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Difference in seatposts besides weight and setback?

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Difference in seatposts besides weight and setback?

Old 01-02-08, 02:17 AM
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Dynamic
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Difference in seatposts besides weight and setback?

What exactly is the difference between seatposts besides setback and grams?
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Old 01-02-08, 02:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Dynamic
What exactly is the difference between seatposts besides setback and grams?
length,diameter,material,clamp style,price,quality...etc.
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Old 01-02-08, 03:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Dynamic
What exactly is the difference between seatposts besides setback and grams?
One is structural and one concerns weight.

What is it you actually want to know?
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Old 01-02-08, 04:01 AM
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Dynamic
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ok i meant like

is there a difference in clamping? or is the clamping generally the same?
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Old 01-02-08, 05:08 AM
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Well, clamping is either good or it isn't.

If a seatpost clamp adjusts easily and precisely, and holds the saddle securely, that's good.

If it doesn't, that's bad.

There are many clamp designs- one bolt, two bolt, front to back, side to side, toothed clamps, smooth clamps... the varieties are endless. There isn't one clamp design that's widely considered to be the best. It's pretty much a post by post thing...

Lots of folks swear by Thomsons. I don't really have a favorite. If the post is light and strong and holds my saddle securely in the position I want it, I'm happy.

Last edited by VT to CA; 01-02-08 at 05:13 AM.
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Old 01-02-08, 05:32 AM
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Originally Posted by VT to CA
Well, clamping is either good or it isn't.

If a seatpost clamp adjusts easily and precisely, and holds the saddle securely, that's good.

If it doesn't, that's bad.

There are many clamp designs- one bolt, two bolt, front to back, side to side, toothed clamps, smooth clamps... the varieties are endless. There isn't one clamp design that's widely considered to be the best. It's pretty much a post by post thing...

Lots of folks swear by Thomsons. I don't really have a favorite. If the post is light and strong and holds my saddle securely in the position I want it, I'm happy.
One poorer type of clamp is on the older-style American Classic. It has a full-length lower clamp but a very short upper clamp that only contacts the rails over say half an inch, versus a full maybe 1.5 inches for the Thompson. It hasn't caused me a problem yet, but it does concentrate rail loading into a smaller length. If you slide the saddle back a long distance, the rearward bias of body weight is cantilevered behind the supports, and could cause rails to bend. OTOH, it allows loads of setback.

But if you are big and need a lot of setback, a CLB is a better design. Both allow a lot more setback than the Thompson setback post.

Another issue with clamps is metal construction. A friend loaned me a saddle on a seatpost, thinking it was just a cheap aluminum post. It turned out to be Delrin, and in NO WAY capable of holding an angle setting.

Final issue in my opinion is not to have notches that constrain the available saddle angles. The old SR LaPrade is one example of this fault, with the Campy 2-bolt and the Thompsons being good examples of a precisely adjustable seatpost.

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Old 01-02-08, 07:24 AM
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The adjustment where the seat clamps is also a difference. Some are harder to adjust exactly than others. That said I don't adjust my seat before every ride so it doesn't matter to me.

Oh and Thompson has a cult like following and apparently comes in a very nice bag!

edit see below, I rest my case ;-)

Last edited by rollin; 01-02-08 at 07:50 AM.
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Old 01-02-08, 07:39 AM
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This is what a good post looks like...

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Old 01-02-08, 08:06 AM
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If next to useless zero set back posts, fugly bent posts and fiddly little allen head screws float your boat, buy Thomson.
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Old 01-02-08, 11:45 AM
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What if I want something cheaper with no setback?

...seriously though, this is a thread hijack. Any options? Preferably in silver.
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Old 01-02-08, 11:56 AM
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What's so pricy about thomson elite? they're $65 a pop online and come in black and silver.
If you want cheaper there's Easton, kalloy, bontrager, etc.
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Old 01-02-08, 02:33 PM
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Originally Posted by classic1
If next to useless zero set back posts, fugly bent posts and fiddly little allen head screws float your boat, buy Thomson.
Lots of people (including me) prefer a no setback post. And the screws aren't a problem... who cares how big they are. You don't need to tighten them very much at all.
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Old 01-02-08, 02:57 PM
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Ok, so what do you do when bolts torque is up to spec and saddle rails keep on sliding?

I'm having this issue with a 27.2 Phat Feather post
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Old 01-02-08, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by spinerguy
Ok, so what do you do when bolts torque is up to spec and saddle rails keep on sliding?

I'm having this issue with a 27.2 Phat Feather post
Replace the seatpost with something that holds the saddle in place.
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Old 01-02-08, 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by spinerguy
Ok, so what do you do when bolts torque is up to spec and saddle rails keep on sliding?

I'm having this issue with a 27.2 Phat Feather post
Rough up the clamp where it touches the saddle rails with some sand paper.
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Old 01-02-08, 04:24 PM
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While I'm no weight weenie, I think the saddle and post weight impact the feel of the bike more than weight of any other component (within normal ranges). When you're swinging the bike, out of the saddle, the post and saddle are the points furthest from the fulcrum, at the road.
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Old 01-02-08, 05:32 PM
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Since this has sort of turned into an anything seatpost thread: anyone heard of Dorcus carbon posts? They seem to be cheap, pretty, and light... and I love the name. Dorcus. Because anyone who cares that much about his bike (myself included) is exactly that... here's an ebay auction... I might pick one up.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Dorcus-MTB-Bike-...QQcmdZViewItem
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Old 01-02-08, 10:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Chocolate Milk
Since this has sort of turned into an anything seatpost thread: anyone heard of Dorcus carbon posts? They seem to be cheap, pretty, and light... and I love the name. Dorcus. Because anyone who cares that much about his bike (myself included) is exactly that... here's an ebay auction... I might pick one up.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Dorcus-MTB-Bike-...QQcmdZViewItem
I would never ride that, for a whole variety of reasons.

Stupid place to save weight. I ride an alloy seatpost that is not too heavy, not too expensive, and offers the easiest and most precise tilt adjustment I have ever seen: a Salsa Shaft.
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Old 01-03-08, 02:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Coyote2
I would never ride that, for a whole variety of reasons.

Stupid place to save weight. I ride an alloy seatpost that is not too heavy, not too expensive, and offers the easiest and most precise tilt adjustment I have ever seen: a Salsa Shaft.
?!

The only catastrophic seatpost failure I've ever experienced was on an alloy. I definitely get the argument that old school steel posts are safer than carbon, but aluminum? No way.
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Old 01-03-08, 02:42 AM
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Originally Posted by waterrockets
While I'm no weight weenie, I think the saddle and post weight impact the feel of the bike more than weight of any other component (within normal ranges). When you're swinging the bike, out of the saddle, the post and saddle are the points furthest from the fulcrum, at the road.
Dig it. I remember when the first Ti railed seats came out. We were all running Selle Italia Turbos at the time.

Switched over to the first WTB Ti saddles and it was like an epiphany. I couldn't believe how different the bike felt.

-Z
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