REDSHIFT ShockStop Suspension Seatpost for Bicycles

Product Information

Aerobars] How do aerobars affect my bike fit?This is a really important question, and it's one that we've spent a lot of time thinking about here at Redshift Sports, so get ready for a long answer! If smooth roads are your thing, you’ll likely find spring seatposts a bit too active. This brings me to elastomers… The Cane Creek Thudbuster uses an elastomer to provide more damping than a coil spring. The CF Allroad Pro Carbon Seatpost concept is simple: two carbon halves form a 27.2mm seatpost and flex to absorb potholes and road chatter.

A suspension seatpost is a great comfort upgrade, as it will both absorb bigger hits, as well as dampen vibrations coming up from the road. This essentially means you’ll feel fresher at the end of a long ride. The RedShift Dual-Position Seatpost is unique because it allows the rider to change the fore and aft saddle position while riding, with the goal being to give an optimal position when riding on either the drop bars or the aerobars. Dropper seatposts allow mountain bikers to raise and lower their saddles for different types of terrain and have become very common over the past few years. Could a similar thing happen for ultra-distance cyclists using something like the RedShift seatpost? Will my saddle bag fit with the Dual-Position Seatpost?Most standard strap-based saddle bags will fit the dual-position seatpost without issue.Many of the popular models of dropper posts used on mountain bikes don’t work perfectly unless they’re setup correctly and well maintained. Fortunately, the RedShift post is far simpler and works smoothly every time with no special setup or care needed. On the rough trail, the spring seatposts are, by a large margin, the most effective at mitigating vibrations (17-24% improvement when compared to a carbon seatpost). But interestingly, data recently collected by the University of Exeter (England) suggests that once the seatpost is installed on a bike, it may not reduce vibration exposure. We offer two different shapes of aerobar extensions: L-Bends and S-Bends. The L-Bends (or ski-bends) tend to place your wrists in a more ergonomic, comfortable position that's great for long rides and triathlons. The S-Bends let you pull against the extensions effectively for intense time-trial efforts. Not sure which one is best for you? We generally recommend the L-Bend extensions if you're on the fence. Aerobars] Should I choose L-Bend or S-Bend extensions?If you don't have any previous experience using aerobars, we typically recommend the L-Bend aerobars because they put your wrists and arms in a more comfortable, ergonomic position. This is usually a better fit for triathletes and long-distance riders. If you're planning on using the aerobars for shorter, higher-intensity efforts like a time-trial, then the S-Bend shape can give you slightly more leverage to put out maximal power.

I wanted to maintain the same riding position when using the drop bars as before, so I chose not to lower my bars when installing the post. My elbow pads are already slammed down as low as they can go on the bars (as shown in the ‘Inline Extension Mounting’ version in the image on the right), so I couldn’t lower my aerobar position as some people might choose to do to take full advantage of having a more forwards saddle position. But the key difference to a carbon post is that the spring rate isn’t determined by how much exposed seatpost you have, allowing you to tune it perfectly to your body weight, using the five different elastomers available. This is a lengthy review, so use the shortcuts below to skip to the section that you’re most interested in. Not sure what size seatpost you have currently? There are a couple different ways to find out.• Most seatposts have the diameter printed somewhere near the bottom of the post. You'll need to remove the seatpost from the bike frame (mark your existing seatpost height with a bit of tape before you remove it so you can replace it easily), and look for a number like 27.2, 30.9, or 31.6 (etc.). That is the diameter of the post.This air spring system has been tested by GravelBikes.cc to be much less active than other suspension seatposts, but it’ll still take the edge off those bigger hits, and performs well on gravel roads too. Ride faster - feeling refreshed from the energy that is normally wasted suspending your body as it is converted into forward motion The Cirrus KINEKT 2.1 is an aluminum suspension seatpost that’s designed to isolate your body from surface vibrations and impacts to improve comfort and control. Each post comes with two extra springs so you can mix and match, creating a custom experience. The KINEKT post springs are available in five color-coded tensions for riders ranging from 50-320 pounds. With a Cycling Weekly subscription you can improve your performance with our expert practical, nutritional and training tips

The 5 cm difference between the two saddle positions mimics the change in frame geometry between typical road and triathlon bikes, but this is the one thing that I’d like to change. I’d prefer it if the difference was about 3 cm. So, you should expect to spend a few more minutes getting your preferred saddle angle right before hitting the road.

The Thudbuster LT (Long Travel) has a larger linkage system than the ST with 3” (76mm) of travel via two barrel-shaped active elastomers. Cane Creek specifies that it’s usable for mountain bikes, tandems, tourers, and everything in between. The LT has a maximum rider weight of 250lbs. Would you recommend it for a roadbike (riding lots of hills from 5-15% on decent and broken tarmac) nonetheless? One thing I really liked about the Kinekt is the saddle rail clamp. It has two simple screws to tighten and adjust the saddle. There’s a spring that keeps tension to separate the lower and upper plate. This self-fixes the nuts into place so you don’t have to hold them while loosening or tightening the plate into place. A nice touch. A suspension seatpost allows you to take bikes with narrow tyres on much rougher terrain than you normally could. Obviously, this isn’t an ideal situation, but you’d be surprised how off-road you can go on 38mm tyres!

The post only comes in a 27.2 mm diameter, which is relatively common and there are shims available to make it fit in nearly all frames that use a round seatpost, but unfortunately many modern road frames use proprietary seatpost designs where this wouldn’t work. The saddle clamp is only recommended for saddles with round rails (most carbon saddle rails are oval). seatpost size can be adapted to 28.6, 29.8, 30.0, 30.4, 30.9, 31.6, and 31.8mm outer diameter (seat tube diameter) Since ultra-distance bike races have no such rules, why wouldn’t ultra-distance cyclists want to have a seatpost that puts the saddle as far forward as possible all the time? The reason is that ultra-distance road cyclists tend to use drop handlebars with aerobars mounted to them and frequently switch between the positions. Damping determines the speed at which a seatpost will move over repeated bumps. A seatpost that dampens vibrations effectively will help to insulate you from road buzz coming up through your bike.I am considering using the dual-position seatpost in conjunction with a Fred Bar to setup a comfort oriented aero position on a full suspension trail mountain bike (which already has a fairly aggressive effect STA at 75.5 degrees, but a long reach, as is fashionable for modern trail geometry) for a Tour Divide run. Start at our worldwide routes map to dig into our detailed guides with GPS maps and inspiring photography. Suspension seatposts never really went away after their 1990s’ heyday. But they dropped out of the mainstream, due to a performance that was often less than stellar. The eeSilk Post comes in a 27.2 diameter and is 350mm in overall length. Interchangeable elastomers allow the post to accommodate riders ranging from 100 lbs (45kg) to 330 lbs (150 kg).