I am deciding on a new road bike at the moment. Any thoughts on integrated seat posts.
The transport issue does not bother me, and I’m not worried about cutting it. Any benefits to ISPs?
I am not an engineer, but all things considered, I am thinking fad!
To back this up with some possible evidence, the two bikes that have routinely tested as the best road bikes and voted as the best road bikes for the past 3 years have been the Cervelo Carbon Soloist and the R3 and both of those bikes have standard seat posts.
Good point about the Cervelos. One vote for aesthetics!
I think integrated seat posts are the stupidest idea ever.
it just isn’t necessary and has such terrible downsides.
integrated forks, sure.
brakes, sure
aerobars and seat posts?
NOOO!
Perhaps not fad, but I’m not a believer in the function. After seeing an ISP frame with a broken mast, I’m not convinced it’s the way to go. It was involved in a crit crash and the mast was broken about half way up. I didn’t see the crash, but I suspect the saddle hit the ground hard enough to break the mast. With a standard frame, my guess is that the worst that happens in that sort of crash is a broken seatpost. Due to the overlapping material of the seat tube & seatpost and the reinforcement of the clamp, I just think the standard design is stronger. Add to that the infinite adjustability of a seatpost (vs. the small adjustment available on most ISP frames) and I’m not sold on ISP frames - even with the weight savings.
My biggest fear of this sort of thing is that it will become orphaned technology if in a few years from now the manufacturer decides that integrated posts weren’t such a good idea after all. So if you have a frame you’re stuck trying to buy overprice NOS parts off of eBay.
Although there’s no guarantee, I’d be willing to bet that I’ll be able to obtain a 27.2mm round seatpost anytime in the foreseeable future without a problem. Who can say that for a proprietary Trek or Look post?
I’m gonna go with “utterly retarded.”.
FAD
The con’s far outway the pro’s.
I am deciding on a new road bike at the moment. Any thoughts on integrated seat posts.
The transport issue does not bother me, and I’m not worried about cutting it. Any benefits to ISPs?
It is an easy way around getting an aero shaped post to fit snuggly into an aero shaped hole.
Round seatposts are super easy to design a clamp, post, and frame for.
Aero shapes are very very VERY difficult as the finishing of these carbon items out of a mold can affect their shape.
Intergrating them prevents issues (on fit) but causes a number of others.
That’s my NT$ 2.
-SD
I can see this Dave but you still have to make a device to clamp the saddle to the ISP which would not be the same amount of work but still difficult at the same time correct? Especially if you are designing it around a proprietary aero shaped ISP.
I would think that making an aero seat post would be hard but there are a lot of people doing this now in the industry.
I think it’s here to stay, but I also think that the design needs to be and will be improved greatly in the next few years.
Try riding one of the new Madone’s sometime…actually riding a bike rather than looking at it online. They got it to ride very smooth and you don’t have to worry about cutting. Beats trying for make sure the two screws don’t go past 4nm into the carbon fiber.
Just like everything else, it needs to be designed right and built right.
I think that it falls under the umbrella of a solution for a problem that never existed. At best they look cool, but really they are not lighter and don’t offer alot of adjustability. I have a hard enough time cutting the steerer on my fork, I can’t imagine cutting an ISP. I know that most offer enough play to account for changes in crank length, cleat stack height, or changes in rail to top of saddle height, but I’m for sure the poor schlub that would have everything change and wind up without enough post. Really though, traditional setposts and clamps are lighter than most of the new stuff.
Oh, and if you’re tall like me you’ll never get it on a plane or in a small car.
I can see this Dave but you still have to make a device to clamp the saddle to the ISP which would not be the same amount of work but still difficult at the same time correct? Especially if you are designing it around a proprietary aero shaped ISP.
I would think that making an aero seat post would be hard but there are a lot of people doing this now in the industry.
Nope, the ISP clamp is easy, it has a top to it and cannot slide/slip down. It doesn’t rotate either, so the net shape can be very very sloppy vs. the shape of the frame.
I know making an integrated post is much easier than making an aero, non-integrated one.
-SD