Measure the distance from the "minimum insertion point" to the bottom of the tube, then make sure you leave that much. That being said, I definitely do NOT recommend cutting it. The post is so light already, you will save maybe 20 or 30 grams, and you might ruin a very nice post. Buy a Masterpiece if you really want more weight savings.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

And on top of that, the masterpiece may not really offer much in weight savings over the elite if it isnt sized as well. My roadie uses a 31.6 post. The masterpiece only comes in 330 length in that diameter. I use a 267 length elite. The weights are almost the same due to the longer length of the masterpiece. In the more common 27.2, however, there are more options for the masterpiece.

It's not a big deal to cut these posts. As an earlier poster stated, simply make sure you respect the minimum insertion line engraved on the shaft - project that measurement up to apply to your need, and cut accordingly (leave a bit extra so you have some margin for error.)



I have cut many of these posts down over the years, and it is not a problem. I scribe a new minimum insertion line on the post after I cut it, just to be safe.

PS - I have a cut-off from a Thomson sitting on the desk in front of me, and the ID/OD dimensions from the shaft are identical at the original bottom of the post, and the "new" bottom of the cut-down post; the extrusion/machined cross section is consistant the length of the shaft - so no big deal.





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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

Just out of curiosity, did you use a pipe cutting tool, hack saw, other, etc?

I have used both a pipe cutter and a hacksaw - whatever was closest at the time, honestly.

I used a pipe cutter on the Thomson I cut down yesterday - just remember to de-burr afterwards.





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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

I did the same thing as Jordan re. measuring the minimum distance and preserving that much. If you look at the instructions from Thomson, they also point out to leave enough so that the bottom of the seatpost is below the bottom of the top tube/seat tube junction.

On a mountain bike post you'll cut off a bunch. A friend of mine a while back cut an MTB post for his full suspension bike. It was too short for his new bike, so he gave it to me for my road bike. The post's cross-section appears to be symmetrical throughout its length.

When I bought my elite seatpost, they only had the long ones. I have a titanflex and it was way too long for that. I marked the point I wanted to cut and used a pipecutter to start with, then once I had a groove to follow I used a hacksaw as the post isn't circular all the way through.

Just leave the minimum amount as stated before.

I have cut down 2 of the Elite posts as well. I used a pipe cutter to clean cuts. I had gotten the long ones (~350 ) & cut off ~ 140mm which was still well below the min. insertion point but having a gram scale it did knock the weight down to ~ 180 grams. Think the total length ~ 210 mm with about 140 mm in the seat tube. I still have the 2 pieces I cut off.

I recently a new frame/bike for training so put the Elite on it & picked up the Masterpiece for the race bike. I decided I didn't want to cut it since its make with a thinner tube so made a point to hold out for the 240mm length at a reasonable price. The weight was at 155 g.

Barb