styggno1

1984 up



1978 to 1983



1974 to 1977



Up to 1973



I do have a one track mind...

St33lWh33ls

A friend has one with silver caps, looks really clean.

If Moots would put round caps on the Cinch Post it would be perfect. I really like the the separate rail and tilt adjustment on the Cinch Post.

steelbikeguy

I've seen this issue with the set screw causing deformation in the lower portion of the clamp/cradle too. The deformation allowed the clamp bolt to lose tension, which allowed the seat to become loose and wobble around, possibly permitting worse things to happen.

Other than that... I have been using them since 1990 and been happy with them.

To save SJX426 some work, I've taken photos of my first AC seatpost. It dates to around 1990, and appears to be a first generation design (i.e. a single piece tube and head).

the complete seatpost:




front view of the top half of the seatpost:




the marking on the seatpost:




front view of the clamp portion of the seatpost:
(and the layer of grime confirms that it saw a lot of use)




rear view of the underside of the clamp portion:




view of the bolts and clamp from the underside:




the disassembled clamp:




another view of the disassembled clamp:





Steve in Peoria

noglider 

I don't care much about seatposts. They all do the job for me. The old Campagnolo Record design was the most annoying, because it took a long time to adjust even with the right tool, and the right tool is hard to come by. Also, it's easy to lose parts off it. Other than that, I'm easy to satisfy. One of my bikes even has a straight seatpost with the old style clamp. The notches are close enough for me to find an angle I like.

Then again, the Moots posts pictured here look very clever.

So what are the worst seatposts? Are there any that are unconscionably dangerous?

SJX426 

@steelbikeguy - Thanks! I wasn't going to go a take an assembly apart just for this crowd, but wait until I was going to swap a saddle, which I have been contemplating. Plus, I wouldn't have been as documentarian as you, so everybody wins with your response!
@noglider - The worst, IMHO, are the pin and clamp like brooks used prior to those we have been discussing. The reason is the challenge of getting the right torque on the bolt. I have struggled with the tilt too due to the gross indexing stamped in the parts. Not to mention the weight! While I was riding back in the late 60's, the bolt broke and the saddle became a loose object difficult to target, much less use while riding.

noglider 

Gross indexing. Good term. I understand some people want a position somewhere between the clicks, but it seems I don't care. You do have to tighten the nuts well, because if it slips, you strip the notches, and eventually, the clamp doesn't hold. But replacements are cheap.

AustinFitz

Being a big fan of '80s Japanese bikes myself the Laprade has my vote for favorite post too. Unfortunately my favorite bike came equipped with the steel clamp CT-P5E version. While I've not had any problems with it, I think I may swap it out for the larger, more supportive looking aluminum clamp from an old beat up CT-P5 I had laying around. It will require a bit of a clean up first, but I think it's probably a worthwhile upgrade.

Toolong2

I vote for mine. It's the worst thing about my bike and I've hated it since it first wiggled on me during the test ride when I bought the bike, and the shop said I just needed to tighten it a bit. Maybe if the hulk tightened it. I've got it soooo tight right now I'm afraid it will snap if I go further. It has the tiniest of front-to-back wiggles right now, barely noticeable, but drives me crazy. I finally broke down and ordered the cheapest fluted one I could find on ebay after seeing how expensive some of the "favorites" on this board are, though not many are even available in the 26.4 size I need.

Anyway, pics of my vote for worst seatpost

JoeBass

I just ordered one of these. Looks interesting. I'll let you know how it works out.

The Velo ORANGE Blog: The J. P. Routens Seat Post, Most Unusual

steelbikeguy

Since I had my box of spare seatposts opened up and ready, I dug around a bit and found a second generation American Classic seatpost! Yeah.. I always liked these. A bit quirky, but light and inexpensive.

As some folks know, the second generation was subtly different. The biggest change is that the head and the tube are separate pieces, as opposed to the first generation where they were machined from a single piece of aluminum. I wonder how expensive that was?!

