrication of tightly clamped rails reduce
metal loss? Are they corroding through galvanic action?

Worriedly,

Carl Fogel

wrote:
On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 21:00:26 -0700, Mark Hickey
wrote:

"Bill Sornson" wrote:

wrote:
lube the rails, reduces metal loss.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
the cheaper the post, the shorter the clamp, more stress per mm on
the rails

You OK today Gene? That made a lot of sense!

Whew... I was hoping someone else thought so too - when his posts
make sense, I start worrying about me.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Dear Mark and Bill,

Er, how does lubrication of tightly clamped rails reduce
metal loss? Are they corroding through galvanic action?

Worriedly,

Carl Fogel

Dear Carl,

Worry not. We agreed that Gene's post /made sense/ (in a "it's pretty
coherent" sort of way), not was true.

Bill "not so sure about /price/ affecting rail stress, either, by the way"
S.

"Bill Sornson" wrote:

wrote:
wrote:
"Bill Sornson" wrote:
wrote:
lube the rails, reduces metal loss.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
the cheaper the post, the shorter the clamp, more stress per mm on
the rails

You OK today Gene? That made a lot of sense!

Whew... I was hoping someone else thought so too - when his posts
make sense, I start worrying about me.

Dear Mark and Bill,

Er, how does lubrication of tightly clamped rails reduce
metal loss? Are they corroding through galvanic action?

Worriedly,

Carl Fogel

Dear Carl,

Worry not. We agreed that Gene's post /made sense/ (in a "it's pretty
coherent" sort of way), not was true.

Bill "not so sure about /price/ affecting rail stress, either, by the way"

With Gene, you have to take progress in small doses, and acknowledge
it. Otherwise he'll start posting stuff that'll make our heads melt.
Kinda like playing a late 60's record backwards.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Are you road biking or mtn biking? I've got thousands of miles on a
number of different saddles, and I've never noticeably bent any of them
(road, cross, or track - never any mtn biking). They are all Ti.

Andrew F Martin wrote:
Are you road biking or mtn biking? I've got thousands of miles on a
number of different saddles, and I've never noticeably bent any of them
(road, cross, or track - never any mtn biking). They are all Ti.

Currently on my road bike. I've never bent any rails either, even
though I weigh about 84kg.

-n

Andrew F Martin wrote:
Are you road biking or mtn biking? I've got thousands of miles on a
number of different saddles, and I've never noticeably bent any of them
(road, cross, or track - never any mtn biking). They are all Ti.

Most of my miles have been on the road. I have been an active rider at
body weights ranging from a very lean 230 lbs. to a not so lean 400
lbs. And I have occasionally bent saddle rails all along the way.

I imagine that either you are a lot smaller than I have ever been, or
you confine your riding to better surfaces than I do.

Chalo Colina