Opinions on Thomson masterpiece layback seatpost

neeb
neeb Posts: 4,467
edited November 2011 in Road buying advice
I know it's a great product and I like a firm seatpost, but does the bend for the layback look daft on a carbon bike? I don't see many of them. I'm undecided myself.

This would be for a frame with a very slightly sloping TT and the bend would be about a quarter or a third of the way between the top of the seat tube and the saddle.

Comments

  • BillyMansell
    BillyMansell Posts: 817
    On my SL Pro Carbon I have a Thomson Masterpiece layback with a Specialized Toupe on top.

    Is it light? Yes (170gm with titanium bolts).
    Is it comfy? Yes (I like a laidback riding position).
    Is it daft looking? I couldn't give a monkeys. It does what I want it to do when riding the bike and that's the most important thing. For TTing I swap it out for a straight post with another saddle for a more forward position.
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    No. It doesn't look daft at all.

    WeenieLook.jpg

    IMO of course...

    It also looked pretty smart on my old Ti bike...

    LitespeedZipps.jpg

    It now does the business on my MTB...
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  • philhul
    philhul Posts: 140
    Depends on how much you would have showing...

    CIMG1873.jpg

    I'll stress that that was before I'd done any set up on the bike for my fit and I did end up with more post showing, but it still looked bad enough to make me buy a different post. Looks great on Nap's bikes though.

    ps mine was only an elite not masterpiece but they look the same!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    Yup, looks great other than on that Stealth where it's all of the way down.. I like the Look! (of the Look I mean). I just couldn't find many examples of road bikes with these things fitted so was beginning to worry.

    In my case it will be something in-between length-wise, it's to replace the stock carbon post on my Trigon. The length of the post currently is 17cm from the middle of the saddle rails to the top of the seatpost clamp. Width 31.6. Does anyone know exactly how far down the bend is from the saddle clamp?

    dsc3899.jpg
    BillyMansell wrote:
    On my SL Pro Carbon I have a Thomson Masterpiece layback with a Specialized Toupe on top.
    Is it light? Yes (170gm with titanium bolts).
    The Ti bolts don't come with the post, right? Any particular supplier? I probably won't be able to resist taking a hacksaw to it to save a few grams. Doubtless heretical, but never mind...
  • itsnotarace
    itsnotarace Posts: 518
    neeb wrote:
    Does anyone know exactly how far down the bend is from the saddle clamp?

    The Ti bolts don't come with the post, right? Any particular supplier? I probably won't be able to resist taking a hacksaw to it to save a few grams. Doubtless heretical, but never mind...

    The dimensions are on the Thomson website

    http://www.bikethomson.com/blog/wp-cont ... nsions.pdf

    I don't have too much post showing but it's an awesome seatpost and the craftsmanship and quality makes looks irrelevant to me. It is also excellent for clamping Selle Italia oval rails :)

    5523477618_3903b62cc7_o.jpg

    My 240mm post weighed 156grams uncut
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    Great, thanks. 11cm to the bend so I'll have 6cm spare. It'll be fine.

    For what it's worth, I reckon they look fine as long as there's at least some post showing above the seat tube before the kink.
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    I had an Elite layback for a while but didn't gel with the look, so flogged it on for a tradiational layback. NapDs looks better though
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • BillyMansell
    BillyMansell Posts: 817
    neeb wrote:
    BillyMansell wrote:
    On my SL Pro Carbon I have a Thomson Masterpiece layback with a Specialized Toupe on top.
    Is it light? Yes (170gm with titanium bolts).
    The Ti bolts don't come with the post, right? Any particular supplier? I probably won't be able to resist taking a hacksaw to it to save a few grams. Doubtless heretical, but never mind...

    I'd got the post for £55 secondhand but perfect condition so when I saw an Ebay seller selling a titanium bolt set for ~£10 I thought 'why not?'. A little grease on the threads and I've had no problems with them.

    Take a hacksaw to it? Ouch! An expensive part to destroy the resale value on. I've always taken seatposts to an engineer who can machine a post to length so they look like they were made that way.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    Yup, the Ti bolts are still on ebay!
    BillyMansell wrote:
    Take a hacksaw to it? Ouch! An expensive part to destroy the resale value on. I've always taken seatposts to an engineer who can machine a post to length so they look like they were made that way.
    Weeeeell, it'll be inside the seat tube and I don't have a handy engineer. I generally hack something off the bottom of my seatpost whenever I need to stop myself buying something else to save weight, it's sort of a weenie version of methadone... :wink:

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