The parts in the clamp changed a bit too. They must have saved a little money to make it worthwhile, but it's not obvious to me how or where.

Anyway.. here are a few photos to illustrate these details.


the front view of the head and clamp of the 2nd generation American Classic post:




a front view from above the clamp....




a side view from above the clamp....




a side view of the head, with the clamp disassembled




a slightly different view of the head and disassembled clamp




another view, with some parts flipped over




Steve in Peoria

Grand Bois

Ideale solved the slippage problem. They work so well that I have them on two bikes. I like to use them on older bikes with SA hubs. I use aluminum posts.

Grand Bois

Simplex came out with one later that I like a lot. It looks like a copy of a Super Record, but they improved it by using a socket head bolt that you can crank on hard enough to prevent slipping.

I don't have a close up, this is the best I can do:

malcala622

Bring up a slightly old thread regarding posts but I'd have to say the Bianchi NR panto post is my favorite. I decided to keep it after trying to sell it.



Also i have a question. How difficult is it to find a Shimano 600 (6400) non aero seatpost?

repechage

The Weyless seatpost was the lightweight champion way back. "Designing the future"

The 3ttt had the nice aspect of independent tilt and fore/aft clamping. Won one at a race, was very happy on my track bike.

The Campagnolo Superleggero was the thinking man's Super Record post. They show up on offer from time to time and are often not identified. To my wallet's benefit.

P!N20

malcala622

All i see are aero posts and in order for me to use one i have to go down a size in frame size (55/56---> 54/53)

Kovkov

These. Either with 25.4 or 25.8mm.

CO_Steve

I just sold the next to last part on a bike I was parting out. The only thing left is the Campy aero post. I sanded out the scratches and gave it a mirror finish polish.
After checking ebay prices I decided it was too pretty to let go for what it's worth. Making a nice paperweight right now, I'm sure I'll find it a home someday.

malcala622

I think I found a unicorn

Cl904

texaspandj

The walking thread.
I prefer the vintage Shimano DA or 600 aero seatpost. I have them on all my bikes including the odd size 25.0 on my Carbon Ironman.

79pmooney

+1 Never had a Nitto post but would welcome one. (Nitto Pearls being my all-time favorite stem by a lot.) 2-bolt posts rule. I have a single bolt post serving on my winter/rain/city fix gear. Campy. That post gets dealt with every time I replace the frame, Rarely for any other reason. Another (no-name post) is serving temporary duty on my Mooney, Also the SR Msomething-100 on my geared winter/rain/city bike where I need the massive setback. (The MTB post with a QR and variable setback - up to 60mm.) I love the SunTour posts though I don't have one on a bike now..

But really, my favorite posts have 2-bolts and the desired setback, making my favorite posts (I have two) my enormous setback TiCycle posts. They use the excellent Thompson hardware for their posts.

Edit: I really didn't mind my old Zeuss (near Campy copy) 1977 2-bolt post even though I needed the "Z" wrench to make adjustments feasible. I had the wrench. I therefor could do the exact (say 1/4 turn of each bolt to change the tilt to get off a saddle sore and a week later get it back to perfect. As racer who had to ride, this was far more important than how long the adjustment took. When I sold that bike, I went years on my Mooney with an SR Laprade after my Avocet post broke. I never adjusted it the entire time because I had it set between clicks and knew I could never get that back again. After 10 years of that post, thank you SunTour!!!! Bought an undersized MTB post and shimmed it out with pop cans. Served me well for 2 decades.

Ben

tonys trimble

Smud carbon. Made in Poland. and very very light. Plus he made me a custom 26.6 when i asked if he could. Alas it looks like he doesn't make parts any more as no updates on his web site.

Gary Fountain

I'd go along with all these choices.

Gary Fountain

Chombi has one of these seatposts on his beautiful carbon ALAN. I would love one on my ALAN too:



A Gipiemme Aero post.