# How light is too light for a Seatpost?



## cyclevt (Aug 6, 2004)

Help me out here...

I'm building a new bike in the market for a carbon seatpost and there are about 1/2 a dozen options on e-bay for $60-70 (top end of my budget for posts). The weights range from about 250 grams on the high (normal) end to a mind-blowing 155 grams on the low end. It seems that a fair amount of the variation is due to clamp design, so my concern is with the CF shaft part... I'm going from a custom steel to an AL/CF mix frame (as an experiment, you could say) and want the comfort.... I'm not feeling as young as I used to ..... 

I am 6'1"+ and 175 (okay maybe 180) pounds, don't race, and spin smoothly in the saddle a lot. To tell you the truth, I'm really scarred of a 155 gram seat post; especially after I saw a guy snap a Record post clean off during a mellow metric century ride last summer.... 30 miles from ANYWHERE! Had to call his wife on my cell to pick his A#$ up while we rode on.

So, how light is too light? 

I'd really like to get some feedback on this topic before I buy....


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

*why bother*



cyclevt said:


> Help me out here...
> 
> I'm building a new bike in the market for a carbon seatpost and there are about 1/2 a dozen options on e-bay for $60-70 (top end of my budget for posts). The weights range from about 250 grams on the high (normal) end to a mind-blowing 155 grams on the low end. It seems that a fair amount of the variation is due to clamp design, so my concern is with the CF shaft part... I'm going from a custom steel to an AL/CF mix frame (as an experiment, you could say) and want the comfort.... I'm not feeling as young as I used to .....
> 
> ...


w/ a carbon post? your stated budget is pretty low even for a good quality alloy post. you aren't going to notice ANY difference in ride quality w/ carbon post, and you open yourself up to all sorts of problmes, some of which you already know about. just get a good alloy post, grease 'er up and be done w/ it.


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

*Thomsom Masterpiece.*

You will blow your budget but you get worry free aluminum at 158 gram honest grams. I have two of them and they are great posts and will easily handle your weight with an excellent clamp.



cyclevt said:


> Help me out here...
> 
> I'm building a new bike in the market for a carbon seatpost and there are about 1/2 a dozen options on e-bay for $60-70 (top end of my budget for posts). The weights range from about 250 grams on the high (normal) end to a mind-blowing 155 grams on the low end. It seems that a fair amount of the variation is due to clamp design, so my concern is with the CF shaft part... I'm going from a custom steel to an AL/CF mix frame (as an experiment, you could say) and want the comfort.... I'm not feeling as young as I used to .....
> 
> ...


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## vol245 (Jan 20, 2002)

If you're not racing then don't worry about the extra weight from an alloy post. At least it won't snap in half on you. You'd have to be very careful tightening a carbon seatpost too. A little too much and you will crush it. Not worth the risk IMO. Get a nice set of wheels if you want to save more weight.


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## cyclevt (Aug 6, 2004)

*For comfort, not Grams!*



vol245 said:


> If you're not racing then don't worry about the extra weight from an alloy post. At least it won't snap in half on you. You'd have to be very careful tightening a carbon seatpost too. A little too much and you will crush it. Not worth the risk IMO. Get a nice set of wheels if you want to save more weight.



I have been researching CF post more for comfort than weight. I know that there are plenty of light aluminum post out there..

You'd be surprised what $60 can buy on EBAY. You can easily find a $120 post for 1/2 price and it's new..... So for the time being, lets forget about the money part and focus on the question of how light is too light for a CF post.

Cheers.


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## ETfromQC (Sep 16, 2004)

cyclevt said:


> I have been researching CF post more for comfort than weight. I know that there are plenty of light aluminum post out there..
> 
> You'd be surprised what $60 can buy on EBAY. You can easily find a $120 post for 1/2 price and it's new..... So for the time being, lets forget about the money part and focus on the question of how light is too light for a CF post.
> 
> Cheers.


I suggest really trying an aluminium and a CF post for a while, blind testing would be even better.

Also, is your frame aluminium, or CF? This could change the dynamics of both.


