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Looking at changing my basic Brand-X post for something lighter and comfier
I think I'd like to stick with aluminium, but hoping I can still gain some comfort given that I have a reasonable amount of seatpost exposed (nearly 25cm to the rails) and a slack old-school seatangle around 73 deg
My naive understanding is that comfiness will be well correlated with weight for aluminium posts of the same diameter and length, given they don't have fancy shapes like carbon ones do. But how much, if any, comfort can I get out of a decent alu post?
I'm not considering a Thomson Elite, but may consider a Masterpiece (I'd not buy one new for the price though, so would be relying on eBay)
KCNC are stupidly cheap for their weight and I don't understand why. Not sure if they are comfortable too. If so that's potentially the obvious answer. I'm 78kg or something so weight limit is fine
Ritchey WCS also seem worth a look
Any other suggestions?
I've got a Masterpiece on the race bike, with a Flite SLR saddle, so hardly the most padded.
Very comfortable, and I race 24hrs.
I find it's more about the shorts
If you're after comfort, given how much you can pick decent carbon seatposts up for nowadays, I wouldn't even be looking at another alloy one. I got a Ritchey WCS carbon seatpost for about 40 quid last year
If you're after comfort then do not buy a Thompson under any circumstances. They are the most rigid thing known to man!
I thought even roadies were running dropper seatposts these days?
What diameter? In general, a narrower seatpost will flex more, so running a 27.2 post would be best. You might need to shim it out to fit your frame.
And +1 to the comment about Thompson posts being amongst the most rigid.
Yea, I'm avoiding the Thomson Elite for that reason, but the Masterpiece is I think cleverly butted, which must remove some of the stiffness
KCNC seem to be much lighter than carbon for the same price point (oh, I guess I'm considering Scandium too)
https://r2-bike.com/KCNC-Seatpost-Ti-Pro-Lite-AL75-272-x-350-mm
It's a 27.2mm seattube -- I've considered shimming down to 25.4mm but it doesn't seem worth it
As for droppers, I'll probably pick up a non-remote thing for this build, too, and switch them accordingly (it spends most of it's life commuting along Lake Geneva to my new job, so no need for a dropper most of the time)
I've got a KCNC SC Pro seatpost on my Stumpjumper FSR. I don't think they make it anymore.
One of these:
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/seatposts/seatpost-and-seat-pin/kcnc-sc-pro-lite-scandium-seatpost-review
It's proven to be durable & is very well made.
I cannot really comment on comfort as it's fitted to a full-sus, but I would definitely recommend otherwise.
Buy British and get USE? So light they're probably quite flexy, and they seem to not have the stupid 3mm bolts on their current model: Duro Aluminium - Ultimate Sports Engineering Ltd (exposure-use.com)
The only seatpost I've used that's appreciably more 'comfortable' than another was a 27.2mm Lynskey titanium one. I actually disliked the feel of it, sort of twangy and soft - obviously the movement isn't vertical, so it's presumably deflecting mostly forwards and backwards. It didn't really feel 'comfortable' to me, just flexy.
Anyway, if I were looking at softening a bike that way, I'd maybe consider something like a Bikeyoke Sagma saddle instead.
I've never felt any difference in comfort between seatposts - perhaps my arse is just insensitive. The possible exception to this was an I-beam post, but I put that down to the I-beam saddle having absolutely zero flex. I've had a couple of KCNC posts - nicely made like all their stuff, very light, and I've never broken one.
Those Bikeyoke seats look great actually, although I do already have too many saddles so will prob focus on the post for now
KCNC is looking good then
USE is a good shout too -- if I can get hold of one over here in Europe
https://www.exposure-use.com/Brands/Ultimate-USE/Outlet-Store/SUMO-Aluminium-Seat-Post
is always a bargain from their outlet.
I have several of these, the 27.2 version is light and comfy, the 31.6 version is not as flexy, as you'd expect from a larger diameter post, but still pretty comfortable.
I’ve considered shimming down to 25.4mm but it doesn’t seem worth it
It could well be worth it, the drop in OD should reduce stiffness more than the general range of wall thicknesses eg between a Thomson and an average seatpost of the same size.
commuting along Lake Geneva
Alright for some! Enjoy..
I put that down to the I-beam saddle having absolutely zero flex
Seemed like a terrible idea from a comfort POV. I had one brief ride on an I-beam saddle + post and that was enough.
Seemed like a terrible idea from a comfort POV
It didn't just seem like a bad idea, it was a bad idea. I didn't buy mine, it came on a bike I bought off eBay and was the first part I swapped - for a Truvativ Noir carbon post. The second things I swapped were the Elixir 5 brakes...
Not sure looking for comfort from the seatpost is going to give the best results as all it can do is flex a bit and not actually absorb vertical shocks. Bigger/lower PSI tyres, best padded shorts for your body and best saddle for your body would be where I would be looking
I was about to add that a seatpost is only part of the floor to butt connection.
Comfy tyres and saddle probably have the biggest impact.
To me a skinnier seat post is more flexy, but it is miniscule compared to saddle and tyres.
I’ve considered shimming down to 25.4mm but it doesn’t seem worth it
It could well be worth it, the drop in OD should reduce stiffness more than the general range of wall thicknesses eg between a Thomson and an average seatpost of the same size.
I guess by worth it I was going on the lack of options at that diameter, but may be I should take another look
commuting along Lake Geneva
Alright for some! Enjoy..
Yea, I've got lucky with this one... only been here a few months, but the UK is going to feel even grimmer if I do end up haiving to come back in a few years time.
+1 for whoever said just get a carbon post and don't get a Ti one.
When metal post flexes, it pings back with all the same energy, that's one of the reasons they feel harsh, they don't dissipate the energy, just shake you around a bit.
Canyon did some cool stuff wit their VCLS posts, swapping some of the carbon for basalt so it had higher hysteresis (damping). Even the MK1 (the solid one, not the leaf springs) felt like I'd let 15psi out my skinny roadie tyres.
If you're dead set on metal, even the cheaper Ritchey ones used to be ovalized inside to save weight. IIRC ControlTech's CNC posts were too, they were basically a half price rip-off of a Thompson.