Body Float Suspension Seat Post Thoughts

[Brian(J)]

...according to BrianJ there is even a more significant difference in price for the (overseas) Suntour NCX that he had me convinced to pick up and which he believes is more than adequate. Let's hope that all three get their due in any shootout...which he has been advocating from the beginning of this thread.

Dear Dashriprockster,
I suspect that for Shea, who puts an amazing number of miles on his bike, the Bodyfloat is going to be the best choice. I was puzzled by two things in this thread, first that Shea feels that the Bodyfloat is so much better than the others without experiencing them, and also by Crazy Lenny's offer to give them away for free. There is no such thing as free, really. The cost of this device could exceed the entire net profit of a bike sale so there might be something else going on there. Maybe I would rather have some other upgrade and he would sub that instead.
For me, it is the Suntour, because I have already committed to swapping in AVID BB7 brakes, I installed a Jones H-Bar (fantastic upgrade, but not low cost), I am upgrading the brake and shifter cables, and my budget for upgrades is getting thin. The Suntour meets all of my needs and allows me to move dollars to other areas that are important to me.
That said, I have always admired the 'trailing link' suspension concept and it is most likely the superior technology. And, I really enjoy Shea's comments, perspective, and opinions.

 

[Brian(J)]

Dear Dashriprockster,
For me, it is the Suntour, because I have already committed to swapping in AVID BB7 brakes, I installed a Jones H-Bar (fantastic upgrade, but not low cost), I am upgrading the brake and shifter cables, and my budget for upgrades is getting thin. The Suntour meets all of my needs and allows me to move dollars to other areas that are important to me.

To review current pricing:
Bodyfloat $250 + shim if needed $16
Thudbuster $132 delivered/no tax
Suntour $87 delivered/no tax (from www.xxcycle.com)

 

[Lenny]

Dear Dashriprockster,
I suspect that for Shea, who puts an amazing number of miles on his bike, the Bodyfloat is going to be the best choice. I was puzzled by two things in this thread, first that Shea feels that the Bodyfloat is so much better than the others without experiencing them, and also by Crazy Lenny's offer to give them away for free. There is no such thing as free, really. The cost of this device could exceed the entire net profit of a bike sale so there might be something else going on there. Maybe I would rather have some other upgrade and he would sub that instead.
For me, it is the Suntour, because I have already committed to swapping in AVID BB7 brakes, I installed a Jones H-Bar (fantastic upgrade, but not low cost), I am upgrading the brake and shifter cables, and my budget for upgrades is getting thin. The Suntour meets all of my needs and allows me to move dollars to other areas that are important to me.
That said, I have always admired the 'trailing link' suspension concept and it is most likely the superior technology. And, I really enjoy Shea's comments, perspective, and opinions.

Brian,
Nothing very puzzling here.

As we mentioned earlier, if Body Float is substantially better than other offerings, a lot of our customers would really appreciate that. We really want to offer the best product.
We have 100's of customers who are in their late 50's or 60's and for them, enjoying their E-bike is more important than couple hundred dollars.Especially for people with multiple sclerosis, vertebral disk issues, this could be a game changer.
We have Thudbuster , we will compare the Suntour NCX once it arrives here.

For us, our customers are more important than couple hundred $ more profit. Profit will come, but seeing the joy on people's face is what makes us truly happy. If you are ever in Madison area, stop by our store and you get to see how committed we are to E-bikes and our customers.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Yeah I was thinking today that the elastomer suspension product will be fine for a large percentage of riders, and at an affordable price point. Thanks to Brian(J) for updating the prices as it seems the price for the titanium Bodyfloat was being referenced here. As for my product evangelism without trying the other products, good point , while I could not exactly demo those other models, my experience with elastomer suspension and my intuition for mechanical design (call it wanna be engineer/inventor) has me thinking a compressed spring (tuned to my weight) will not only respond faster, dampening a wider range of common road aberrations, but should also last many years. So the market segments are in place with some pretty nice options for a range of riders.

Saturday I had maybe 20 lbs of dog on my back, like in my avatar pic, and today I rode with about 20 lbs worth of camera and lens, It was interesting to see how the basically calibrated BodyFloat would work with the extra weight. I did notice the suspension effect was a tad softer, which makes sense with the payload being a bit heavier. I was thinking a 1/4 turn might be enough to offset the additional weight but left it alone as this is the exception.

BTW - I told no less than 30 people about my new gizmo, a 1/3rd of them e-bikes. I hope Court gets a chance to try all these seatpost toys, whadda guy doing all these reviews, much appreciated. -S

 

[Brian(J)]

Shea,
the thudbuster is elastomer, I guess. The Suntour is mechanical and very clever. I suspect the Bodyfloat is a better mechanical than the Suntour but not sure.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Yeah, RE: the Suntour NCX, too much contact surface area (for high freq dampening) with that cam over spring cylinder - but good price and 'nearly' the same for a more casual user.

BTW - I've got to retrain my brain to stop steering around the little stuff, and most of the medium bumps too. On the road bike even the built up paint is worth splitting the E's in BIKE LANE. With my new BFF and 45c tires a broom stick would be heard but not felt, from the saddle that is. The kickstand will remain as my blunt force indicator, even if I don't feel it so much, I do want to minimize hard hits on the motor.

Did my first wheelie on the Dash today! Latters, -S

 

[DashRiprock]

I'd like to see the BodyFloat guy back in here...as well as Currie in regards to the 2014/2015 model differences (and why) here (post#22): http://electricbikereview.com/commu...odel-spotted-on-the-tube.788/page-2#post-8359

 

[DashRiprock]

To review current pricing:
Bodyfloat $250 + shim if needed $16
Thudbuster $132 delivered/no tax
Suntour $87 delivered/no tax (from www.xxcycle.com)

Just to add...I paid $20 for (2) different adjustment springs and another $20 for shipping.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

And to add... shims are $8 - 10 bucks at the LBS around here. And the stock quick release is holding! (90 miles). I pre-tightened the lever wide open, finger tight-ish, then gave it all I got to flip and tighten it. I suspect the machined surfaces are creating some nice horizontal friction. I will still replace with a 'locking' collar.

