Catalyzt
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
So, a few days ago, I'm doing my usual four-mile fitness loop, and I go over a crack in the sidewalk I literally have gone over two or three times a week since I bought the bike this spring. I hear a sharp click as I feel the bike seat tilt backwards a notch.
Then I kind of relax. No big deal. Everyone has had this happen at one point or another-- a little odd because it's CF, you tighten the bolts with a torque wrench, but hey, I guess they can work loose same as metal. I ride home a little carefully.
Today, I read up on the procedure for readjusting the seat angle on the VCLS, which I remember (from the manual, I never adjusted it after picking it up, because I thought it felt just right) was a little complicated-- it involves loosening four bolts, and you have to remove the seat post completely. First, I have to remove the reflector, which is secured via a clamp to the seat post. The GRIZL has always-on rear lights way brighter than any reflector, and my helmet has a rear reflector and integrated rear blinking light. It's redundant, happy to be rid of the 50 grams or whatever. Fine. But now that I can see the top of the seat tube, it seems like maybe the seat post is pretty low in the utbe. But that can't be-- it would be such a rookie mistake, and a safety item as well. Even I know this is a safety item for this particular bike, it's not something you just eyeball.
When I pull out the seat post, however, I see that REI had inserted it nearly an inch below the maximum insertion depth printed on the post, right to where the two halves join, and the max insertion mark is well below that.
This, I think, is really serious given the split-leaf design of the VCLS: The two halves of the post are designed to flex and separate slightly. That separation, at least in theory, could crack the down tube if it's stuffed too far in. (I inspect the seat post carefully; it's not damaged. The creak was what I thought it was, just the sound of the seat tilting backwards, same as on any other bike.)
I torque all the bolts to their specs, which are all different numbers (my wrench only goes to 6, the bolt at the bottom of the post is supposed to be 7, but I only weigh 150 pounds, and this isn't the bolt that clamps the tube, so I'm not worried about it. I think two others were 4 and a third was 5.)
This all has a happy ending-- I took the bike for a ride, and there's no creaking or problem. What's more, the bike is MUCH easier to ride with the seat 5/6ths of an inch (or whatever) higher than it was; much better power delivery to the crank. The seat height previously had been more like a mountain bike, where I could put my feet firmly on the ground with my heels elevated only slightly, and now it feels similar to, but not quite as high, as my road bike, the old Competition, where the seat is so high I'm always on tip-toes when I stop. Everything is way better-- and the app is showing me 117 Average Watts for the ride, even though I wasn't working as hard as I was last time I hit 117, my highest reading since my medical catastrophe in July. The balance, the handling, everything feels more natural now-- though Large is still really large for the Grizl:ON, as many people have said, and if any part of me was any shorter (I'm 6 feet and change, depending on the day) I'd have needed a medium. And a medium would have been less stable for me cornering.
Oh, one other thing: I'm also getting more suspension from the seat post! It's a noticeably smoother ride.
Now I'm wondering: Did they even use a torque wrench when they put the bike together?! How could they not see the markings on the seat post?! It is NOT possible that the post slipped; I had always thought it looked a little low, I would have noticed if it had slipped, I always notice when that happens. And I'm kicking myself, because I knew that they delivered the bike without even bothering to adjust the derailleur tension properly. I did that myself and had it checked at an LBS.
I'm wondering if there's anything else I should check. Yeah, this is on REI, and I would not trust REI (at least in Burbank) for any work moving forward, but it's also on me. I should have checked these four bolts, and the seat height (most importantly) when I saw the derailleur tension was so far out of spec. I'm just glad I haven't done any significant drops on the bike, and that my butt is off the seat most of the time I hit little ones.
Then I kind of relax. No big deal. Everyone has had this happen at one point or another-- a little odd because it's CF, you tighten the bolts with a torque wrench, but hey, I guess they can work loose same as metal. I ride home a little carefully.
Today, I read up on the procedure for readjusting the seat angle on the VCLS, which I remember (from the manual, I never adjusted it after picking it up, because I thought it felt just right) was a little complicated-- it involves loosening four bolts, and you have to remove the seat post completely. First, I have to remove the reflector, which is secured via a clamp to the seat post. The GRIZL has always-on rear lights way brighter than any reflector, and my helmet has a rear reflector and integrated rear blinking light. It's redundant, happy to be rid of the 50 grams or whatever. Fine. But now that I can see the top of the seat tube, it seems like maybe the seat post is pretty low in the utbe. But that can't be-- it would be such a rookie mistake, and a safety item as well. Even I know this is a safety item for this particular bike, it's not something you just eyeball.
When I pull out the seat post, however, I see that REI had inserted it nearly an inch below the maximum insertion depth printed on the post, right to where the two halves join, and the max insertion mark is well below that.
This, I think, is really serious given the split-leaf design of the VCLS: The two halves of the post are designed to flex and separate slightly. That separation, at least in theory, could crack the down tube if it's stuffed too far in. (I inspect the seat post carefully; it's not damaged. The creak was what I thought it was, just the sound of the seat tilting backwards, same as on any other bike.)
I torque all the bolts to their specs, which are all different numbers (my wrench only goes to 6, the bolt at the bottom of the post is supposed to be 7, but I only weigh 150 pounds, and this isn't the bolt that clamps the tube, so I'm not worried about it. I think two others were 4 and a third was 5.)
This all has a happy ending-- I took the bike for a ride, and there's no creaking or problem. What's more, the bike is MUCH easier to ride with the seat 5/6ths of an inch (or whatever) higher than it was; much better power delivery to the crank. The seat height previously had been more like a mountain bike, where I could put my feet firmly on the ground with my heels elevated only slightly, and now it feels similar to, but not quite as high, as my road bike, the old Competition, where the seat is so high I'm always on tip-toes when I stop. Everything is way better-- and the app is showing me 117 Average Watts for the ride, even though I wasn't working as hard as I was last time I hit 117, my highest reading since my medical catastrophe in July. The balance, the handling, everything feels more natural now-- though Large is still really large for the Grizl:ON, as many people have said, and if any part of me was any shorter (I'm 6 feet and change, depending on the day) I'd have needed a medium. And a medium would have been less stable for me cornering.
Oh, one other thing: I'm also getting more suspension from the seat post! It's a noticeably smoother ride.
Now I'm wondering: Did they even use a torque wrench when they put the bike together?! How could they not see the markings on the seat post?! It is NOT possible that the post slipped; I had always thought it looked a little low, I would have noticed if it had slipped, I always notice when that happens. And I'm kicking myself, because I knew that they delivered the bike without even bothering to adjust the derailleur tension properly. I did that myself and had it checked at an LBS.
I'm wondering if there's anything else I should check. Yeah, this is on REI, and I would not trust REI (at least in Burbank) for any work moving forward, but it's also on me. I should have checked these four bolts, and the seat height (most importantly) when I saw the derailleur tension was so far out of spec. I'm just glad I haven't done any significant drops on the bike, and that my butt is off the seat most of the time I hit little ones.
