Suspension Seat Post
- Thread starter rjathon
- Start date
Tom@WashDC
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Loudoun County, VA.
I have three Suntour NCX Suspension seat posts for my bikes. They were a game changer on bumpy paved roads for me and my Fam. I would have thought the Thudbuster was just as good.
ava1ar
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- North NJ
Same here, using Suntour NCX on C380+. Works pretty good and much cheaper than alternatives!
Brendon@OEB
Well-Known Member
The intent with the Thudbuster was to smooth out bit hits on a hard tail so it's not going to do much for little bumps. The Kinekt is the most popular that I've found for smoothing out the ride, it's a bit more expensive but they're a great company with awesome support. The basic non dampened seatposts work okay for the most part but if you're going to ride hard and/or spin your legs they'll start bouncing up and down which is annoying.
You could try buying a softer elastomer for the Thudbuster:
Selection guide for rider weight - Elastomer recommendation
up to 45 kg - extra soft # 1
45-64 kg - soft # 3
64-86 kg - medium # 5
86-98 kg - hard # 7
98-115kg - extra hard # 9
Technical specifications:
Material: urethane elastomer
Compatibility: CANE CREEK Thudbuster ST
Color: Black
On an earlier version of the Thudbuster I changed the elastomers to get the ride I preferred. I now have the latest version and am contemplating doing the same.
Good luck.
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
What is the seat tube inner diameter on your e-bike?
Brendon@OEB
Well-Known Member
I believe just about all Gazelle's are shimmed to accept a 27.2 seatpost
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
If that's true, I can only recommend the Redshift ShockStop seat-post. Really working! (I perceive it as even better than the Kinekt 2.1).
Brendon@OEB
Well-Known Member
Both the Kinekt and Redshift make really nice products, a bit different in execution though. Glad you've got one you're happy with!
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
As I use both on different e-bikes, I can only say I'm even more happy with Redshift.
theemartymac
Well-Known Member
As Peter suggested, I'd try the other elastomer(s) before giving up on it. Most suspension seat posts have different elastomers/springs for rider weight and/or preference. If you are a light rider, you may as well be putting F350 pickup springs on your VW Golf. Not enough tuning in the world to make that ride comfortably.
Otherwise, find something with multiple adjustments including preload. Redshift/Kinect/Suntour all have at least some degree of fine tuning in addition to the main spring. Even my cheaper SR Suntours allow you to choose a main spring weight range/stiffness, and then manual dial it in to your liking. But the Thudbuster has 5 or 6 elastomer choices, so you should be able to select a pretty good range for most riding - if you are content with "close enough".
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
I do not say the Thudbuster is a bad thing! Only with the Redshift you do a single turn with the adjuster barrel and forget about the whole thing
stanmiller
Active Member
I have an NCX and Redshift and prefer the latter as well.
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
For anyone interested:
There is a little design glitch of the RedShift (which has nothing to do with the seat-post performance as it is just cosmetic). There is so-called "fender" that protects the internals of the seat-post against possible soiling. That fender is held in place by a thin piece of rubber band, and magnetically. That piece is known to fall off when the rubber band is broken. I recommend to immediately secure the fender in place with a piece of a Velcro tape just after the saddle setup. (The part is not necessary at all, it is just good looking).
There is a little design glitch of the RedShift (which has nothing to do with the seat-post performance as it is just cosmetic). There is so-called "fender" that protects the internals of the seat-post against possible soiling. That fender is held in place by a thin piece of rubber band, and magnetically. That piece is known to fall off when the rubber band is broken. I recommend to immediately secure the fender in place with a piece of a Velcro tape just after the saddle setup. (The part is not necessary at all, it is just good looking).
ava1ar
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- North NJ
I would expect so, taking into account the price difference: ~$85-90 vs $230, but does the difference in functionality and performance justifies the price premium? I am pretty satisfied with my NCX, but became very interested to try RedShift based on people feedback here.
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
ava1ar
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- North NJ
Stefan, looks like you confined me to try it out! With the 10% off code and without sales tax is it $207 shipped, comparing to $91 with tax/shipping I paid for NCX, so the difference is more acceptable. Also I know RedShift is a reputable company with great customer service, so I can always return it back if I don't see it bring visible value over NCX (I actually was a backer for their ShockStop stem company on Kickstarter back in 2015). Will share my impressions here once I get it and test it several times!
Stefan Mikes
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, Poland
The best recommendation for a suspension seat-post is "I pay no attention to what happens to my lower back"
That's the case of Redshift.I use the Kinekt 2.1 on my other e-bike because of the proper tube size (30.9 mm) and I do not complain, although sometimes I think of my lower back there
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