I currently ride a hardtail but i'm thinking about getting a suspension seatpost to take the edge off the hits that the bike is passing on to me. I dont want a full suspension frame cos i dont want the extra weight or faff, but something with 2-ish inches of travel will be good. Are suspension seatposts something i should look at or are they just a waste? And if they are good, which to go for? The Thudbuster is pricey but the action suggests it should work better than the telescopic ones but they are cheaper. Please help.

i'll let you know tomorrow – mine arrived earlier this week and i'm going to try it up dalby tonight. felt great round the back yard though. and jenson usa do them for 90quid. i ordered mine on friday and it arrived on monday, all the way from canada! (thudbuster i'm talking about)

I've hot a van-nicolas Ti post in my Inbred – it made a surprising improvment over the Alu one it replaced. Might be worth looking into if you're worried about the weight.

Thudbuster is a great piece of kit IMO – not everyone gets on with them. Less bob than a telescopic one due to the fact that the bb/ seat distance remains more constant and less friction as well.

We have one on the back of the tandem but I used it for soloing sits a couple of years ago where it was very good at taking the ripples out of the field margins. I shall have it for solo strathpuffer this year ( depending on conditions)

wwaswas – i'm not that concerned by weight, but the weight of a suspension seatpost will be much less than the increase in weight that a full sus frame would be, especially one that has a 67.5 deg head angle like my sirius has!

Ugly, heavy(er) than a regualr post, and made my knees hurt with all the height changes. Run a Carbon Kore I beam now with a ST Bel Air (slightly more padded than an SL)

Ran one for a long time on my old hardtail, no sure it made a lot of difference, maybe need to try on the new hardtail to be objective.

I also ran a Thudbuster in my old hardtail and thought it was great. Really took the harshness out of the ride. Yes they are a bit fugly but that really doesn't bother me.

I'm trying to get it to fit my current hardtail but i'm having nightmares trying to shim it in (i 'futureproofed' by going for the 27.2 version so i'd fit other bikes). Worked great in my trek but just won't stay still on my spesh or kona (unless i use another fugly double clamp rather than the qr).

If you are unsure then try and borrow one if you can. If you were local to me i'd probably let you have a punt with mine (i'm just south of Brum).

Another Thudbuster enthusiast here.

Suspension seatposts aren't as good as a suspension bike! So no!

Had thudbuster LT on my old Orange Evo 2. Loved it, so would highly recommend. Alas, some little toe-rag nicked the bike with post attached

used a thudbuster, a telescopic, ti and carbon rigid posts. the thudbuster adds far more comfort than the other options. the telescopic posts are poor (sticky and develop play quickly). ti or carbon will add a little flex and may be enough depending on your needs.
i can get away with rigid posts since i started riding 29ers but always had a thudbuster on my 26ers, they are very effective and worth the price.

Another Thudbuster fan here.

I got a secondhand one off fleabay. Makes a big difference on long rides and enables me to sit and peddle more than I could with normal post.

I like my thudbuster on my otherwise rigid 69er, great for long rides but not the same as suspension over rocky stuff.

Mr Tall – Have you tried a bit of red bull can as an extra shim?
Worked for me when I had seatpost slipping issues.

Tried them all and the Thudbuster is great! I have the ST on my bike and the wife has the LT. Great bits of kit, forget the extra weight and looks…your bum will love you 🙂

SSP

Ive used a USE Sumo XCR & found it was pretty good – I had it on a HT I used for enduros to take the sting out of long rides.

I've used both Thudbuster and USE XCR – prefer the USE as it's less noticable when riding and doesn't make my knees hurt as much.

tried my thudbuster for the first time up dalby last night – absoltuely brilliant. sitting down and pedalling hard into really bumpy uneven sections and not being kicked up the backside was amazing. thoroughly recommended.

Singlespeedpunk how much difference do you find between the LT and the ST? I have been considering one for a while just to take the edge off on longer rides. I only ride xc over the South Downs so nothing very rough but the rock hard chalk in the summer can get a bit wearing on the back.

I have a USe XCR Carbon job, that I picked up off here for a bargain price. A change to the firm spring and it is ace. I ride XC on an SS and it really helps with all the sitting and spinning. I used to get lots of lower back ache from to long in the saddle. No longer a major issue.
Heavy, but worth it for the long rides.

Andywarner – too true. Once did Dalby fully rigid – my back and arms hurt like hell towards the end and afterwards.
Next time I did it I had put sus forks on and a Thudbuster and it made a world of difference.
I sometimes run my Thudbuster with springs that are too stoff for my weight so just takes sting out rather than offers full travel. Extra versatility.