Cycling UK Forum

12 months of sciatic pain, 4 months off the bike and 2 back operations later, I am starting to dream about swinging a leg back over a bike again. I need to minimise any road shock and maximise my long term future on the bike. I already have a fab touring bike (Van Nicholas Pioneer) which (especially fully loaded and with wide tyres) gives a great ride, but I need to iron out some more bumps. Hence, I'm researching suspension seatposts.

Attached is pic of current setup. About 150 mm of (Van Nic Ti) seapost with c. 20 mm setback which provides for me (c. 82 kg) optimal riding position.

A few Qs:

Ergon CF3 Procarbon setback. Is this robust enough to use for light touring, i.e. mostly on road in NW European? (My next planned tour to give myself an easy start)

Cane Creek Thudbuster. What is the (effective) setback? I'm guessing that the Short Travel model (33 mm) is the most suitable for touring bikes?

Suntour SP12-NCX. This appears to be of similiar design and quality to the Thudbuster, but is half the price. Why?

Many thanks.

IIRC the thudbuster has lots of layback, and if you fiddle with it to alter the stroke, you can have more in the 'rest' position.

You can get spare parts for the thudbuster (at a price, eg SJS have some) but I don't think that the spares support for the suntour one is as good as that.

cheers

Brucey wrote:IIRC the thudbuster has lots of layback, and if you fiddle with it to alter the stroke, you can have more in the 'rest' position.

You can get spare parts for the thudbuster (at a price, eg SJS have some) but I don't think that the spares support for the suntour one is as good as that.

cheers

And if spending more results in a reduction of pain and an increase in exercise it could make sense to go for the Thudbuster for a long term, maintainable solution. Anyone here used one?

I think R2 has got one on the go.

Back in the day several of my chums had them on their MTBs and I thought they worked pretty well. However on an MTB the bushings usually wore really quickly, what with all the mud lathered over them.

I think they last a lot better if you use the rubber boot over the mechanism (which wasn't originally available) and also remember to regrease the pivots occasionally.

cheers

slog fester wrote:... About 150 mm of (Van Nic Ti) seapost with c. 20 mm setback which provides for me (c. 82 kg) optimal riding position.

...

This was your optimal position before the the surgery? it may not be your optimal now though. If you haven't got back on the bike yet, i'd suggest start there on a turbo and be prepared to change, maybe radically.

I have a LT(Long Travel)Cane Creek Thudbuster fitted to my MTB which is fantastic,but has too much travel for touring.
At the time of buying I enquired about the ST(Short Travel) Thudbuster which a couple of people told me they were fine too,though obviously don't have the same travel as the LT, and is suited more to touring and road duties.The layback I was assured was 25mm+(measure from front of the saddle clamp to front of the seatpost shaft)when loaded*
I recently bought a Suntour SP12-NCX,for one of my Salsa Vayas which has similar travel to the T/buster ST and similar layback.
It's well built and was much cheaper than the T/buster,I've only used it a couple of times but like it.
IRC of this parish has one on his tourer and has used his quite a lot longer than me.
I got both of mine from here:- http://www.bike-discount.de/en/shop/suspension-368/l-24
They're much cheaper than anywhere in the UK and a great company to deal with,fast and efficient.
Spares and a rebuild kit is available for the T/buster,but not for the Suntour,though at the price of the Suntour (£48 inc post,compared to £127 for the T/buster),I'm not too concerned,as when it wears out I'll just buy another though IMO it won't be for a long time.

*Layback and saddle height has to be measured with the rider's weight on the saddle as the saddle moves back and slightly down with both the T/buster and the Suntour due to the parallelogram effect.
Also make sure you get the correct spring for your weight with the the Suntour,though spares(softer or harder) aren't expensive.
And the correct compression rubber for the ST T/buster

presumably one could fairly easily replace the long travel bumpers in the LT design with trimmed bumpers + spacers...?

If so, you could easily reduce the travel of an LT version if needs be.

NB; trimming the bumpers shorter also makes them stiffer pro-rata (half the length = twice as stiff) so fitting softer bumper material may be required if the travel is reduced in this way.

cheers

Thanks for great comments.

