So I got to admit, I was pretty psyched when I found out that I was getting a Thomson Seat Post to test ride and review. Why? Everybody I talked to swore by them and told me that they were the best of the best. After riding the post for about a month, I have to admit that they were right.
My old “other” seat post was a house brand carbon seat post that came on my aluminum 29er. It had the new, one bolt clamp system that has been carried over from road bikes to mountain bikes. Although it was a little lighter than
More Comfortable Than Carbon? Yes it is!
the Thomson (it was carbon after all), it was forever allowing my seat to shift up and down, this was VERY annoying on rides as I find it easiest to ride my bike when my saddle is parallel, not perpendicular to the ground. And seeing as how I’m around one hundred pounds it was not like I should have been able to do this.
But enough talk about this inferior seat post. You can get into a Thomson for around $88, which is a worthy investment as it is a sweet post that will last forever and will hold your saddle in place without constantly having to constantly tighten it. Thomson seat posts are also known for their clamp design that doesn’t scratch the rails on your seat. The clamp design on these posts is incredible and very straight forward. There are two bolts that clamp onto the rails of saddle, to adjust the slant of the seat, you simply loosen one bolt and tighten the other, foolproof!
In terms of how the post rides, the aluminum post actually has a little more flex than the carbon (which sounds counterintuitive… I know), and absorbs the bumps nicely. The post is also killer light and insanely sturdy, nobody I know has ever been able to break one. In comparison to other seat posts, which fail at 150 Ibs of torque, the Thomson seat post can endure 350 Ibs of torque before breaking. (The post will bend slightly after 250 but is still considered safe to ride). And for the weight weenies out there, the 250 mm seat post weighs about 188g, while the 330 mm seat post comes in at about 228g. The installation of this seat post is easy enough, and if you can read, which I’m figuring you can seeing how you’ve gotten this far in the review, you can do it yourself.
I love this seat post and will be using Thomson for as long as I can, or at least until a seat post that powers the bike for you is invented….
The Bottom Line: If you are a serious rider and/or race, then quit messing around with other seat posts and get a Thomson. Some say that the price is a turn off, but my guess is that they haven’t ever had to ride home without a
Two Bolt Clamp
seat, and therefore can never appreciate how well Thomson has coupled durability with a lightweight aluminum seat post.
Rating – 10/10