Suspension seatposts

[Catrin]

How much of a difference do suspension seatposts make on hardtails? As much as I like the idea of a FS bike, with the purchase of one custom bike this year I doubt that I could swing it, so a suspension seatpost would seem helpful. Not that I am really looking until after the women's clinic. Nope. Just curious, yeah, that's it. Curiosity

[hebe]

My hybrid had a suspension seatpost, my hardtail didn't. Now neither of them do.

The trouble I had with the suspension seatpost was to do with getting the saddle at the right height and getting started on the bike. With a suspension seatpost you need to set the saddle higher than normal, so that it's at the right height once your weight is on it. I found that this made it difficult for me to get the saddles at the right height - if I had it high enough it was an effort to get on and if I had it low enough to get on comfortably then it was too low for my leg length once it had settled under my weight. I appreciate that this is all somewhat of a beginner's problem and will go away once I'm consistently setting off without being sat on the saddle. But definitely one to try before committing.

I don't have a problem with the actual suspension bit. My mountain bike has a suspension front fork which soaks up a lot, and it is surprising how quickly you get used to standing out of the saddle with bent knees/elbows. I do this in town too for speed-bumps etc. I guess it will depend on your own particular needs and the kind of riding you want to do.

[SheFly]

I don't think a suspension seat post on an MTB that you ride in the woods is going to buy you much. You're better off ensuring that you are off the saddle for rooty/rocky sections anyway, using your legs as your suspension, and the front fork to take up a lot of the slack as well.

Like Hebe, I could never get the suspension post on our tandem just right, and found it pretty uncomfortable. Maybe for the road? But not for real MTB riding.

SheFly

[limewave]

I don't think a suspension seat post on an MTB that you ride in the woods is going to buy you much. You're better off ensuring that you are off the saddle for rooty/rocky sections anyway, using your legs as your suspension, and the front fork to take up a lot of the slack as well.

Like Hebe, I could never get the suspension post on our tandem just right, and found it pretty uncomfortable. Maybe for the road? But not for real MTB riding.

SheFly

I agree with SheFly on this. You want to be out of your saddle a lot when you're on the mountain bike and using your legs as the suspension. The clinic will probably help a lot with getting used to that.

[Catrin]

Thanks - my fitter had made that suggestion. I need to get the whole "out of the saddle" thing figured out

I certainly do not need it for the road, my lovely steel frame takes care of that for me

[Artista]

I tried a suspension seat post on my hard tail mountain bike for 3 rides. I really hate it.

• It feels like a trampoline when I hit rocks & tree roots
• The bouncing sometimes dislodges my feet from my platform pedals
• I think the trampoline effect causes "butt-steering", making the bike difficult to control
• I suspect that the suspension robs some of my pedaling power when I'm pushing hard uphill

The blasted thing is coming off before my next ride.

[spokewench]

I don't think a suspension seat post on an MTB that you ride in the woods is going to buy you much. You're better off ensuring that you are off the saddle for rooty/rocky sections anyway, using your legs as your suspension, and the front fork to take up a lot of the slack as well.

Like Hebe, I could never get the suspension post on our tandem just right, and found it pretty uncomfortable. Maybe for the road? But not for real MTB riding.

SheFly

They help with stutter type bumps when you have to be pedalling to keep going. That type of riding. They are not for sitting on your bike going down hill, etc. I agree you do take up much of the bumps with your legs and out of seat riding, but there are times when you ride a hard tail that these posts will help. I used one with my old very stiff aluminum Klein before FS really was much of an option to most of us.

[Irulan]

Ask yourself how well you use your body as suspension first. (neutral position) IMNSHO a suspension is a pretty minimal fix. When you need suspension the most you should usually be out of the saddle anyway. Suggestion: waituntil after your clinic.

[Irulan]

There have been a lot of great threads right here on how to use your body. If I weren't on my phone I'd do a search. Use "neutral position" or "attack position" as your terms.

[spokewench]

How much of a difference do suspension seatposts make on hardtails? As much as I like the idea of a FS bike, with the purchase of one custom bike this year I doubt that I could swing it, so a suspension seatpost would seem helpful. Not that I am really looking until after the women's clinic. Nope. Just curious, yeah, that's it. Curiosity

I used a suspension seatpost for a while. They absolutely do not mimic a FS mountain bike, but they do help. If you cannot afford a FS bike, it will help you, but it really depends on where and what type of riding you will be doing. If you live somewhere where there are a lot of rocks, rough areas, get a FS. If not, you may be able to make do with a seatpost.