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## chicks (Mar 19, 2005)

go for a tune starkes post totally great and light about 180 grams


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## divve (May 3, 2002)

Just as carbon frames, carbon posts don't snap off without reason. Most of the time it's installation error


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## jeremyb (Jun 16, 2004)

you want mind blowing? Im riding a New Ultimate aluminum post on my cross bike with no problems (im 180 lbs) and it weighs 94 grams.But its $$$ i dont know how i rationalized the cost.


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## chicks (Mar 19, 2005)

jeremyb what size and diameter is that post that is seriously light


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## Max-Q (Feb 6, 2004)

divve said:


> Just as carbon frames, carbon posts don't snap off without reason. Most of the time it's installation error



+1 this is absolutely the truth. I've used carbon posts on all 6 of my bikes for the past 4 years without a single problem. You must pay close attention to the torque settings when you install a seatpost or a handlebar regardless of material type. 

For the record, the only seatpost I've ever seen break during a ride was an aluminum post on a Specialized Zebra stripped bike. I've never seen a CF failure yet.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Hasn't carbon been around long enough to dispell the snapping rumors yet? Like Divve said, it won't break for no reason. Weight doesn't mean weak. I have a carbon frame that is sub 1000g, and I am not afraid it is going to snap any more than the aluminum cross bike I ride. I have pointed a bunch of people to www.Gottaridebikes.com for their control tech carbon post. It is $118, but they offer a 20% discount for first time orders and it gets free shipping. Nice looking post too. Actual weight for a 27.2 that I weighted was 143g.


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## jeremyb (Jun 16, 2004)

chicks said:


> jeremyb what size and diameter is that post that is seriously light



its 27.2 and 250mm go to:

http://www.b-t-p.de/BTP-English/products/components/components.html

159 Euros

I raced cross on it all last year, and had no issues with it. And thats jumping on it. 90kg rider weight limit.

jeremyb


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## TACSTS (Feb 4, 2004)

I've been thinking about a USE Alien with the new one bolt clamping design that supposedly addresses the issues some people had with the older 2 bolt design. Anyone got an opinion on it? 140ish grams from what I've read, and at $110 at performance before a 20% off coupon, seems like a good deal. Thanks.


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## cyclevt (Aug 6, 2004)

*Thank you for the reasonable comments.....*



kpcw said:


> Comfortable, light, sturdy, cheap.
> 
> Pick two, maybe three, but never four.
> 
> ...



I had some real concern that this post would turn into a sort of pissing contest to show off who could purchase the most ridiculous and expensive light post. Not what I wanted. So to all those who responded, thanks. I did not intend this post to be a forum to show case how to micro-manage the seatpost... I agree that that is absurd. I just needed some sound advice on how to manage that balance between weight, strength, reliability, and cost.

I bought a monocoque CF post for $55 (reduced price with price-matching and a little savy on my part) and have it installed on the bike. Seller claims 180grams (optamistic), but I didn't weigh it. It's very well built and should be fine.

Incidentally, I have tried both AL and Ti American Classic (identical models) posts on a custom steel frame, identical everything, and no real difference.


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## carbonLORD (Aug 2, 2004)

cyclevt said:


> Help me out here...
> 
> I'm building a new bike in the market for a carbon seatpost and there are about 1/2 a dozen options on e-bay for $60-70 (top end of my budget for posts). The weights range from about 250 grams on the high (normal) end to a mind-blowing 155 grams on the low end. It seems that a fair amount of the variation is due to clamp design, so my concern is with the CF shaft part... I'm going from a custom steel to an AL/CF mix frame (as an experiment, you could say) and want the comfort.... I'm not feeling as young as I used to .....
> 
> ...


I' 200lbs at 6'3" and have been using my seat posts for 10 years.

<a href=http://www.carbonLORD.com/post.html>200g 27.2 Carbon Seat Posts / 3 year warranty</a>

$50 for anyone who references this post. Cheers!


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## ElDuderino (Feb 21, 2004)

*bit late but...*

I second that New Ultimate seatpost. Durability:Weight ratio is pretty much as high as it gets. Raced and trained on my all year, over 15,000 miles, absolutely no problems. Mine weighs 93grams as well, 27.2 x 250mm. And really, it's not any more expensive that some of the high-end stuff from excel and all that.


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