REDSHIFT ShockStop Suspension Seatpost for Bicycles

Product Information

Regular dropper seatposts have very little vertical flex, which is an unfortunate consequence of their telescoping design. When engaged, the suspension linkage compresses a steel spring inside the post’s column that’s sandwiched in between two plastic spacers. All of these innards are compressed against a hollow plastic pipe that seats against a threaded preload screw at the bottom of the post. Redshift also includes a smaller, secondary internal spring to provide additional firmness, depending on your desired ride feel. The photo sequence above shows me sitting on it set up out of the box—main spring only, with preload somewhere in the middle—with its sag affected by only my weight (about 175lbs). The gravel road with fast, repetitive bumps narrows the difference between an elastomer seatpost and a spring seatpost despite the variation in suspension travel. This is because the bump force is lower on gravel roads, which means that the spring post is likely only using half its travel anyway.

Continuing their 20-year suspension seatpost legacy, Cane Creek recently announced the all-new, fourth generation Thudbuster ST (Short Travel). Designed with touring, commutes, and e-bike trips in mind, it features 50mm of travel—up from 33mm on the original Thudbuster ST—to smooth out bumps and bounces on multi-surface rides. Building on the original Thudbuster’s parallel linkage, it also got a redesign for a higher rider weight limit (now up to 330 pounds), increased durability, and more travel. Deflection is the total movement that a seatpost will move after an impact. A seatpost with more deflection will reduce the fatigue on your body as it protects you from harder jolts like unexpected potholes or dirt road corrugations. It’ll also allow you to keep pedalling through particularly bumpy terrain.If smooth roads are your thing, you’ll likely find spring seatposts a bit too active. This brings me to elastomers… The Cane Creek Thudbuster uses an elastomer to provide more damping than a coil spring.

Damping determines the speed at which a seatpost will move over repeated bumps. A seatpost that dampens vibrations effectively will help to insulate you from road buzz coming up through your bike. The CF Allroad Pro feels less like competing suspension seatposts offered by Redshift and Cane Creek and more like you’re running a higher-volume rear tyre. Less chatter and vibration makes its way from the road to the rider, with minimal movement to distract you from the task at hand. Meanwhile, the elastomer Cane Creek eeSilk offers around half as much vibration improvement, however, it’s worth noting that it only has around half the suspension travel (20mm). It’d be interesting to see how a longer-travel elastomer seatpost compares here. Measure your current seatpost from the clamp collar to the saddle rail and refer to the chart above to choose your preferred size.The Thudbuster ST weighs in at 580g (31.6 version) and is built out of forged aluminum with threaded, hard anodized aluminum axles. Note that the new axles are serviceable, unlike those found in the previous version. This handy PDF from Cane Creek outlines the differences between the two versions of the Thudbuster ST. If you ride a mix of gravel and tarmac roads, I don’t know if you can do any better than the Cane Creek eeSilk. Here’s where it gets interesting though. I’ve been suffering from some knee pain recently from a noncycling incident, and thus have been spending a little more time seated while pedalling than I may have liked. Rather than using a full-suspension bike (for comfort), you can fit a suspension seatpost to a hardtail and enjoy similar levels of comfort without the extra weight, price and complexity. 4 Reasons To Not Use Suspension Seatposts The Cane Creek eeSilk is less than 100 grams heavier than a high-quality aluminium seatpost.

degree in 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120mm lengths (in both standard 1 1/8" steerer and the non-standard oversized 1 1/4" steerer which matches most Canyon and some Giant bikes) This is simply due to the higher percentage of weight on your saddle. Conversely, if you have more weight on your hands because you ride in a more sporty position, you can get away with less suspension travel. Best Suspension Seatposts Coil Sprung I wanted to maintain the same riding position when using the drop bars as before, so I chose not to lower my bars when installing the post. My elbow pads are already slammed down as low as they can go on the bars (as shown in the ‘Inline Extension Mounting’ version in the image on the right), so I couldn’t lower my aerobar position as some people might choose to do to take full advantage of having a more forwards saddle position. All that said, I personally prefer the two elastomer-based suspension posts I’ve tried. Similar to a well-tuned suspension fork, the elastomer posts seem to settle into their travel instead of being squishy and active all the time. As such, they provide more support off the top, and only become active when pushed (or when bumped). I spent a lot of time on the eeSilk, which is the most minimal, of course, and provides the least amount of cushion. But I also liked the new 4th gen Thudbuster and will be curious to see how the elastomer holds up over time. Massive adjustability lets you fine-tune your fit - extension length, armpad fore-aft, armpad width and height ( Extension Riser Kit sold separately)A suspension seatpost both absorbs bigger hits as well as damping vibrations coming up from the road. The less strain your body experiences when you ride, the fresher you will feel at the end of the day… or, the longer you can ride! One thing I really liked about the Kinekt is the saddle rail clamp. It has two simple screws to tighten and adjust the saddle. There’s a spring that keeps tension to separate the lower and upper plate. This self-fixes the nuts into place so you don’t have to hold them while loosening or tightening the plate into place. A nice touch. The best way I can describe spring seatposts is that they’re very springy! This makes them exceptional on off-road terrain, as they’re super responsive to bumps.