Carbon vs Titanium Seatpost

Daithi

I'm looking for advice on seatposts with good vibration damping characteristics for my Ridley compact frame. It's Aluminium with carbon seatstays and I'm starting to get a very stiff lower back on long rides, I'm 43 & been road riding since late teens. I'm trying other things to alleviate this, stretches, yoga, a lift in one of my shoes to sort out leg imbalance, less extreme riding position etc. I have a steel frame which is more absorbent & seems to give me less lower back pain & I often use this if I'm riding on my own but on a club run or local sportives often use the Ridley because it is that bit quicker especially on climbs. I used to have a titanium frame too that was really smooth and never had any back problems with it but was of course younger when riding that. The Ridley is much stiffer & lighter but is a bit of a brute to ride in terms of roadshock for more than 2 hours. I thought fitting a 27.2mm carbon or titanium seatpost might smooth the ride out a bit or even a lot hopefully & let me keep riding it as I can't afford to replace the frame at the moment. All & any suggestions welcome!

Wheelspinner

Am just about to try one of these for similar reasons.... not cheap, but then a sore back ain't fun either! On order, but not arrived yet.

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=2033

Supposedly more flex than "standard". Syntace generally make excellent stuff, so hoping it's a good thing.

Eyorerox

I suspect bike fit is the answer, If you believe a seatpost will help you could consider this one (Canyon VCLS)
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... t-11-45082

P_Tucker

Save your money and let 2 psi out of your tyres. Will make more difference FFS

fungus_the_muffin_man

Is there really any need for a FFS on the end of it?

jordan_217

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Is there really any need for a FFS on the end of it?

Unless it stands for Free Friendly Service then no, there's no need whatsoever. Maybe letting 2psi out of his attitude might help.

Giraffoto

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Is there really any need for a FFS on the end of it?

Is it the sound of 2psi being let out of the tyres?

Wirral_paul

25mm tyres are also worth considering at some stage. As well as more volume (and hence more comfort), they also handle much sweeter. Plenty of pro teams are now moving up to 25mm tyres.

FFS - no surprise given that the post came from who it did!!

Daithi

Thanks for the useful advice. Forgot to mention I'm already on 25mm tyres (cheers wirral_paul) and agree they're great. Made me smile reading Laurent Fignon's bio at Xmas & he related how they were forced to try 23mm tyres & then amazed at how much better they were than 21mm! Also had one of them computerised bike fits at my LBS which came up with the same measurements my bike was already set up to & no they didn't get a chance to measure the bike beforehand! Although, the matching measurements were for "Sport" & there was a more extreme "Pro" & less extreme "Casual" position so may just have to accept relaxing my riding position a bit & carry on doing all the stretches etc. that I should have been doing for the last 20 years.

Checked out the Syntace & Canyon seatposts, look good but I'll have to get busy selling in the Classifieds first I think! Pretty cool though to have a volcanic seatpost I think, or is it?

Wirral_paul

I'm sure I read somewhere that the Canyon Basalt seatpost is now available for around half the original retail price so well under £100!! Its in Cycling+ this month i'm sure - and is supposedly superb for comfort.

Edit: Page 86 of the July issue. Only available in 27.2mm size though

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/shop/?category=F07&item=25214

MattC59

P_Tucker wrote:

Save your money and let 2 psi out of your tyres. Will make more difference FFS

Charming, as usual :roll:

MattC59

You mentioned that you have a lift in one shoe, have you looked at installing any wedges ? I used to get knee pain and (I suspect) that same dull ache in my lower back. Wedges took away the knee pain and went a long way to sorting out my back as well.

Check the wear on your day to day shoes, you'll probably find that your heel is worn either on the inside or outside. Mine wears slightly on the outside and my foot rolls inwards. I've put a 1mm wedge between my shoes and cleats, with the thick edge on the inner edge of the shoe. That way, my feet don't try to roll during the pedal stroke and they don't put stress on my knees, hips and lower back.

