My apologies to Jan Heine, I misquoted / misunderstood him.
> Jan Heine
> tells me that expander seatposts are an "Alex Singer" exclusive
> feature. Is this really true ?? Did any other maker ever sell
> expander seatposts ?? By this I mean a seatpost that operates upon
> the same principles as a quill stem.
>
>
> Donald, you misquoted/misunderstood me. I said and wrote that the
> internal expander seatposts are an Alex Singer trademark, meaning that
> many A. Singer bikes featured this, like their fillet-brazed stem,
> one-piece head tube and wire front derailleur. All those features were
> found on other bikes, too, some long before A. Singer used them. (See
> the Narcisse tandem in VBQ Vol. 2, No. 3).
>
>
> There were many other bikes with expander seatposts, including some
> recent (1980s) Italian brand - I think it was F. Moser.
>
>
> The Singers have a sleeve brazed into the seat tube to reinforce it
> for the forces of the expander. Whether this would hold up to "brute
> strength" tightening that is popular among some cyclists, I don't
> know. On a well-designed and well-crafted bike, the bolts generally
> don't need to be much more than finger-tight. Exceptions are the crank
> bolts (and the bolts on Campy 2-bolt seatposts).
>
>
> I once met a woman with a flat tire who did not manage to open the
> quick release of the wheel (it was a CR-timeline bike). I tried to
> help, but couldn't, either. Finally, I wedged a wrench between frame
> and lever, and managed to open it. Her boyfriend had explained that
> you needed "sufficient" clamping force and tightened it for her!
> --
> Jan Heine, Seattle
> Editor/Publisher
> Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
> http://www.mindspring.com/