How reliable are Enve seatposts?

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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spookyload
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by spookyload

I love my Raceface Next SL seatpost. Only problem is it creaks like 200 year old stair case. I have taken it apart and cleaned, greased, or lubed everywhere I can and it persists. Looking around the Enve looks sweet for weight and setback, but I can't find any reliable reviews about the clamp head. I am leary of single bolt designs like that, so I am wondering if there is any feed back here about it.

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DavidR1
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by DavidR1

I have had terrible luck with mine. It moves at the worst times, like at the beginning of every endurance race this year, seriously!

I have heard good things about Ritchey posts.

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michel2
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by michel2

not as light as the enve post is my moots post wich has served me very comfy the last 10 years...light compfy and durable !

thisisatest
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by thisisatest

the enve posts are not my favorite (thomson), but i have had no problem with the head. one guy had saddle tilt slippage issues, turns out he greased the inner cylinder walls. after cleaning it all out, and for his case using some grip paste on the top cradle/top of cylinder wall area, there was no more slippage.

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spookyload
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by spookyload

thanks for the honest responses all!

RD3
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Location: PA, USA

by RD3

On mtn bikes the clamp can move causing the saddle to tilt. Had to tighten the bolt tighter than the torque spec, Enve said this was ok to do. Also added a little carbon paste for extra friction in the clamp head. Try the Niner RDO post if you want a more secure carbon post that will ride nice (more flexible carbon layup), not the lightest, but works good.

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spookyload
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Location: Albuquerque, NM

by spookyload

Just saw on the Enve website that they call for 12nm torque on that bolt now. That is crazy tight. I am gathering from sources now that carbon paste helps the solution a lot. I saw the Niner post, but unfortunately, no offset.

nspace
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Location: Milton, Canada

by nspace

For what ENVE charges for that post, you would think this thing would work flawlessly!

crohnsy
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Location: Canada

by crohnsy

For what they charge I would expect something much lighter as well..

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Mario Jr.
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by Mario Jr.

The trick is to apply a bit of grease on the alu parts, where they touch each other. IOW on top of the wedges.

jooo
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by jooo

How much setback do you need? Depending on your saddle rails you can get quite a bit out of the Syntace posts despite not having an offset head.

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spookyload
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Location: Albuquerque, NM

by spookyload

Current is 1.5cm, but the 2.5cm will be ideal.

socratease
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by socratease

I've been pretty happy with how my superlogic seatpost works: I'm 155lbs, do aggressive XC on a hardtail. I would not go with the enve for its cost, weight, and purported slippage issues.

About clearing up seatpost creaks: I have very good luck with applying friction paste to everything: seatpost shaft, saddle rails, clamping surfaces, where the bolt rests, etc. Since the Next uses a bonded aluminum head, this part could be flexing and causing the creak. I try and stay with posts that have no bonded parts: I.e. Thompson, Ritchey's higher end stuff, Specialized's posts, others.

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TashkentTerror
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by TashkentTerror

If you want a post that holds your saddle in a death grip, go with a Thompson :thumbup:

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spookyload
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by spookyload

socratease wrote:I've been pretty happy with how my superlogic seatpost works: I'm 155lbs, do aggressive XC on a hardtail. I would not go with the enve for its cost, weight, and purported slippage issues.

About clearing up seatpost creaks: I have very good luck with applying friction paste to everything: seatpost shaft, saddle rails, clamping surfaces, where the bolt rests, etc. Since the Next uses a bonded aluminum head, this part could be flexing and causing the creak. I try and stay with posts that have no bonded parts: I.e. Thompson, Ritchey's higher end stuff, Specialized's posts, others.

Image

The creak is coming from the pivots of the support arms. You can't disassemble the post t get grease in there, and any oil you put in solves it for about half a ride. Great post for adjustment, but poor design for noise. I know three different guys who ride this post, or the aluminum post version of it. They all creak in the same places.

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