Thread: 34mm Seatpost Clamp...?

Anyone have the definitive solution to this problem?

My '04 Novara Ponderosa HT has a 34 mm clamp. I've recently decided I NEED to switch to a quick release style clamp, but unfortunately that decision led me to the knowledge that this is a totally odd size and none of the commercially available aftermarket clamps seem to work.

I've tried a 34.9mm clamp on it at my LBS and could see light all the way around between it and the frame..

I've tried using a QR bolt through my OEM clamp, but the clamp is angled in such a way that the pressure shattered all the spacers I tried to put in to make it fit..

I know other forums recommend using soda can shims, but I'd rather avoid that if I can..

I plan on showing up at my local REI bike shop sometime soon and asking how they would deal with the problem of their proprietary equipment not being eligible for upgrades, but in the meantime I figured I'd poll the mags ans see if there is actually an agreed upon 'best' solution to the problem....

So what do you know?

A several hundred dollar solution would be to install a dropper post, then you could put it wherever you like without adjusting the seatpost collar.

My next thought ws maybe file/open up the 'crush' space on the 34.9 so it will clamp down to fit, but a little math says that there is almost a 3mm diference in circumfrence, and there is probably not enough material to work with to remove that much. But maybe? relatively cheap option.

Gorilla tape.

You found it, the only size no one seems to make except OEM.

It's like a snipe-hunt.

If you are 'rockin an 2004 Novarra, well step up to the plate and prepare to be overwhelmed with joy when you ride a new bike!

PM me for a sympathy deal on any 29" in the shop, and I have lots...

So it's just got a regular hex bolt then? Weld a hex key to it - boom! Now you have a quick release clamp.

Sometimes you can get just the qr clamping guts for about $10 and put it on the existing collar. like this

whoops, I should read better.
tape up the inside of a 34.9, or put tape around the frame.

Originally Posted by Crampedon

You found it, the only size no one seems to make except OEM.

Transition Trans Am uses a 32.8.

Just to follow up in case anyone else ends up here looking for help, I went down to see my friendly local REI bike tech today at the Boston store.

After explaining my situation to him he dug around in the shop for a while and came up with this jewel...



$10 and I was out the door. Thanks REI!

$10 and you are still riding a 2004 Novarra. Seems steep.

Yup, I'm riding a 2004 Novara hard tail.

I haven't spent much time at all on a bike since I rode this thing as a city commuter in '05. It sat abused and neglected in my garage from then until the spring of this year, when I finally made the decision that this was the year for me to follow all my ski friends into the world of mountain biking.

I dusted off the old hardtail, spent a couple of weeks dedicating any and all time I could find (tough with a 2 year old) to tuning it up/rebuilding it and a fork, a couple of chain rings, some cables and housings and a half dozen TGR threads later I was up and riding.

Since April I have been regularly doing 1-2 hour rides 3-5 times a week.

I have continued to tweak my bike along the way as I progress both in my riding and my shop skills, hence this thread about the clamp.

Would I love to get my hands on a new 4 or 5 inch FS bike? Absolutely (although probably not a 29er. )

In fact if you look around a little bit you'll see that I've been doing quite a bit of research on them through this site, and was almost ready to buy for a while before finances changed.

I'll get a new bike eventually, but for now I've been logging hundreds of miles and thousands of vertical feet on my 2004 Novara Pondersoa Hardtail and I've been loving every second of it.

Bike riding is fun, especially in the woods. I wish I had realized this earlier that I did (or rather not forgotten it after I turned 16) but I'm glad I know it now, and I'm going to keep putting $10 at a time into my current ride to make it moar betterer until I get something nicer to throw $$ at.

That is in fact what bike riding is all about!

My kidding aside, I have said to uppity rental customers that act flabbergasted they can't rent a $9000 road bike for $60 a day that it's not what you ride, it's where you ride!

-My offer stands when you want something new!