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As opposed to between 30 and 40 quid for a specially made 3d printed piece of plastic the size of my thumb (76projects, revelate, e.t.c), rockshox own enduro collar can be found for like 6 quid on the bay of e. Also, made from metal.
Has anyone successfully used one of these to strap your saddle bag to when using a dropper? Is it a loss? Damage the post?
I just wrap a bit of pipe insulation around the post before strapping the bag on. There's not much saddle drop available with my seatpack on but cutting the foam to length will limit travel and it's not going to damage the seals.
^That sounds like the cheapest option.
I’ve never strapped a seat pack to my bike so can’t answer your question but what the hell this is STW so.....the enduro collar is designed as a stop so I think your problem will be getting a strap to stay in place on it without slipping off and defeating the whole point of sticking the collar on. I’d probably cough up the money and get the 76 Projects collar if it suited my bag BUT if you want to try the Rock Shox collar I think I have a couple sat unused in the shed, PM me your address and I will send one to you (from a pet/smoke/corona free home😀 )
I used one of these in anger a couple of years back when I was out with a mate and his dropper failed. I keep one in my pack as a just in case when out in the hills for big days. Popped it on in seconds and it held his seat post in place for the entire ride. He went home with it and I assume rode around with it fitted for the couple of weeks till he eventually returned it to me after fixing the fault. As far as I can recall, there wasn't a mark on his seat post from it.
I’ve used one to this end, but it’s not quite as straight forward as it sounds.
The “proper” collars are designed to locate the pack strap on them, the Enduro collar isn’t, it’s just there to limit the post travel. I put mine on the shaft just below where the strap wanted to sit, then wrapped the shaft above the clamp in a layer of gaffer tape and some inner tube for protection. Seemed to work fine.
The enduro collar itself doesn’t damage the seat post shaft, however I found I ended up with scores from grit on the lower section. Looks like, normally, the wiper seal scrapes the grit out the way and it just falls off. However due to the design of the enduro collar, when it bottoms out on the seal, it can trap the grit instead and force it past the seal, where it can then do damage. In my case it didn’t cause any lasting issue, and I just fitted a spray flap (more inner tube) down the back of the post when I’ve used it subsequently.
Like Beagleboy - I carry a collar in my pack as a get-you-home option.
Self amalgamating tape, great stuff, wrap the part of the shaft in it that you're using.
I have previously used an enduro collar with various options wrapped above to protect the slidey bit from straps rubbing.
Haven't tried self almagamating tape - that could work well.
Best option previously was a bit of chamois taped around the shaft. Kept the muck out for a weekend.
I’ve used the collar in the same way as a couple of posters above. I put it where it was needed to stop the rear wheel contacting the bag if I dropped the post. I then used tape above the collar to protect the post from the bag strap, worked really well and left no marks on the post. I also used it when a fellow rider’s Reverb kept dropping so he could finish the expedition we were on. Not sure it would be the best solution if you are wanting to put the strap actually on the collar as the shape is likely to let the strap slide off. Worth a try though if you can get the freebie above.
I suppose a second question - how important is bodging one of the seat-based metal rack mounts like an alpkit EXOrail for running a seatpack when mountain biking?
A nightmare without or would topeaks DP mount provide enough rigidity?
I also tried the enduro collar for a saddle bag support. Didn't notice scoring but did find that strap would work its way off and it also limited me to half travel on the post. I now use the topeak dp mount linked above. It solves the saddle bag mount problem, still allows practically full travel and is also handy as a kind of mudguard for the post. A note on fitting the dp mount though, I have a 27.2 brand X dropper and found that the shims included with the dp mount weren't quite right for the shaft diameter so ended up fitting it around the head of the post just above the shaft.
On the second point I did try an exorail before settling on the dp mount. It was definitely more a more rigid connection but I felt like it was therefore transfering all the sideways swinging load of the bag into the shaft keys on the dropper post and so seemed to make the side play in the dropper worse. This might just be me over thinking it but decided that would rather have a bit of sway in the bag than potentially knacker my dropper post. Might be ok with a smaller saddle bag.
Re exo-rails, I haggled one into a deal from Alpkit after my original Koala wouldn’t stay put - the buckles constantly slipped and kept dropping the pack into the back wheel. The theory is good, however I managed to snap the exo-rail on its first outing (went at the weld where the cross race sits) and I’ve not tried the replacement in anger yet. (On neither occasion where they overloaded - 2 season sleeping bag and a bivvy bag).
I was using an Alpkit Exorail and thought it was excellent at stabilising the bag. The main downsides are that the rail is a faff to put on and take off so if you are wanting to pop the bag on and off it becomes a real pain. Fine if you are putting it on for a few days or a specific trip. The other issue is that it raises your saddle about 15mm so you will need enough adjustment to lower the post in the frame to correct for that. I had no concerns about any sway being transferred to the post, partly because I try to keep the saddle bag relatively light but also the forces IMO are small compared to those generated by me!
The Topeak link above looks interesting. I don’t think it will stop sway like the Exorail as it is essentially just an alternative mounting point rather than a frame that extends along the length of the bag like the Exorail. If you are using it on a full sus bike you will need to ensure you have enough clearance between rear wheel and saddle/seat tube when the suspension is compressed and seatpost lowered. You may find you need to lock out (or greatly stiffen) the rear sus and/or greatly limit travel on the dropper to stop the wheel hitting the bag or mount.
Pics below - first one is a large bag without Exorail but using the enduro collar to limit travel. The second is with an Exorail and enduro collar.
This was my plan too. I figured two Enduro collars would do the job nicely.
Great news, thanks for the advice. I'm going to pony up for a DP mount, if only I could find one in the UK!
I got mine from Swinnerton Cycles last September if it helps