Will carbon seat post feel different?

Thigh_burn

I've got a steel bike. Recently did a bike fit and one of the recommendations was to go for a carbon seat post. To be clear, the fitter wasn't trying to flog it to me, his suggestion came after I was asking about making a few weight savings on the bike.

He did say however that it would feel a lot more comfortable with a carbon post, vs my current Condor alu post. If so, any recommendations, much difference between Deda/3T/Fizik etc?

timothyw

Does the bike already have a carbon fork (with carbon steerer)?

That'll make a pretty enormous weight difference (and potentially comfort improvement too).

Saying that a carbon seatpost will be 'a lot' more comfortable is basically talking rubbish, particularly if your frame has fairly traditional geometry and so not that much seatpost showing.

It should be a bit more comfy, but it's a marginal difference - presumably you didn't go in for a bike fit because your arse was getting shaken to pieces?

You can probably make a good weight saving, although worth checking the weight of your current seatpost first - quality aluminium seatposts can be within a few grams of quality carbon ones (and lighter than cheap carbon).

Deda kit is good for the money but they have a rep for under-quoting their weights so take them with a pinch of salt. Personally I'd buy the one which gave me the most g/£ saving while still looking good with the bike.

shortfall

I've had bikes with both and I can't tell any difference at all.

Bobbinogs

If I was looking purely at large weight savings, I wouldn't start with the seatpost. Then, factor in that tyres (width and TPI) and pressure make a huge difference to road comfort and you may want to rethink your priorities.

Thigh_burn

TimothyW wrote:

Does the bike already have a carbon fork (with carbon steerer)?

Yes it does.

You're right, it wasn't ars* comfort that drove me to get the bike fit, but a few separate issues.

It's steel afterall, so I know weight savings on the seat post will be marginal overall. Thanks for the general feedback.

bobones

I don't notice the difference, and I have a lot of seatpost showing. I've recently gone from carbon 27.2 to aluminium 31.8 on my winter bike and I didn't detect a loss of comfort. On my good bike, I went from Zipp alu post to Zipp carbon, and couldn't detect any difference there either. There is the potential to lose 100-150g of weight, which may be worth it to you, but comfort gains are exaggerated IMO.

skell300

I recently switched to a carbon seatpost, but the only reason was it was an absolute steal reduced from £120 to £30.

Can't really tell the difference in comfort myself. Swapping my tyres did more for comfort than the seatpost.

It weighs 60g less than my alu one. If I take a flapjack on my ride, that weight saving is negated!

meanredspider

Most of the load in a seatpost is taken in axial compression so I doubt it will make much difference.

thegreatdivide

Carbon bars, stems and seatposts are bling. Nothing more. There’s nowt wrong with having bling on your bike and some bragging ammo (very guilty as charged) but it makes feck all difference to the ride. As others have already posted – tyres and pressure.

Bobbinogs

skell300 wrote:

I recently switched to a carbon seatpost, but the only reason was it was an absolute steal reduced from £120 to £30.

Can't really tell the difference in comfort myself. Swapping my tyres did more for comfort than the seatpost.

It weighs 60g less than my alu one. If I take a flapjack on my ride, that weight saving is negated!

The trick there is to eat the flapjack before the ride so that the weight doesn't count. I also ensure that I drink any water in bottles prior to a big climb...

I do think my science might be a little flawed though.

skell300

Bobbinogs wrote:

The trick there is to eat the flapjack before the ride so that the weight doesn't count. I also ensure that I drink any water in bottles prior to a big climb...

I do think my science might be a little flawed though.

Although it will make a difference to the bike weight when I have to get off and walk :P

meanredspider

thegreatdivide wrote:

Carbon bars, stems and seatposts are bling. Nothing more. There’s nowt wrong with having bling on your bike and some bragging ammo (very guilty as charged) but it makes feck all difference to the ride. As others have already posted – tyres and pressure.

Why limit your opinion of carbon to just bars, stem & seatpost?

ugo.santalucia

Never noticed any difference between alloy/steel/carbon seatposts, being those 27.2 or 31.6 mm... largely a myth

matt_n-2

I'll go against the grain here and say for me it did make a difference.

