Can't speak about the seat post (obviously) but I have just used the Shockstop stem in anger at Paris-Roubaix and I can recommend it both functionally and for build quality. Great bit of kit. Saved my hands, arms and shoulders from certain doom and I can't think of many better tests.

If I ever went back (I won't) I'd definitely look at this seat post and treat my arse to the same kind of luxury that I treated my upper body to.

P-R still kicked the shit out of me though in spite of the Shockstop. But at least I was on a road bike and not cheating on a MTB like a lot of the Germans and Belgies :-).

Interesting. Much less "aesthetically challenged" than the Thudbuster. My question is what makes this any better than the telescoping suspension seat posts with internal springs that are somewhat common on "comfort" bikes?

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Functionally, probably nothing. The ability to adjust preload is a nice feature that I'm not sure all those other seat posts have.

Maybe not all, but I worked on a friend's Gary Fisher "pathway bike" and it had a telescoping suspension post with a preload adjuster.

Perhaps the 4-bar link reduces the side loads and corresponding stiction? And I can't tell from the video, but maybe there's a bit of eccentricity in the lobe that compresses the spring, making the effective resistance non-linear, even though it's a linear rate spring?

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"