Pondering a Ti seatpost made me wonder why I’ve never heard of steel ones. A quick search and there’s some opinions re rusting & tube sizes, but there are some cheap & nasty looking ones out there so they do exist.

Anyone heard of decent ones? Am thinking a steel post might be nicer than aluminium for vibrations, but less expensive than Ti.

Or would it weigh a fair bit/really have any benefit?

There were a couple around in the early 90s – XT and Zoom.

Not as light as modern stuff, though the Zoom one wasn’t heavy, I think they were quite stiff which may be the reason?

Sounds like a job for a nice length of 953 🙂

Sounds like a job for a nice length of 953

Would that not make it as expensive as Ti though?

Some interesting chat here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=310210

I’m at framebuilding hq at the moment so only a quick reply but we are working on something that may be of interest. I’ll post more details later

Matt

I’d (for no good reason) like one of those seat mast style bikes in steel.

I had a nice tioga ‘prestige’ one.

Weighed over 300g 😐

Steel is stiff

We’ve just recieved our 953 post back from testing (it passed). It’s only a prototype at the moment so the finish isn’t finalised. Weight wise it should come in around 210g

18Bikes 953 Seatpost by 18bikes, on Flickr

18Bikes 953 post weight by 18bikes, on Flickr

We should have them available in a couple of months time. Pricing is to be confirmed but is likely to be around the £150 mark. Should be the perfect finish touch for a nice steel frame in the same way a ti post suits a ti frame perfectly

Matt

What a coincidence! I reckon this thread was posted using insider information!

*calls FSA*

*notes pun*

[armchair engineer mode] – wouldn’t it be cheaper/lighter to use an alu head?

What would be the advantage of a 953 seatpost over say a Thomson one??

To clarify, I have no idea who Rob Hilton is, the post has been in the shop on a few occasions and I have chatted to people about it so it’s not totally secret.

The head uses thomson hardware as it’s the best design out there and we couldn’t do any better. The piece that’s attached to the tube is stainless steel, it has to be so that we can silver solder the head on. We could save weight by making it out of aluminium, but we could run into issues with the bonding between tube and head. We would rather have a product last than save 17.45637 grams. I know how I could make a lighter version so we may add that at a later date if we get enough requests.

The advantage of this post of a Thomson would be a bit of wieght, a nice ride quality and, of course, a bit of shiny bling.

Matt

To clarify I was only kidding and forgot 😀 ‘s etc

Top job Matt, looks nice.

Ahh, 953 is stainless 😀

Top stuff.

I think I’ll have one.

18bikesMatt – any plans for a set back version?

I like the fact that you are prepared to push the envelope and make some different to the norm bike frames and components – power to you!

Looking forward to seeing this and other lovely things at Bespoke Bristol this weekend!

What’s the flex like? I like a twangy post.

I have no idea who Rob Hilton is

Must have a word with my PR agent!

Good stuff Matt; I’d be interested in hearing more about it – diameter range, what you think of it etc.

A phosphated 853 version could be a cheaper black alternative.

Add smud carbon thomson cradles and it’ll be a pretty light post.

I’d be interested in a twin bolt 20mm layback version

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……I’ll have one (I assume its 27.2mm Matt?).

I had a Tioga on my DBR, but it wouldn’t stop slipping. A knurling tool might have done the trick though.

I’ll try one – sale or return, single bolt, inline, 29.7, green.

Thanks

ok, a few more details.

They will be 27.2 only

No plans for a set back (yet)

There’s no 853 material in the right size and we certainly aren’t going to pay for the tooling to have it drawn.

Slipping isn’t an issue, with some carbon assembly grease and a good clamp it holds fine. Engin cycles do a lugged stainless post and doesn’t have issues with slipping.

Anyone who is seriously interested please email me (matt@18bikes.co.uk) so I can keep you up to date.

Matt

We’ve had a bit more progress on the finish of the post, some more details here

Minimum insertion mark by 18bikes, on Flickr

Matt