For the last 2 years I've been riding a Colnago Dream (alu frame) with a alu seat post and have recently switched to a carbon Deda superzero.

For me it has taken some of the road buzz away therefore improving comfort.

Never run carbon in a steel frame so can't make that comparison I'm afraid.

FatTed

I have a Fizik carbon seatpost and Deda carbon handlebars, I'm sure they are just bling. they weigh next to nothing and may reduce some road buzz, my frame is steel with a steel fork.

First.Aspect

Add this to the list of "sh1t bike fitters say". Some carbon posts are light, for sure, but then there are also very light aluminium posts available - USE, Thompson, etc.

There is a leaf spring post out there somewhere (Canyon?) and that might feel different. But you have a steel frame, which is already more compliant so I'm not sure why you'd bother.

zefs

Comfort wise, it won't make as much difference as using wider tyres with less air pressure, but I've noticed that every little bit helps as when you apply it on longer rides it can have a difference in overall comfort which is important.

When I firstly switched to carbon seatpost I couldn't feel the difference right away but as I said if you apply that little difference on the whole ride it helps since there are less vibrations absorbed.

fat daddy

First Aspect wrote:

But you have a steel frame, which is already more compliant so I'm not sure why you'd bother.

because unlike weight, you can further improve things ie:-

steel bike = comfortable.
Steel bike WITH fatter rubber = more comfortable.
Steel bike with fatter rubber and carbon post, stem and bars = EVEN more comfortable.

its hard to understand because people are used to the physics of weight, where :-

Bike = heavy.
Bike with no water bottle and rider having a big dump = light.
Bike with no water bottle and rider having a big dump AND with light weight wheels, post, bars and groupset = the same weight as before as he has already taken the water bottle off and had a dump

meanredspider

zefs wrote:

When I firstly switched to carbon seatpost I couldn't feel the difference right away but as I said if you apply that little difference on the whole ride it helps since there are less vibrations absorbed.

The thing I've consistently noticed as I've improved the quality of bikes I've had is that I don't much notice the improvement until I go back to what I had. I still have my original Focus Variado 105 (£375 ex-demo) and only going back do I notice how harsh the ride is. Bars, in particular, are probably the longest cantilever and I really notice how springy the drops, especially, are with carbon. Bars weigh about 20-25% of the weight of a frame. They are also about 20-25% the cost of a similar standard carbon frame. I struggle to see how anyone can argue a carbon frame is worthwhile but bars aren't. I've not done the maths on a seatpost but I'd imagine it's similar. Steel is a slightly different story because it's already more forgiving than aluminium as a frame and a cheaper material.

thegreatdivide

I’ve got a Colnago C59 which is loaded with carbon bling including 80 quid a pop bottle cages. While it’s an incredible bike to ride in terms of response and road handling, when it comes to road dampening it’s not as patch on my steel Genesis with 28mm tyres and full alu cockpit which rides like a pig but feels like I’m on a space hopper. Same goes for my steel Colnago Master (although it has 32 spoke vintage wheels and 22mm tyres).

meanredspider

thegreatdivide wrote:

I’ve got a Colnago C59 which is loaded with carbon bling including 80 quid a pop bottle cages. While it’s an incredible bike to ride in terms of response and road handling, when it comes to road dampening it’s not as patch on my steel Genesis with 28mm tyres and full alu cockpit which rides like a pig but feels like I’m on a space hopper. Same goes for my steel Colnago Master (although it has 32 spoke vintage wheels and 22mm tyres).

There's a clue in this - steel is lovely and springy that why they make, err, springs from it. I wouldn't bother fitting carbon to steel solely for reasons of comfort.

luv2ride

This seems to have made a difference to the ride comfort of my CR1 SL...clearly designed to provide some additional flex, and I would say it's noticeable (in a positive way).

Harry182

Luv2ride wrote:

This seems to have made a difference to the ride comfort of my CR1 SL...clearly designed to provide some additional flex, and I would say it's noticeable (in a positive way).

I will be getting one of these for my Six13 build.