Hi everyone,
I need an advice. I think Giant sent me a defective warranty replacement frame.
The Backstory: I rode my original TCR for about a year until the BB PressFit shell became out of spec (too loose). Giant approved the warranty and sent a brand-new 2025 TCR frame. The bike was re-assembled by an official local Giant dealer.
The Seatpost Nightmare:
- First Seatpost: On my literal second ride on the new frame, the original seatpost cracked/snapped, The dealer completely denied the warranty and refused to fix it. They blamed me for overtightening the clamp. However I used the correct torque setting for it, the same as with the original frame.
- The Gap: While waiting for a replacement seatpost, I noticed what there is a visible gap between the seatpost and the seat tube. I can literally slide the corner of a standard credit card into the gap with just a tiny bit of effort. Without the clamp, the seatpost just drops straight down under its own weight and there is about 2–3 degrees of rotational play (twist) around the vertical axis on a completely un-clamped seatpost.
- Second Seatpost: My new seatpost just arrived. Before even adding friction paste or sitting on the bike, I did a test fit. I tightened the front wedge clamp to only 3 Nm (spec is 5–6 Nm). Right after that, a noticeable mark appeared on the seatpost, on the exact same side where the first seatpost had snapped.
It looks like because the seat tube bore is too wide, the clamp twists clockwise as it's tightened, putting uneven pressure on the right side of the seatpost.
The local dealer refuses to state what the official tolerances should be, claiming that Giant doesn't share this information with them.
Any 2025 TCR owners here — do you have a noticeable gap and rotational play, or does your seatpost fit snugly?
by Creative-Ad-1626
6 Comments
That sucks so much, but I can see the dealer’s side of this too. In their eyes it’s got to have been you, as it was fine when it left the shop. If I were you I’d take the seatpost in to them and have them tighten it and see how it behaves. Then if it does it for them, they’ll know it’s not a you problem.
Your torque wrench is calibrated and accurate?
I’d get a third seatpost and let the shop install it this time.
Kind of looks like you have the wrong wedge in the frame. Have you inspected the fit to the seatpost?
I think this problem has been known for quite some time now. Seems like a bad seat clamp design. Peaktorque even offers carbon repair for exactly that problem:
[https://peak-torque.com/collections/carbon-repairs/products/giant-tcr-seatpost-carbon-repair](https://peak-torque.com/collections/carbon-repairs/products/giant-tcr-seatpost-carbon-repair)
P.S.: My TCR seatpost also looks very bad, will have to replace it soon…
That clamp does not look right.
Are you sure your new frame is the same as your original?
The Giant retailers platform allows you to put in frame numbers and see all the correct part numbers for all the bits.
If you DM me your frame number, I can try check for you
As an aside – Giant did originally list a torque of 7mn on those clamps, and have since revised them down
Wort seat post clamp design ever produced