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| Adding more Titanium to the mix. |
Yeah.......not happening.
Then I heard about the Salsa Regulator and since the shop was a Salsa dealer I could get one cheaper than normal. So.....what the heck! That was enough to get me to bite on a titanium post and see what the fuss was about. Well, the "fuss" was real. They do actually ride really well.
I ended up running that post on the fat bike and then on the Gen 2 Fargo. I liked it so much I decided I wanted another, but there were no more and there was no ETA for when the posts would be back in stock, if they ever would be again. Then Salsa Cycles started getting out of titanium bicycles which seemed to point to them not bringing that seat post back ever again.
Then I hear that they are back! Well, lucky for me that I just had my birthday and that my Mom gave me some money for a present. So......I got another Regulator. This one will be going on a special project at first. If it all turns out it may stay with this bike, but since those posts are essentially an heirloom component, I may move it around to other bicycles. I would get three more of these if I could afford it now, I think they are that good.
The odd thing I think people have difficulty with is that the Regulator weighs a bit more than the other titanium posts and that it is still really expensive at almost $300.00. Well, I don't really care what it weighs, it is how it rides that matters to me. That and the fact that it is really a tough post. I've come down on mine awkwardly a few times and it shrugs it off like it is nothing. I have done a similar awkward landing on a carbon post with catastrophic results.
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| For a "house" brand stem, these are really quite nice and fairly lightweight as well. |
I got two, since, as I say, they aren't expensive, and I have two places I need a shiny stem. One is to replace the stem on my Black Mountain Bikes rig which is also getting the new Cowbell Bar. The other is going on the same bike as the Regulator post. That bike will have a silver component scheme, as much as I can keep things silver.
The bicycle industry has this infatuation with black anodized stuff that is kind of old and overdone, in my opinion. Silver can be nice too, and as far as gravel riding goes, silver, polished components seem to be easier to keep looking nice. Black ano, unless it is a high polished finish, is tough to keep from looking dingy after it has been in the dust s few times. Maybe it is just me. Maybe it is my "retro-grouch" tendencies. Whatever; I just wish that there were more nice choices in silver ano for things like hubs, rims, and stems, for that matter.
Speaking of rims, I see Velocity USA has some Blunt SS rims that they do in polished. Hmm.......
I am glad you like salsa's ti post, but darn - that seems like awful expensive for a ti post made overseas, given it is more expensive than a Erikson or a Lynskey post.
ReplyDelete@spruceboy- I'll ignore the "overseas" part, since that has no bearing on the ride quality of the post. As far as value for the dollar spent, I bet you could easily get a dealer to price match a Regulator post for any of the ones you mention. It's only $50.00 difference.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you really want to save money, look up what a USE titanium seat post cost online. ;>)
I'm planning on building a bike with a classic, polished silver component scheme as well and so far found out that by far the worst color choice is with cranksets. The old school ones with a square tapered spindle come in silver but modern cranksets are only black for some reason. It's almost like all manufacturers agreed that polished silver is too retro and doesn't fit modern bicycles somehow.
ReplyDelete@bostonbybike- Yeah, that's a tough omponent to get in silver. Fortunately I have a nearly 10yr old XT crankset in silver that I will be using for the build I am doing.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you are doing a road build, but if so, I understand Campy's new Potenza group is to be offered in silver.
I wish Velocity did the Blunt SS (and the Quill and Aileron) in the old "silver" colourway that they still do the A23 in. It does a pretty good job matching Shimano silver groups.
ReplyDelete@Barturtle- On Velocity USA's website for the Blunt SS they have the following colors/finishes listed for a 32 hole drilling: "32 spoke: Black, Silver, White, Anodized Red, Anodized Blue, Polished, Reflective"
ReplyDeleteSo, it would seem that both silver and polished are offered.
Ah. Missed that somehow.
Delete...now, which one of my bikes needs a new wheelset... ;)
For a modern silver crankset suitable for a gravel bike, try Sugino OX601D, available from Soma. It's quite pricey, though.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts on a Ti post on an aluminum or steel frame?
ReplyDelete@Irishtsunami- It's a good thing on any frame.
ReplyDeleteYou can "ignore the "overseas" part", but the fact is it costs salsa/qbp a lot less to produce that post, yet it is retailing for over the two other brands I mentioned, which cost more to make. It is hard for me to look at that and not say that QBP is raking in a tidy profit and not passing it on to the consumers.
ReplyDelete@spruceboy- Yeah, well economics can be viewed in many ways. You could just as well argue that "if the Salsa post cost way less to make"- which none of us really knows what the "way less" part is, then the other posts should cost less as well,because they are made here (US) with zero costs in vendor/manufacturer payments (outsourcing)and overseas shipping involved. Since the difference is $50.00, which as I say, a dealer with any sales savvy will erase for you right up front, making the prices even, I still say you can pretty much ignore the pricing aspect.
ReplyDeleteAt least on those posts, but again, there is that USE one out there at half the cost.
The price is similar to a bodyfloat suspension post. I know you've used both, so which do you prefer?
ReplyDelete@ Rainier Wolfcastle- Well, maybe for the aluminum Body Float. the Ti one is far more expensive, which is what I have.
ReplyDeleteBut that aside, I prefer the Body Float on really long, all day events like the Gravel Worlds, where the washboard was really bad, and that post isolated me from a lot of bumps that day. However; I feel that in a spirited, shorter ride, where you may be really pushing hard in the saddle, the Ti posts are perhaps a better deal there. They give you that "solid" base to push back into, instead of sinking downward a bit, as you do on a Body Float. If you really try to accelerate and do so by pushing your butt back into the saddle, I think then I'd go with a Ti post.
I like both for different reasons in terms of where I ride, comfort, etc, but there is also the fact that you cannot put a saddle bag on a BodyFloat post. There are times I want that option, so the "next best thing", as it were, would be the Ti post.
i think polished silver components have been back in vogue for at least a year now. you're trendy, ted! ;-)
ReplyDeletei built up a silver themed and used the same stem you are. Used a Sugino crank, square taper and have had no problems Running it SS. Old silver Surly 1x1 hubs laced to silver velocity rims. couldn't find a silver handlebar that I liked though. Just got some Handsome Fenders in silver also..
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of nice polished crank options available from Velo Orange.
ReplyDeleteYou can at least get silver cranks with the new White Industries crankset. Black rings, tho....
ReplyDelete@Steve Fuller @Boudin- I have looked at Velo Orange and while they have nice options the look is a bit too retro for my project. The White industries crank is really quite nice and classy. It would work with my ideas, but $$$'s!
ReplyDeleteI may just stick with my XT crank and put the money into the wheels.
But for other projects I have and for others looking for silver/polished crank sets, those are two great sources, along with the Sugino OX601D mentioned by Exhausted_Auk above.