There's a lot more information, and the wedges I use here: http://www.cyclefit.co.uk/cleat-wedges

ajb72

I can recommend the3T Dorico steatposts for increasing comfort to a ride. I hated the fiddly fitting, but the amount of flex in the seatpost and shock absorption was truly impressive

dennisn

I going to cast my vote for 700x25 tires with less pressure for smoothing out the ride.
I used to believe that you had to run 700x19's or 21's beccause, well, that's what you were supposed to do. You know, the old thin tires and high pressure thing. Now I am a complete convert to 700x25's. They don't slow me down at all and comfort(what little there is on a bike) is somewhat enhanced. I've used carbon and aluminum posts but have not noticed any kind of ride difference.

Eyorerox

I agree on the 25 tyres being more comfortable but I doubt that will help back pain.

Daithi

MattC59 wrote:

You mentioned that you have a lift in one shoe, have you looked at installing any wedges ? .....

There's a lot more information, and the wedges I use here: http://www.cyclefit.co.uk/cleat-wedges

Cheers Matt, yes I have cleat wedges couldn't remember what they were called! I'm on about 8mm I think on my left leg as I have reasonable leg length difference that I only found about recently. Now I know why all my trousers only ever sat right over my shoes on one leg! It was a sports physio person that noticed it & when I went to see a couple of guys I know at University Wales Cardiff who do sports bio-dynamics (my description) they were really pleased & wanted to film me pedalling. Told me though that I was a "good compensator" though. I'll check out cycle fit.

FWIW I tried moving my saddle forward about 5mm yesterday, using lower gears & getting out of the saddle more on climb, all of which seemed to help.

Eyorerox

If you have 8mm shorter leg, why don't you buy a shorter crank arm for that side
then you would need less wedge? say a 175 on one side and a 170 on the other?

iPete

Carbon seatpost = amazing. Anyone who says 'take 2psi out of your tyres FFS' hasn't ridden a cheap Allu seatpost and made the swap. I nearly sold my bike the vibrations were driving me up the wall so much. A Deda carbon seapost was a very cheap fix.

Daithi

Eyorerox wrote:

If you have 8mm shorter leg, why don't you buy a shorter crank arm for that side
then you would need less wedge? say a 175 on one side and a 170 on the other?

My leg difference is about 16mm, apparently you don't fully correct it so I've got an 8mm shim on my cleat, so I'd need something approaching 170 & 180mm cranks, hard to find, expensive & most of the "correction" would then be on my long leg (currently use 172.5mm cranks) which isn't the one causing the problem. Now the correction is on my shorter leg which is where it should be as this is the leg that's "reaching" at the bottom of the pedal stroke. I did think of different length cranks myself at first but the more I thought about it the more I realised it wouldn't work.

Anyhow who need less wedge*, mate I need more!

*wedge n. Large amount of half folded bank notes. Source: UK

VETMANSHU

I know this is a pretty old thread but I'll add a bit of experience for the next reader.
I have had two disc surgeries on my lower back and am always looking for ways to stay comfortable. Years ago I made the choice of sacrificing weight for the comfort of a suspension seat post and have never regretted it.

My absolute favorite ride is an old Santa Cruz Roadster. It's an aluminum beast built to climb and cling to tight turns but it is incredibly rigid. Over the first year of ownership I swapped out the original aluminum post for a titanium and then a carbon fiber one all with the hope of making it more comfortable. None really sufficed.

Finally my choice came down to only riding the Roadster on short rides or jump over the cliff and get a suspension seat post. I got a Rock Shocks suspension post and 14 years later I have absolutely no regrets. It absorbs all the minor vibrations that killed my back and it adds maybe a third to half pound-(but my gut fluctuates between 5-10 lbs too much so I'm not going to whine about the weight).

I routinely go on 50+ rides and my back feels fine. I'm also convinced that the post, by absorbing so many bumps, has extended the life of my beloved frame.

If you have a squirly lower back I would suggest trying a suspension post even though it adds weight.