shock absorbing seat posts

Region
USA
I recently replaced my 26" cruiser seat/saddle with something wider with a thicker cushion and recoil springs. I've seen some seat posts that are on some ebikes with some sort of recoil mechanism integrated into the post. Anyone using one of these seat post and do they actually work?
 
I've never been impressed by a pogo stick seat post. They are common and cheap. I also use one of those parallelogram Suntour NCX suspension seatpost, and it works fine.
You can spend up to $300 for a suspension seatpost, add a quality saddle and you're sitting on over five hundred bucks!
 
I have the NCX and a Cane Creek EeSilk. No comparison. The EeSilk has rebound damping, the NCX slaps on the way up. The NCX is copied by a plethora of Chinese hack companies. Buy it only from Suntour. Ebay and Amazon are full of clones.
 
I have a Redshift City seatpost installed on my cruiser bike that came with no suspension, front of rear. It does a pretty good job of cushioning the smaller bumps like pavement breaks, and it can be fine tuned to a person's weight or preference.
 
The only disadvantage of the p-gram posts is difficult steep terrain where they can pogo you over the bars with every bump, and you usually have little room to drop the post.
Apart from that more extreme use, they are absolutely fantastic for me, a cheap amazon M-wave copy still going strong after two years of intense workout.
 
I use the cheap-o Zoom pogo post. Simple and affordable. Seat/post thefts are a problem in my area. I do use a HexLok in my seat post clamp to prevent this problem but I've always liked the cheap Zoom post over pricier options. Only down side is most pogo post are not very adjustable and if you choose to try and adjust it it requires a HUGE allen key.
 
I started out with Suntour NCX SP-12 on my hard tail Radrover back in 2017. It comes in 350mm or 400m post lengths for the 27.2mm size AND Hard red springs (+195lbs; but, not sure of max weight) or Soft blue springs (140-195lbs). Noticed a few Suntour NCX are shown with gray colored spring and I couldn't tell if it was the hard, soft, or something else? I purchased used off eBay back then and they could have been a fake? It still performed to my satisfaction with zero issues for years.

Suntour was very comfy for me with the Cloud-9 cruiser saddle over most uneven to undulating dirt and paved surfaces. You do still feel minor bumps like vibrations, potholes, broken pavement, uneven side walk cracks, and washboard dirt trails because you are still sitting on top of spring connected to your saddle and frame.

PDF to spot a fake Suntour if purchasing used or 3rd party:

I later swapped to Kinekt Bodyfloat suspension seatpost in 420mm length a few years later. You can purchase different springs combinations to better match your weight from 80lbs to 320lbs. The Kinekt felt better than the Suntour with the minor bumps because the (e)bike floated under you to help isolate even better from vibrations, minor bumps like pothole, sidewalk cracks, washboard dirt trails, etc... It made my hardtail Radrover feel closer to a full suspension ebike. Noticed I didn't have to lift off my seat as much with the Kinekt seatpost when riding over hundreds of bumps/curbs/cracks/potholes you encounter when riding. That made it less fatiguing on long rides. I added Kinekt to the wife's Radcity step-thru and she felt the improved ride instantly compared to standard seatpost+Cloud-9 (the Suntour NCX head was too tall for her at 4'11" to use).

The HUGE downside with Kinekt is the prices between $270-$350. I added a locking seatpost clamp and a protective wrap for both ebikes.
 
One thing to note about the NCX springs is that I found them to be over rated weight wise. I should have been perfect with the stock medium spring supplied when purchased weighing in @165lbs ...but after switching to the Blue soft spring I found it much better on smaller bumps and without ever bottoming out.
ymmv
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I started out with Suntour NCX SP-12 on my hard tail Radrover back in 2017. It comes in 350mm or 400m post lengths for the 27.2mm size AND Hard red springs (+195lbs; but, not sure of max weight) or Soft blue springs (140-195lbs). Noticed a few Suntour NCX are shown with gray colored spring and I couldn't tell if it was the hard, soft, or something else? I purchased used off eBay back then and they could have been a fake? It still performed to my satisfaction with zero issues for years.

Suntour was very comfy for me with the Cloud-9 cruiser saddle over most uneven to undulating dirt and paved surfaces. You do still feel minor bumps like vibrations, potholes, broken pavement, uneven side walk cracks, and washboard dirt trails because you are still sitting on top of spring connected to your saddle and frame.

PDF to spot a fake Suntour if purchasing used or 3rd party:

I later swapped to Kinekt Bodyfloat suspension seatpost in 420mm length a few years later. You can purchase different springs combinations to better match your weight from 80lbs to 320lbs. The Kinekt felt better than the Suntour with the minor bumps because the (e)bike floated under you to help isolate even better from vibrations, minor bumps like pothole, sidewalk cracks, washboard dirt trails, etc... It made my hardtail Radrover feel closer to a full suspension ebike. Noticed I didn't have to lift off my seat as much with the Kinekt seatpost when riding over hundreds of bumps/curbs/cracks/potholes you encounter when riding. That made it less fatiguing on long rides. I added Kinekt to the wife's Radcity step-thru and she felt the improved ride instantly compared to standard seatpost+Cloud-9 (the Suntour NCX head was too tall for her at 4'11" to use).

The HUGE downside with Kinekt is the prices between $270-$350. I added a locking seatpost clamp and a protective wrap for both ebikes.
Where did you buy the locking seatpost clamp from?
 
So, a $9.95 recoiling seat/saddle post isn't as good as a $129.95 seat post? Shiver-me-timbers! Ha! Okay, lots of good ideas. I had some dickhead steal my anodized red aluminum seat post and new softer faux leather seat from the bike rack in high school during the summer months. So, when I got off the bus coming in from working the corn fields at Pfizer Genetics, I had to stand on my freaking pedals all the way home for a few days since every day was about 14 hours long. Just a two + mile ride home but I probably walked a good (maybe) ten miles a day in the fields so it felt much worse. Like Linus (from Charlie Brown) said, "I have nothing against humanity. It's people I hate!" Ha-Ha!
 
P.S. I waited almost two months for a Cloud-9 seat from Amazon and then they canceled my order. Damn it all to hell!!!! I found a less expensive but still well designed "Bikeroo" seat that should fit the bill. So, take that "A"m-"hole"-zon"! (Emphasis on the A-hole). 🤪
 
I have the NCX and a Cane Creek EeSilk. No comparison. The EeSilk has rebound damping, the NCX slaps on the way up. The NCX is copied by a plethora of Chinese hack companies. Buy it only from Suntour. Ebay and Amazon are full of clones.
So, the NCX delivers a good spanking while you ride? Hmmm...... 🙃
 
I just measured my three newest OEM bike posts. The 20" folding Unusual bike has a 32mm post. The 20" folding Likebike ebike is 28.6mm and the 26"
Funhang ebike is 28.6mm. Might be the Made in China bikes have slightly different seat/saddle post diameters? I do see some options for a 28.6mm but wonder if a 1/2mm or 1mm to 1.5mm difference is too much to properly fit the bike frame without a shim or sleeve of some sort?
 
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