Does a seatpost clamp need to be double bolt/ double quick release?

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Does a seatpost clamp need to be double bolt/quick release?
Or can it just be single quick release?
This would be for a Muni.

Random questions
2

To answer the question - single bolt should be fine, double bolt is belt and braces.

I’m not a fan of QR - singlebolt tends to be pretty useless and doublebolt is a faff. While they don’t need a hex key, the Nimbus ones are a bit of a fight to open/close.

3

So… None of them are good?

4

Just in case i miscommunicated, i was referring not having great experiences with single and double qr. Non QR ones are fine. I put a double QR on a steel frame which probably didn’t help and it needed brute force to open and close. Other people might have had a better experience with them.

Single QR on the other hand, just avoid…

5

So single bolt clamps are good?

2 Likes
6

It depends how much you drop it and if you’ve got a handlebar on it, how often you want to adjust it, if you want a certain colour etc. I don’t think you can go far wrong with the Nimbus DoubleQuick – it is maybe a bit expensive compared to a single QR one but you probably get what you pay for.

Mad4One also have their selection of clamps including a rather nice three-bolt (non-QR) one (it is only for 27.2mm seat posts on 31.8mm frames though) – that is probably at the opposite end of where you want to be price-wise and clamping capability though.

7

The question is: Are you fine with readjusting your seat every now and then after dropping your uni at a UPD? If yes, single bolt is sufficient. If this would annoy you, definitely go for double bolt.

8

I prefer double bolt but if it’s a single bolt make sure it’s a big one with a 6 mm Allen bolt at least. My favorite are the seat collars that pinch the seat tube and have a step down that grips the seat post as well. I think I’ve only seen Primo do that.

9

6mm? Very hard to find, standard size is 5mm.
I will get a double bolt, as it would be annoying to constantly readjust.

1 Like
10

Also, it depends on the particular frame / seat post combo. There‘s quite a variance in the effective diameters as compared to the nominal diameters. Some combos are a pain even with a double clamp, others are fine with a single.
I think you made the right choice going with double. I prefer double, too. Have only one uni with a single clamp (that works well, in this particular case). That uni has no handle bar, is not a muni, and is not the one I use to learn new stuff, so it sees very few UPDs.

1 Like
11

I meant a 6mm Allen wrench instead of the more common 5mm or worse 4mm head for tightening. Those just strip out.

12

I know

13

i am very happy with a single bolt quick release. On UPDs the seatpost sometimes get twistet. That’s ok for me, as i think it helps to avoids damage on other parts of the uni, e.g. mad extension, break lever.

I use a clamp from Hope. The clamp is quite stable, having only metal parts, no plastic and has a reasonable wide lever so you can easily open/close with power. Unfortunately the current 2025 version of that clamp uses plastic, so i would not want this new version.

I find the nimbus double quick on my other uni cumbersome to handle.

14

I use the nimbus double quick on all my unis, because no matter how much I tighten a bolt there’s always a fall that will twist the seat post in the frame and I don’t normally carry tools to adjust it back to straight.

A tip is to get some carbon grip paste. Any bike shop should have it, or just eBay/Amazon. It’s designed for carbon fibre components which are very torque sensitive, but it’s basically just grease with small particles in to increase friction between parts. It means you can get the same resistance to movement between parts with lower torque so you don’t have to crank bolts/QR levers so tight to prevent it slipping.

15

I use a Chromag single QR on my Muni, as I like being able to drop the seat for more dicey downhill sections so I can bail easier, or higher for the long fireroad climb back to the top of the trails. Carbon paste helps stop it slipping, but i do also have to do it up pretty tight. The Chromag had good leverage on the lever for this. Having said that, on a hard crash, it can still twist.

16

I dont mind double bolt, but I always fumble with finding the right balance in being able to close the quick release compared to how far I tightened the bolts. On the latest 24muni the hexagon head quickly got damaged cocz I couldnt get the Allen key in deep enough. Now I need a new bolt for it. When riding, I do always have seat and seatpost size allen keys with me. Generally if the seat twists at a UPD I figure it wasnt tight enough