Carbon seat post - More comfortable?

gareth273

This is my first ally framed road bike (my 1st road bike is Reynolds 501 SL) and I find the ride a little harsh at times. I did expect this as I've read about it but I was wondering if it would help to change the ally seat post for a carbon one.

Bobbinogs

Forgive me if this insults you but I take it you mean harsh on the asre rather than through the arms?

I have ally and carbon posts but find that the saddle itself and the frame make more of a difference.

gareth273

Harshness though the asre. Saddle is fine - not uncomfortable - can ride for hours on it. I can feel the bumps through the saddle and was wondering if a cabon post would dampen them a little.

Was just thinking

bianchimoon

gareth273 wrote:

This is my first ally framed road bike (my 1st road bike is Reynolds 501 SL) and I find the ride a little harsh at times. I did expect this as I've read about it but I was wondering if it would help to change the ally seat post for a carbon one.

i doubt you'd be able to tell any difference, seat, frame tyre presures would all make some difference

Elio

Before you invest in a carbon seat post, what tyre pressures are you running? A lower tyre pressure might contribute a whole lot more to riding comfort than a new seat post. And it's free

luv2ride

Couple of other posts on similar subject at the moment. I went for a Specialized Pave (cheap off fleabay) and it made a world of difference to the ride of my alu framed road bike. The seatpost is only available in 27.2mm though (I think) :?

Velonutter

Elio wrote:

Before you invest in a carbon seat post, what tyre pressures are you running? A lower tyre pressure might contribute a whole lot more to riding comfort than a new seat post. And it's free

And more punctures!

desweller

Velonutter wrote:

Elio wrote:

Before you invest in a carbon seat post, what tyre pressures are you running? A lower tyre pressure might contribute a whole lot more to riding comfort than a new seat post. And it's free

And more punctures!

Not necessarily. If he's 65kg and running 100/120 F/R then he can probably afford to drop a bit of air!

A more supple seatpost will only be noticeable if you already have a lot of seatpost showing. You need to have the post bending to get any reward for the high strength/stiffness ratio you can get with carbon composites.

John.T

I was using a Spec Parve on my Trek 5200 but have changed to an in-line alloy one. No noticeable difference.

petejuk

bianchimoon wrote:

gareth273 wrote:

This is my first ally framed road bike (my 1st road bike is Reynolds 501 SL) and I find the ride a little harsh at times. I did expect this as I've read about it but I was wondering if it would help to change the ally seat post for a carbon one.

i doubt you'd be able to tell any difference, seat, frame tyre presures would all make some difference

I disagree. I recently swapped my alloy seatpost for a titanium one. It made a substantial difference. I changed nothing else so knew I could any change in feel down to the new post. My rides are now more comfortable and as a result, my muscles take longer to fatigue. I am able to ride further before discomfort sets in.
However, the above things like seat, frame and tyre pressures do make a big difference as does whether your bike fits you properly. Before spending any money on new parts, you could try dropping and/or moving your saddle slightly forward or backwards.
Furthermore, a carbon seatpost won't necessarily be more comfortable than an aluminium one or a titanium on for that matter.

Berk Bonebonce

Not worth it. Saddles come with varying degrees of padding; tyres come in varying widths; and tyres can be run at a range of pressures - these are the things that will dial perceptibly more comfort into your cycling experience.

After 30 years of riding on the Third World roads we have in the UK I now run my tyres at their minimum pressures.

petejuk

Running the tyres at their minimum pressures are more likely to cause pinch flats and splits in them- especially in this weather. There is also a (not massive) performance disadvantage with reduced handling. Yeah sure, reducing the tyre pressure will give more comfort but at a price in durability and performance. A simple adjustment with the saddle may be beneficial and worth doing. If this fails, a bike fit might help massively.

Berk Bonebonce

petejuk wrote:

Running the tyres at their minimum pressures are more likely to cause pinch flats and splits in them- especially in this weather. .

Do you know what 6bar (minimum pressure) feels like inside a Vittoria Open CX?

petejuk

No, I don't as I've never had that type. I know from using various conti tyres and michelin ones, the difference in comfort between lowest and highest pressures is minimal, whereas the difference in durability is great. I agree a wider tyre will give more comfortable ride but there is a performance trade off (higher rotating weight and larger contact patch). In a nutshell, the OP can improve his/her level of comfort in a number of ways without resorting to spending money unnecessarily. Tyres are a way but not without limitations.

paul64

Try running 25mm tyres instead of 23mm, I find this makes a noticeable difference on most wheels. After that wheels and frame in my book as others have said.

Monty Dog

I agree on running 25mm tyres at lower pressures - most people run theirs at too high a pressure which just creates skittish handling and a harsh ride - some people hang onto the myth that higher pressures = faster whereas the determining factor is often the 'roughness' of the road - all they do is bounce more on the irregularities.

Re OP question on seatposts, a lot depends on the weight of the rider, amount of exposed post and saddle setback. Some seatposts are certainly more flexible than others - but if you're only 50kg rider with 100mm of exposed inline post, don't expect to notice the difference

CTank

paul64 wrote:

Try running 25mm tyres instead of 23mm, I find this makes a noticeable difference on most wheels. After that wheels and frame in my book as others have said.

