I’ve ridden hardtail mountain bikes for ten years and have gotten used to bumpy rides on off-road trails. However, after spending a lot of time this past winter on my Surly Necromancer Pugsley I got spoiled by the smooth ride it gives (4″ wide tires with low tire pressure make for an incredibly smooth ride). Two weeks ago I rode a really rough trail with my Gary Fisher Big Sur 26″ hardtail mountain bike and as soon as I got home I started looking for some way to get a smoother ride. After a few hours of research I decided the Cane Creek Thudbuster Short Travel Seatpost would provide the relief I was looking for—and after my first ride with it I know I had made the right choice.
Cane Creek Thudbuster Short Travel Seatpost
Many mountain bikes come with a telescoping suspension seatpost and when you hit a bump the saddle moves up and down—you still feel every bump, but the shock is dampened enough to make your ride tolerable. The Cane Creek Thudbuster is an advanced technology seatpost that uses a single urethane elastomer to absorb bumps and road vibration. After using the Thudbuster on several rides I can tell you it works perfectly for its intended use.
You will need about 4.5 inches of the space between your seat tube clamp and your saddle rails in order for the Thudbuster to fit on your bike. The post of the Thudbuster is made of forged aluminum and the pivots have stainless steel axles with bronze impregnated Teflon coated steel bushings. The elastomers are made of urethane. This seatpost is good for riders up to 250 pounds—anything over that and you are out of luck.
When you install the Thudbuster you need to allow for a bit of “sag”, i.e., once you sit on the saddle the Thudbuster will move down a bit (maybe up to an inch, depending on your weight). Therefore, you need to move your saddle up higher than you normally would. As a rule of thumb, if you adjust a saddle and the front of your knees hurt it means your saddle is too low—if the back of your knees hurt then your saddle is too high.
One of the concerns I had about the Thudbuster before I bought was whether it would work with a seat bag. As you will notice in the photograph above, I was able to use a large Topeak Wedge Drybag Saddle Bag without any problem.
Depending on the diameter of your seatpost the Thudbuster weighs between 454 and 474 grams. While this is probably a little heavier than your current seatpost, I couldn’t tell any difference in weight while riding. On the other hand, the ride was so smooth I was actually able to ride faster than before.
The main market for the Thudbuster owners of hardtail mountain bikes who want an easy upgrade for a smoother ride. However, this seatpost can also be useful for tandem bikes, folding bikes, comfort bikes, and the road bikes used by distance cyclists. If you are not sure what size seatpost you have on your bike, just remove it and look just below the “Minimum Insert” line and you should see the size listed. If you can’t read the size on the seatpost, you can either use a set of calipers to measure the post or just take it to your local bike shop and they can measure it for you.
The Cane Creek Thudbuster ST Seatpost retails for around $160 and is available in eight different sizes (25.4, 26.8, 27.0, 27.2, 27.2xl, 30.9, 31.6 and 33.9mm). Cane Creek seatposts are warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for one year from the date of purchase (applies to original owner only).
If you ride more aggressive trails Cane Creek also sells a Long Travel Thudbuster Seatpost, but I have not had the opportunity to try one so I have no opinion on the functionality of it at this time.
dfmw
April 16, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Reblogged this on crisp clean clear and commented:
i’ll have to try this
Tracy Wilkins
April 16, 2012 at 1:49 PM
We use the Tamer Pivot Plus suspension seatpost for the stoker on our tandem. It works on the same principle, except with an adjustable internal spring instead of the elastomer. It’s slightly less expensive (at least several years ago when we bought it) and more adjustable. If I recall, the Thudbuster may be slightly lighter, and with the Cane Creek name, it is the more popular of the two.
You brought up a very important point about the thing adding height to the seatpost. My wife is short, at 5’0″, and even with our “small” sized Burley tandem, the Thudbuster would have raised her saddle too much. The Tamer doesn’t add as much height, so it barely worked for us.
If someone’s considering a suspension seatpost and they don’t already have a lot of seatpost showing, they just need to be aware that either model may not work for them. Otherwise, we swear by the things!
All Seasons Cyclist
April 16, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Tracy, thanks for the info! As you mentioned, the Cane Creek name is hard to beat — the Thudbuster is incredibly well made.
Patrick L.
December 18, 2012 at 12:18 AM
What do you mean by “a lot of seatpost showing”? Thanks
All Seasons Cyclist
December 18, 2012 at 4:41 PM
It means that you will need about 4.5 inches of the space (length of seatpost showing) between your seat tube clamp and your saddle rails.
Patrick
December 23, 2012 at 11:57 PM
Does this imply on the ST version too? I understand that 4-5″ apply to the LT version in their website. Merry X’mas everyone!
All Seasons Cyclist
December 24, 2012 at 12:52 AM
Here is the statement from the Cane Creek Website: “The suspension mechanism requires at least 144mm (LT)/98mm (ST) from the saddle rails to the bicycle frame.”
144mm is about 5.7 inches; 98mm is just under 3.9 inches.
Chris from Cane Creek
April 16, 2012 at 2:16 PM
Thanks for the review — glad to hear you liked the Thudbuster! One thing important to note: Each Thudbuster is set up out of the factory with a midpoint elastomer — in this case, a “No. 5″ for the Short Travel. Users can easily adjust the firmness of the seatpost by switching elastomers — for the Short Travel, we offer Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 with No. 1 being super-soft and No. 9 being super-firm. Each ST ships with No. 5 installed and Nos. 3 and 7 in the box.
All Seasons Cyclist
April 16, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Chris, I also should have mentioned that changing the elastomer only takes about two minutes (or less).
Chatter Master
April 16, 2012 at 3:21 PM
Well now, that looks quite interesting, enough so to try it. Nice info to check out. Thanks.
All Seasons Cyclist
April 16, 2012 at 3:30 PM
If you ride on rough roads (and who doesn’t?) then you will love this seatpost!
Chatter Master
April 16, 2012 at 8:14 PM
Noted! Sharing with the husband!