A special diameter Cane Creak Thudbuster suspension seat post is
available for Dahon bikes. It is more expensive - £130 being the best
deal I could find, and there are fewer retail options. OTOH, the normal
diameter Thudbusters can be had on Ebay for much more accessible prices.
I finally managed to track one down at BikeFix in London on my last trip
to the UK in mid-July, and I had the seatpost in place on my recent bike
and barge tour of the Burgundian Loire.
To quote the advertising bumpf,
“Unlike most telescoping suspension designs that pogo up and down, the
ThudBuster features a patented parallel-link design that delivers
suspension in the direct path of the natural travel of the rear wheel
when the bike encounters a bump. This means that you'll hardly notice
the suspension working at all - all you'll notice is that your bike is
suddenly a lot more comfortable than before."
I should mention that Flyzipper did already have a conventional
suspended seatpost of the pogo type. As a very heavy rider, however, I
think I was probably just flattening it as soon as I sat down.
The Thudbuster came with three different pairs of elastomers to
parameter the post for different rider weights. I went straight for the
two black elastomers, rider weight up to 113 kg. James kindly stopped by
to help me fit them. In so doing, he also changed the angle of the seat
slightly from what I was used to - it now has a slight tilt forwards. I
was unsure how I would get on with that but in retrospect have not felt
that it was a mistake.
I noticed no difference at all while riding, except a certain boinkiness
in lower gears. However, something remarkable did assail my
consciousness after I broke my day-trip record with 52 km in blistering
heat on the Burgundy routes. There was no significant pain! Previously,
even just riding the 9 kms to work on three consecutive days would
produce soreness in the crotch area. On my Netherlands trip last year,
when we were averaging 30 kms a day on unsuspended Dutch bikes, the pain
became prohibitive, requiring extensive treatments with antiseptic,
anaesthetic cream every night. Moreover, there were open sores all over
the area, festering and threatening to become infected. In Czech
Republic I at least had the advantage of Flyzipper, but saddle-soreness
terminated my riding day much faster than actual tiredness. I could not
get beyond 40 km because it hurt so much to sit.
So to have cycled so much more than my accustomed habit, in such
exceptionally sweaty conditions, and to arrive home sufficiently
untarnished that I can get back in the saddle the next day, is certainly
something to write the newsgroup about.
I notice far less pain on the weekday rides as well. The small amount of
pain that remains is of a different kind than it used to be. No more
stinging abrasions and crushed raspberry in the soft parts, but
sometimes a dull ache in the lumbar region, as if I had been sitting at
my desk for too long. Which may very well be the case - removal of
bike-related pain may just be unmasking the common and garden aches of
office life.
As for the boinking in low gear, I have come to read it as a sign to
gear up. It says: kinetic energy is being wasted in up-down rather than
forward motion. Notching up a gear causes this phenomenon to disappear
at once. If I could only get a coherent cadence reading from the Polar,
I will be able to cross-check the boinking with the cadence rate to see
if they tell the same story.
So, overall product review: a noticeable difference in long-term riding
comfort, an excellent investment, and I wouldn't go back to my previous
arrangements.
EFR
Ile de France