Something I've always wondered: Is the advantage of bigger tyres only gained by the fact that they can be run at lower pressures, with less chance of flats? To put it another way, am I mising the advantage of a bigger tyre if I run my 25mm Gatorskins at 120psi, when I could get away with, say, 100psi? I'm a fairly big lad, so tend to run max pressure.

bianchimoon

petejuk wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

gareth273 wrote:

This is my first ally framed road bike (my 1st road bike is Reynolds 501 SL) and I find the ride a little harsh at times. I did expect this as I've read about it but I was wondering if it would help to change the ally seat post for a carbon one.

i doubt you'd be able to tell any difference, seat, frame tyre presures would all make some difference

I disagree. I recently swapped my alloy seatpost for a titanium one. It made a substantial difference. I changed nothing else so knew I could any change in feel down to the new post. My rides are now more comfortable and as a result, my muscles take longer to fatigue. I am able to ride further before discomfort sets in.
However, the above things like seat, frame and tyre pressures do make a big difference as does whether your bike fits you properly. Before spending any money on new parts, you could try dropping and/or moving your saddle slightly forward or backwards.
Furthermore, a carbon seatpost won't necessarily be more comfortable than an aluminium one or a titanium on for that matter.

Feel free to disagree, it's all about opinions after all. Though I can't quiet work this one out. in the first instance it's a magic bullet for comfort /fatigue and at the end you say won't necessarily make any difference. are you a politician by any chance ?

Headhuunter

bianchimoon wrote:

petejuk wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

gareth273 wrote:

This is my first ally framed road bike (my 1st road bike is Reynolds 501 SL) and I find the ride a little harsh at times. I did expect this as I've read about it but I was wondering if it would help to change the ally seat post for a carbon one.

i doubt you'd be able to tell any difference, seat, frame tyre presures would all make some difference

I disagree. I recently swapped my alloy seatpost for a titanium one. It made a substantial difference. I changed nothing else so knew I could any change in feel down to the new post. My rides are now more comfortable and as a result, my muscles take longer to fatigue. I am able to ride further before discomfort sets in.
However, the above things like seat, frame and tyre pressures do make a big difference as does whether your bike fits you properly. Before spending any money on new parts, you could try dropping and/or moving your saddle slightly forward or backwards.
Furthermore, a carbon seatpost won't necessarily be more comfortable than an aluminium one or a titanium on for that matter.

Feel free to disagree, it's all about opinions after all. Though I can't quiet work this one out. in the first instance it's a magic bullet for comfort /fatigue and at the end you say won't necessarily make any difference. are you a politician by any chance ?

When I changed my alloy seatpost for a carbon one I definitely noticed the difference, it gave a noticeably "spongier" ride. I also noticed more comfort when I switched from riding an aluminium framed bike to a carbon one. Carbon is certainly more shock absorbing, this is why the 1st parts of a cheap end bike which are "cabonised" are the forks and the rear triangle, because they provide natural shock absorption...

That's not to say that dropping the tyre pressure wouldn't help...

gareth273

Many mixed responses.

A little but more info for you.

Bike is Bianchi Nirone with 23mm Vittoria Rubino tyres at 100psi front and rear.

bianchimoon

gareth273 wrote:

Many mixed responses.

.

that's forums for you
at the end of the day it's a piece of metal or carbon that you're sat atop don't expect to much from it - noticeable comfort will come from seat, tyres/tyre pressure!

Headhuunter

bianchimoon wrote:

gareth273 wrote:

Many mixed responses.

.

that's forums for you
at the end of the day it's a piece of metal or carbon that you're sat atop don't expect to much from it - noticeable comfort will come from seat, tyres/tyre pressure!

I don't think that there's any debate that carbon provides a softer ride than steel or aluminium, I'm pretty certain that this is a given, the question is whether you would be better off just letting some air out of the tyres rather than paying for carbon components...

markos1963

If your bike has enough clearance fit the widest tyres you can. I run a 28mm on the back and a 25mm on the front and this has had the most drmatic effect on my comfort than anything else. I certainly don't suffer any loss of speed compared to my club mates.

stevec205gti

All ally frames I've had in the past have benefitted from fitting a carbon post - there's very little give in the rear end of an ally frame, that's why steel and a lot of carbon framed bikes are considered comfier, and also why ally frames started to have carbon rears. A carbon seat post won't suddenly transform an uncomfortable ride into arm chair luxury, but I've found that it can take away some of the harsh road buzz

Bar Shaker

A carbon seat post is too small a component and too thick a wall section to dull the harmonics of road buzz.

Don't waste your money.

rogerthecat

@gareth273; m8 you can pick up a Ritchie Carbon pro seat post for under 60 quid, a good set of 25mm tyres are going to cost more than that, and running the presure lower than 90 psi may not be a good idea IMO!

Headhuunter

Bar Shaker wrote:

A carbon seat post is too small a component and too thick a wall section to dull the harmonics of road buzz.

Don't waste your money.

I'm sorry but that's rubbish. I speak from experience...

stevec205gti

Above +1

The person I sold ally frame to with ally seatpost, who a few months later fitted carbon seat post, and then came up to tell me how lovely the frame was to ride now +2

MaxwellBygraves

Another +1 to the above two posts.

bianchimoon

Bar Shaker wrote:

A carbon seat post is too small a component and too thick a wall section to dull the harmonics of road buzz.

Don't waste your money.

+1 to the above, princess and the pea springs to mind!

peanut1978

not a lot of difference really