 

[DashRiprock]

Thanks for sharing on the shims...it looked like a lot of money for what it was (I was hoping some kind of space age impregnated material) and now I (apparently) know. They haven't given me any lead time as of yet on the theft-proof locking collar I ordered...are those shims pretty much a 'one-shot' deal if I take your suggestion on the Dash OEM collar that hasn't moved...yet?

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Are those shims pretty much a 'one-shot' deal?

I believe you could deploy a shim multiple times, if I understand 'one-shot' to mean single use. My duplicate shim (I bought one locally when I saw my Jensen order delayed) should be here in under 15 minutes, along with a new 9 speed chain, slip lock and the aforementioned bike jewelry... I'll let you know if that size & design works out ASAP.

So you have Dash & Peak in your family?

 

[DashRiprock]

The Lord blessed us with both and we're very fortunate. A new chain? So are you telling us that the one which got replaced at 1650 wasn't 'shot'?I ask this because I've got a question in to Currie now as to why they changed the chain on the 2015 model...

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

First off most people get closer to 2k (or better) on their chains, and no the replacement at 1650 was a temporary (a 10 speed Ultegra, $48, Doh - anything to ride). This is probably the correct chain, 118 links maybe better, note the slip lock:

BTW - The Thompson seat post clamp worked fine (36.4mm O.D.). I lightly greased the barrel nut per instructions then just had to spread the clamp by hand to position over the seat post.

Utt-Oh, looks like someone is just above minimum insertion. Lates, time to ride.

-Shea

 

[DashRiprock]

Thanks, Shea..we very much appreciate the pics. and your insight...it looks like they did go with the Peak (hardened) chain after all in 2015...Cirrus kept their promise and our two BodyFloats are in transit...I'll keep in touch with our thoughts (new seats as well).

 

[DashRiprock]

I had a little mix up with my order (they sent the wrong springs then shipped the right ones Priority right away; stuff happens) and one of the posts didn't get (final) powder coated on the inner diameter (still not the end of the world).
I like them. Are they 'x' amount of dollars better than the Suntour Ncx or Thudbuster? I have no idea yet they at least appear to be more adjustable. Two black springs/heavy guy/little preload?...as Shea mentioned you start to feel the front forks (instead). My wife seems to think it's night and day different also with no adjustments whatsoever and the wrong springs installed (new seats installed at the same time might be clouding our judgment a bit).

Overall I'm very happy and will let the LBS adjust everything including a new handlebar riser to hopefully (finally) dial everything in.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

I had a little mix up with my order (they sent the wrong springs then shipped the right ones Priority right away; stuff happens) and one of the posts didn't get (final) powder coated on the inner diameter (still not the end of the world).
I like them. Are they 'x' amount of dollars better than the Suntour Ncx or Thudbuster? I have no idea yet they at least appear to be more adjustable. Two black springs/heavy guy/little preload?...as Shea mentioned you start to feel the front forks (instead). My wife seems to think it's night and day different also with no adjustments whatsoever and the wrong springs installed (new seats installed at the same time might be clouding our judgment a bit).

Overall I'm very happy and will let the LBS adjust everything including a new handlebar riser to hopefully (finally) dial everything in.

Kewl, I was wondering about your floats today, if you got em setup right. For sheets & giggles I tried cranking my down a bit (one full turn) as I had never tried anything but my first setup, things got a little bouncy. So I backed off just shy of two turns, so now looser than my original setup and the bumps again disappeared. Still loving the little thing. -S

 

[topaz024]

I've read this whole thread but I don't know much about how bikes work: could anyone tell me exactly what I need to get Body Float installed on a 2014 IZIP E3 Dash?

Thanks!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I had a little mix up with my order (they sent the wrong springs then shipped the right ones Priority right away; stuff happens) and one of the posts didn't get (final) powder coated on the inner diameter (still not the end of the world).
I like them. Are they 'x' amount of dollars better than the Suntour Ncx or Thudbuster? I have no idea yet they at least appear to be more adjustable. Two black springs/heavy guy/little preload?...as Shea mentioned you start to feel the front forks (instead). My wife seems to think it's night and day different also with no adjustments whatsoever and the wrong springs installed (new seats installed at the same time might be clouding our judgment a bit).

Overall I'm very happy and will let the LBS adjust everything including a new handlebar riser to hopefully (finally) dial everything in.

Dash,
If you want to make your ride even more comfortable, get these Ergon grips (and choose the NEXUS option). These are the most comfortable grips ever.
You can thank me later.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Kewl, I was wondering about your floats today, if you got em setup right. For sheets & giggles I tried cranking my down a bit (one full turn) as I had never tried anything but my first setup, things got a little bouncy. So I backed off just shy of two turns, so now looser than my original setup and the bumps again disappeared. Still loving the little thing. -S

I met with Charlie Heggem of Body Float at the Interbike and he set me up on a Polaris eBike with Body Float and he did adjust the preload to suit my weight.
My honest feedback = these are better than Thudbuster or other suspension seatposts.

option to swap out springs and tune it further makes this product even beter. If I get a hardtail bike in the future, I'll be getting these.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

danielmalvarado All you need is a 27.2 to 31.6 mm seatpost shim. A locking collar is also advised, but not required as you can crank down the QR version. You can order the shim with the BodyFloat, use the link or even pick one up at your LBS. -S