This was your optimal position before the the surgery? it may not be your optimal now though. If you haven't got back on the bike yet, i'd suggest start there on a turbo and be prepared to change, maybe radically.

Very good point. Yes, I will first climb on a (Wattbike) static trainer for a smooth ride and to measure atrophy in L leg and monitor -hopefully- improvements. Then get re-assessed by a physio/bike fitter. Very glad I left some 'growing old' extra height in the steerer tube when I cut it years a go

Indeed the Suntour is significantly cheaper than the Thudbuster. Yet, apart from the advantage of the TB's serviceable parts, I can't find anywhere that says the TB is better than the Suntour in operation. Quite the contrary on some sites. (Unfortunately I can't find a genuine side-by-side comparison test). The Thudbuster is 200 g lighter though.

Ummm, anyone anywhere used the Ergon CF3 Procarbon setback? May be I need to go ask on the road bike forums!

Some feedback.

Fitted new Suntour SP12-NCX. Used an old wider saddle to further ease pressure on my post-op delicate derriere. Very easy to fit and adjust. Out the box it seems to give the correct amount of pre-load for my c. 82 kg.

Combined with running current tyres (Schwalbe Mondial 2 inch, wish I had access to the original Big Apples bike was shipped with, but in wrong hemisphere) at minimum recommended pressure (35 psi), so far ride feels nice and smooth. Its like riding the tyres at 15 psi.

Bottom line is for little money it has given me a significantly softer ride enabling me start pedaling again. Result

We have just gone from a too big Galaxy tandem to a good fit for both of us Landescape. The hind quarters used to complain a lot about pot holes jarring the ride (even when given some warning of the worse ones and stopping pedalling to allow rising up off the seat).
The new tandem has a LT thudbuster. On the 1st ride out I deliberately aimed for all the pot holes (save one or 2 wheel benders) and deliberately gave no warnings to the hind quarters. The only comment I had was after one pot hole, she was heard to say "That one sounded bad". No complaints about comfort at all.

slogfester
Glad to hear you're back in the saddle and the sus post is good for you

Where are you situated?
Marathon Supreme and Delta Cruiser both come in 559x50mm
Panaracer Paselas only go upto 1.75" but are very supple

You have my sympathy pedalling Mondials,they're OK on dirt n gravel but awful and ponderous on tarmac and squirmy in the wet

reohn2

I'm currently DownUnder.

The Mondials were superb during last year's 3000 km heavy loaded on/off road tour of South Island of NZ. Nearly as good as Marathon plus off-road and way faster on-road.

slogfester wrote:reohn2

I'm currently DownUnder.

The Mondials were superb during last year's 3000 km heavy loaded on/off road tour of South Island of NZ. Nearly as good as Marathon plus off-road and way faster on-road.

If you're happy with Mondials then that's fine
I can only give my impressions of them.

How much difference does a quality suspension seat post make to ride comfort?

How much difference does a cheap suspension seat post make to ride comfort?

My son's bike has one but I don't notice that it's particularly comfortable. Of course, it might be a real boneshaker without one.

Annoying Twit wrote:How much difference does a quality suspension seat post make to ride comfort?

How much difference does a cheap suspension seat post make to ride comfort?

It depends on how sensitive riders are for whatever reasons those reasons can be very important.
Personally I find for most road riding I wouldn't need a sus post,but for rough stuff/off road riding,I do(note for Colin,I do 'ride' the bike,as in unload each wheel for the worse terrain,etc,etc ).
That's because I'm old and beat up,with Osteoarthritis problems too numerous to mention,so need to 'feather bed' the bike as much as possible.
I don't find telescopic sus posts work anywhere near as well as parallelogram ones,which are IME good kit when set up right.That's not to say tele's don't work just that there's a better,though more expensive solution which works better.

My son's bike has one but I don't notice that it's particularly comfortable. Of course, it might be a real boneshaker without one.

The simple way to measure that is to ride it with a standard non sus seatpost and compare the ride.