Sheldon said:
>A more interesting question to me is whether the bolt should go in
>front of or behind the seatpost. For any modern ideas of fitting,
>the bolt needs to go behind the post, but if you look at old
>illustrations, the saddles were very commonly placed much farther
>forward, with the bolt in front of the seatpost, or even cantilevered
>forward on a "7" shaped seatpost with a forward-facing horizontal
>extension.
>
I have pondered this too and generally the very relaxed seat angles on
early bikes result in fairly normal positions with the forward facing
clamp. I would call normal a plumb line down from the front of the seat is
2-3" behind the BB. My Pop Brennan 6 day bike gives exactly the same
position and weight balance as a modern bike. I think I could say the same
about my circa 1928 BSA path racer. My 1898 Sterling, which is a roadster,
has a cramped top tube by modern definition, even with a 44" wheelbase.
The old six day guys around Newark used to look disapprovingly at bikes where the seat wasn't far enough back relative to the BB. They felt there was a sweet spot for spinning with power. They were very concerned with fit and weight balance on the bike. The "7" shaped seatpost and a Major Taylor stem makes the bike quite adjustable.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
3 degrees and more snow tonight in Ann Arbor