How to get saddles on Nitto seatposts

It sounds simple, but if you don't know the technique, you can spend a lot of time faffing around trying to get the rails into the clamp. We have a lot of practice doing it around here, and here's how to make it easy. We'll start with the S83, which I used to think was difficult until I figured out how to do it, and now I think it's even easier than the simpler, one-bolt S65. 

First off, get a proper allen wrench, a long one, with a ball head on the long side. Both the S83 and S65 take a 6mm allen. This one is a WERA (fancy), but they don't have to be that nice. The length and ball head are important, though. Using a multi-key will frustrate you.

It's easier to do this with the seatpost inside the bike frame. I tighten it with the post high for more working room.

Loosen the clamp as far as it'll go. You can even take the nut (in this case, the barrel shaped top piece) all the way off and re-thread it back on one spin. Hold the bolt underneath with your index finger so it doesn't fall out. 

When you're using an S83, put the saddle on from the side, rather than the front or back. Get one side of the rails into the clamp and go beyond the perch where they'll ultimately sit. 

That'll give the rails on the other side, in this case the right side, enough room that you can wiggle those in too.

Once the rails are in, the hard part is over and now it's time to tighten. Put your finger over the top of the nut and, with the ball head side of the allen, tighten each bolt until you feel it start to protrude out of the top of the nut. That ensures you tighten both relatively evenly. 

Don't worry about saddle angle for now.

While the clamp is still relatively loose, scooch the saddle into whatever fore-n-aft position you want. For Brooks saddles, we usually shove them all the way back.

When the clamp starts to get tight, switch to the short end of the allen. The tightness of the two bolts determines the angle of the saddle. Tightening the back bolt lifts the nose, and tightening the front brings it down. Loosening does the opposite. Fine tune your saddle angle by tightening and loosening the two bolts. 

When you're done, both should be relatively tight.

The amount of threads showing above the top of the nut don't have to be exactly even, but it should be close. We like Brooks saddles slightly nose up, so the back bolt is a bit tighter than the front. Nitto says these bolts should be tightened to 15 to 19 Nm, so you have some wiggle room. 

The S65

The S65 is Nitto's simpler, less expensive single bolt seatpost. 

Like the S83, start by loosening the clamp as much as possible. I sometimes take the top threaded piece all the way off while holding the bolt from the bottom and then thread it back on one spin, to make sure it's as loose as possible. 

Turn the top piece 90 degrees.

Put the saddle on by sliding the top piece through the backside of the rails, where there's more space.

First let me address the elephant in the room: the max fore-n-aft range is way too constrained. I don't even know of a seatpost clamp that'll fit inside them, so... don't worry about it too much. Don't position the saddle all the way back or or all the way forward on the rails and it'll likely be fine. If you bend the rails on your 182.55, let us know. Next time we order them we'll ask them to make those lines more generous. 

OK, back to saddle installation:

Use the ballhead first and then, when it starts to get tight, switch to the short end of the allen. Before it gets too tight, set your fore/aft and saddle angle. 

The piece the arrow is pointing to above has a tendency to swivel 90 degrees. Don't let that happen. Make sure it's slotting into its cavity on the seatpost. 

Nitto says the S65's single bolt should be torqued to 16 to 18 Nm. FWIW, I never use a torque wrench on my own bikes, but we do on customer bikes. 

good! I'll do the Ritchey 2-bolt post later. That one is slightly more involved, but not by much.