Curved seat post

[nuts n' bolts]

Does anyone know where/how I can find a curved seat post, the kind that curves back a few inches, and makes your seat ride a little farther back? If so, how do I know if it fits my bike [schwinn cruiser 4] ? Is there an easy way to make one? I love "do it yourself" style solutions. If you have any ideas, please post them. Thanks.
-nuts n' bolts

 

[jtdaddy]

Id like to know also. being 6-4 and 290 makes for a crammed ride. Try also searching here. Ive seen this come up before. Someone said that you could cut handle bars to make it work. I tried once and it did not work. But, that's because I didnt check the hole size first like a dork.. So Im holding on to it to see if it will eventually fit another bike...

 

[Anonymous]

Try a BMX layed back seat post.

 

[Anonymous]

...OR check out my WILD INDIAN in the Other Bikes...

Stock seat post,cut at a 45,re-welded.

 

[jtdaddy]

Are bike seat posts a standard size? If not what are the most common sizes for our cruisers?

 

[jtdaddy]

How does that 45 angle hold up? How long did you make the part that sticks off the original post? Do you have a picture?

 

[aka_locojoe]

Are bike seat posts a standard size? If not what are the most common sizes for our cruisers?

No standard size and I wouldn't say there is a common size either.
I believe Dangratsdan made his own bent seat post out of solid rod. The rod was smaller in diameter then needed to be so he shimmed it.

 

[jtdaddy]

I can weld. I was thinking of making a few of these. Perhaps for a small charge I can make some for people. But I have to have your correct size post. Or two of your posts. ( incase something goes wrong. )

 

[jtdaddy]

Ive noticed that most posts are narrower and thicker than the handle bars. So that hasnt been working. Straight stock is to expensive. Unless you have direct acess to scrap.
Just had a brain fart. The top angled diameter of the tube doesnt really matter. The critical part is the part of the tube that goes into the bike. So if one has the original plus another size, then no problem. That's good. No need to find identical parts.
So then I could do a triangular fix. A bigger pole on top would give more bite to weld into...
Any ideas or objections...

 

[socal_jack]

If you have one of the newer schwinn cruiser 4s. measure the diameter of the seatpost, if it's 7/8 your in the pink, you can get a bmx layback seatpost for cheaps even on ebay. If it's 1-inch you can still find them but it's a bit harder. The old schwinns typically ran a 13/16" seatpost, it is possible to find old bmx layback seatposts in that size but be prepared to pay as they fit the old PK rippers and race inc bikes and are in short supply as those are collectibles to the bmx guys.

If you go pre-war all bets are off, tolerances are real loose on that stuff also, I think there was alot of hand matching of components etc. Between bike companies back past the 60s from one to another there seemed an outright attempt not to standardize. I have late 40s/early 50s Rollfast that I'm rebuilding and the seatpost appears to be 27/32"!

I used a 7/8" bmx layback seatpost on the 98 schwinn deluxe below;

 

[jtdaddy]

How does that lay back feel? Do you petal better, ( more room)? SO you say on e-bay then.

 

[nuts n' bolts]

Thanks for all your help, guys.

-nuts n' bolts

 

[dangratsdan]

Bent seatpost. I like'em. Being about 6'2", 220 lbs. and wanting the seat to set low on my bikes, I think it looks better , I bent my own seatposts for more leg room. I used 5/8" solid steel rod, bent cold, using a 5' long pipe for a cheater bar and a hole in the concrete. Bent to the angle I wanted and shimmed to fit the bike. You could use a solid bar size closer to the size you need to minimize the shim. Ive bent a few with out problems.
My 'Beer Bike"

My ladies bike the "Starchief"
[img]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc12/dangratsdan/star1.jpg
The steel rod was cheap, about $12.00 for 3' rod, I made three seatpost from that rod. Give it a try. Dangerous Dan

 

[socal_jack]

jtdaddy,

I'm not that tall but I still like the set back seat position, probably used to it from my long top tube mtbs, feels like I'm on a unicycle the riding position on a stock schwinn, handlebars sometimes even get in the way. There are gusseted versions that will give you a little more stretch than the one in the pic above, but that one was $5-6 + shipping maybe $10-12 total from ebay (chaser tech)it's on the search page below.

Use this search link to find 'em

http://search.ebay.com/seat-post-se...ckQ29Q20bmxQQsspagenameZSTRKQ3aMEFSRCHQ3aSRCH

 

[Danimal]

Yeah, I'm looking for something like that myself...6'8", 280 lbs...

Sadly, my seat post is 13/16 so I have to find a PK ripper post for cheap. If somebody finds an aftermarket source for those, let me know.

Dan

 

[socal_jack]

There is one more option although the old "luck-7" seatposts were generally pretty short maybe wouldn't provide much relief for someone that's 6'8. They look something like the pic below, but you have to be really careful and make sure with the seller of the size, they are typically from pre-war bikes and sizes are all over the place, I have 2 of these for older schwinns

 

[nuts n' bolts]

I've assessed my seatpost situation, and I think I need to find an alternative approach. I've got a 1 inch post, and finding a bmx laid back post is difficult, and a bit expensive. Also, I don't have a seat clamp for a 1 inch seatpost, because the clamp is built into / welded onto my current straight post. I think it might be easier just to bend my current one. How do I do this without cutting and welding? Is there an easy way to do it without a pipe bender without crimping or kinking the post? Please give any suggestions or solutions. Thanks.

-nuts n' bolts

 

[dangratsdan]

nuts n' bolts
Here is a couple of ideas.

#1 Now I never tried this, but it might work. Find a piece of solid steel rod the same length as your seatpost, that fits snug inside your seatpost. Figure out the angle you want, and bend your seatpost with the steel rod inside, with a long pipe, like I suggested in my above post.

#2 Find a piece of solid steel rod that fits snug inside your seatpost, cut the rod to your desired length ( allow plenty of length in the frame and desired layback ), and bend it with a long pipe to your desired angle as suggested above. Then cut your seat post for the shims, one shim for the seat clamp and one shim for the the seatpost clamp ( I would make the seatpost shim at least 2-3 inch long in to the frame ), use a cutting wheel (maybe a hacksaw would work) to cut the shims length wise to allow the shims to squeeze on the steel rod when the clamps are tightened.

These are just ideas, they might work, they might not work. Just got to try it. At worst your out a seatpost and piece of rod.
Itried to bend a regular seatpost without a tube bender and it kinked. Good luck.
Dangerous Dan

 

[socal_jack]

If you screw it up, check this guy out, $2.99 +shipping for a 1" layback, should be able to get a saddle clamp at your LBS for a couple of bucks

http://cgi.ebay.com/KALIN-CRO-MO-BM...ZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

 

[nuts n' bolts]

Goodness Gracious! Thank you so much for all your great solutions, everyone! Thank you thank you thank you.
-nuts n' bolts