Philadelphia’s Redshift Sports has added a ShockStop suspension seatpost to go with its ShockStop suspension stem. The company is currently using a Kickstarter to fund the project and the first products are slated for release in December of this year.
Rear suspension has been no stranger to drop bar off-road bikes. There are numerous suspension and leaf spring seatposts on the market, including the Cirrus BodyFloat, Cane Creek Thudbuster, Specialized CGR and Ergon CF3, along with frames like the Volagi Viaje, Calfee Manta, Trek Boone and, as we saw at Sea Otter, the Schwinn Vantage RX1 designed to offer extra compliance over bumps. Also, there is always the Softride Beam and its seat-tube-less design.
The ShockStop suspension seatpost will not turn your bike into a full suspension gravel machine, but it is designed to take some of the edge off bumpy roads. With the growing popularity of gravel, suspension on drop bar bikes appears to be here to stay, at least for the time being.
The new ShockStop suspension seatpost. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine
The post relies on two coil springs for suspension, and just like its ShockStop stem, the stiffness of the suspension is adjustable through mixing and matching different pieces. Unlike the stem, there are springs, not elastomers. You can also adjust preload by a hidden threaded nut that sits at the bottom of the post, similar to old Rock Shox suspension seatposts. Yes, you’ll have to remove the post to make this adjustment.
You can swap springs around to adjust stiffness, while this threaded insert adjusts preload. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine
While there are numerous suspension and leaf spring seatposts on the market, the Redshift team maintains that their design and direction of travel (down and back), as opposed to just down or just back, is optimized for the most natural and comfortable riding. The company claims its accelerometer-based testing has dictated the design and travel direction.
We were able to give the ShockStop suspension seatpost a test run at Sea Otter using a trainer and a creative “bump” the company fabricated.
This is the simulated “bump” on the Redshift Sports ShockStop seatpost demo bike. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine
Watch it in action:
The post features 35mm of travel and will be offered in a 27.2mm diameter with available shims for larger sizes. Just as with suspension forks and mountain bikes, setting sag is important. The company recommends 20% sag as a starting point.
The full post weighs 497g—about 250g more than a lightweight rigid alloy post.
The company has received interest from tandem owners, mountain and road cyclists, touring cyclists, commuters, e-bikers and cyclocross athletes, but feels the most relevant application is gravel cycling.
Long-time readers might predict that we couldn’t get past one aspect of the post’s design: the one-bolt saddle rail clamp that also adjusts the saddle’s angle. For cyclocross remounts, we always want to see a two-bolt design here. Redshift acknowledged this need and has contemplated some options, but as of now, has only the one-bolt option.
The Redshift Sports ShockStop seatpost’s travel is down and back. The one-bolt clamp may not be ideal for your worst cyclocross remount, but we’ll be sure to test that. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine
Pricing for Kickstarter backers is set at $140 (open through May 11), while after the initial campaign, the company expects it to retail for $200.
More info: redshiftsports.com
See what’s new this year with our coverage of the 2018 Sea Otter trade show.
