Origin8 Pro Fit UL Suspension Seat Post, 27.2 x 350mm

I do not write reviews about bike kit, very often. But this seat post deserves a review from a long-time cyclist who knows what he's doing and talking about. Certainly, for $45.00, this seat post is WELL worth the cost. If you follow the instructions carefully, and install it correctly, then you will appreciate what it offers. I ride very stiff, buzzy aluminum road bikes that are fitted with light, stiff wheels. The combination of this seat post with a Redshift suspension stem smooths out the road buzz and the sharp bumps with NO LOSS of control. I installed my seat post at the "softest" setting. I weight 180 pounds. I have yet to adjust it from that setting. It is lovely. I ride almost every day on bike paths that are littered with tree root bumps, some of which are quite abrupt. With this seat post, I can ride for 30+ miles without discomfort. I suspect that the low ratings for this product are from raters who do not know what they are doing and/or who do not ride much, which makes any saddle situation difficult and potentially painful. By comparison, this seat post will provide a dramatic improvement over a static seat post in terms of comfort. However, my road bike weighs 20 lbs. If you are concerned by the weight of this seat post, then you may think you are better off with carbon and saving 500g. I prefer the efficiency of balanced comfort and speed.

I have been building bicycles for over 20 years. Every time I see something nifty, I do not mind spending the money to check it out. This item was a waste of my money. Brand new, the plunger had almost No-Movement. It was not frozen. It has too much resistance from the internal components. The main culprit is the internal seat guide. With grease on the internal guide, the seat had 350 pounds of resistance, and it would only move about 1/4 of an inch...With the internal guide removed the post gained was able to travel about 1/2 an inch, still far less than the 45mm it advertised. 45mm = 1.77 inches. This post would never be able to travel 1.77 inches no matter what you do.So, as an mechanical engineer I took this apart and modified it. This involved cutting the internal rubber bushing almost 3/8 of an inch, removing the white seat-post guide and trimming down the black plastic spacer near the adjuster. It is much better now and actually has spring action and can compress with 150 pounds of high frequency compression. However the modifications have other issues, the seat post is no longer restricted from pulling out. So I had to modify a washer, put some flats sides on it and reassembled it.Also the bottom tension adjuster has no resistance, it needs to be glued in place to prevent shock and vibration movement from un-screwing the adjuster.Overall unless you are a mechanical engineer with a sense of adventure, i strong give this 2 thumps down. I do not plan on using this item, it does not work as advertised and I suspect someone designed it on a computer had no clue what they were doing, and have never tried the post in real world use. I would expect all items from other MFG's have these same issues. Hope this helps ya out... I spent the money so you don't have to. Too many problems and this is with only 40 miles of use on it. As time goes on, I am sure other issues will develop.

Like some of the other reviewers, I would tend to agree travel on this suspension seatpost is not 45mm. I currently weigh about 248 lbs and at least half the travel is lost just sitting on the seatpost. However, I am using this seatpost on a Dahon Mu P8 which is a very stiff ride, and I've got a Schwinn comfort seat I'm using with it and the combination gives a very much improved suspension ride. My goal is to get down to 200 lbs. and as I lose weight I will eventually arrive a good copacetic combo of suspension seatpost travel and rider weight that should give an ideal ride. I thought about returning this and trying other similar products, but I already have 3 Origin8 regular seatposts on my MTBs and have been very happy with Origin8 products, so I will keep losing weight and stick with this seatpost.

First off it arrived defective, when attempting to move the preload adjuster with a strong allen wrench it would not budge from the Min position it was in no matter how much force was applied.Second, there is only a very small adjustment range for the seat tilt and on my standard 26 inch bike I was unable to achieve an adjustment that put the seat level to the ground which is where I like it.Lastly, unlike most seat posts, the components that mate together for seat tilt adjustment are perfectly smooth so the tilt adjustment remaining in place where you set it is entirely dependent on torquing down the clamp bolts super tight. I suspect it would move over time with rider weight and rough road surfaces. Quality seat posts use a sort of tongue & groove mating that allows incremental adjustments that won't slip.

I'm 200 lbs and these work with minimum pre-load. I ordered two to replace suspension posts on an old road bike and ATB bike. The tube did not come close to fitting inside the down tube on the old road bike frame. I was able to use maximum force and grease to get it to fit inside the down tube on the ATB bike. I installed the 2nd unit on a relatively new beach cruiser bike and it fit easily. The seat mounting system is complex with too many loose parts, but works when you finally get it together. If you are not mechanical and good with fixing things, advise you get a professional to install the unit.

Pros - took "some" of the bite of bumps on trails. Better than a ridgid post.Cons - seat tubes that are laid back from vertical will have issues activating the shock... the more vertical the seat tube the better the action... my xcal9 has a rather laid back tube and so only large bumps active it :/ I have the preload almost nonexistant to help with "shock absorption". Also had to push seat up on rails forward of neutral to gave more consistent activation of shock :/ - not ideal. I had the rockshox one back in the day - ideal but they dont make it anymore :/ this is a distant second. But def better than a ridgid post. I paid too much as after o purchased I found same model for 60% the price.