Review: Redshift ShockStop PRO Endurance Seat Post - Final Word

Swapping out elastomers is easy, if not a bit messy!

 Note: Redshift Sports sent over the new ShockStop PRO Endurance seat post for test and review to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost. I was not bribed nor paid for this review and I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

In my last update on this post from about a week ago, (seen HERE) , I said that I would be getting a stiffer elastomer in from Redshift Sports and that then I was confident that I could better evaluate the post. This happened Saturday and I was able to swap out the elastomer and test the bike a couple of times since then.  

First I should touch on the process of swapping out parts in the PRO Endurance post. The access to the innards is from the bottom of the seat post shaft where the adjuster is. You can use a small screw driver shaft or smaller hex key shaft to help turn the adjuster out and then access the elastomer that you should swap. 

The first thing that comes out is a - what looks like a pvc pipe - spacer. This spacer has a diagram on ot for the proper assembly order of parts inside the post. Nice touch there Redshift! The elastomer may be a tad resistant to coming out but a slight tapping of the post on my cloth-covered bench provided the trick to getting the elastomer to slide down and fall out of the post along with the spring stack and upper elastomer. 

As you can see from my image, things are a bit greasy! But this is important for the post to work correctly, so do not clean it off and don't allow dirt, etc to get in that grease! Assemble the post innards according to the diagram and install the desired elastomer. One trick to getting the adjuster cap started is to make sure that the parallelogram  part of the post is fully extended. You can do this by pulling upward on the saddle. This will allow the innards to be pushed in far enough that you can safely screw in the adjuster. Adjust the post according to Redshift's instructions and done! 

Now I had a supportive post, but the suspension action wasn't bottomed out so easily. Again, I'm sticking with my initial take that this post is kind of a "best-of" mix of Redshift's previous ShockStop posts. You get the active, vibration eating characteristics of the Endurance post, but you also don't get bounced up off the saddle because, like the PRO Race post, this post feels more damped. Plus the PRO Endurance weighs a bit less than the Endurance post, so it really does hit the groove of all the best attributes of Redshift's line up. 

So....why would you look at the other posts Redshift offers? Right. Great question. I think that there are reasons to go with the Endurance post over this new one. First off, if you are heavier, or carry a backpack/hydration pack, the Endurance post is more adept at handling that heavier weight. The springs are theoretically going to last longer and act more consistently over a longer period of time as well.  

You might choose the PRO Race for its more supportive pedaling platform and lighter weight. In my opinion, the PRO Race post is great for anyone that is more sensitive to changing saddle to bottom bracket length. These posts all have that characteristic baked into their design which will shorten the saddle to bottom bracket length as they work through their travel. The PRO Race is not as active a post, so you can tune it to only work when you really want it to, which may be more amenable to sensitive types in this area. 

Of course, the PRO Race is the lightest choice of the three as well, so that definitely may figure into your choice here. 

Final Word: All three ShockStop posts are well designed, well supported products and I feel like all of them should last a rider a long time as far as usage goes. Kudos to Redshift for their attention to detail. Things like the instructions on the pvc spacer inside the post, the hash-marked seat post shaft, and the markings on the adjusters all make owning this post a lot easier. 

While this review was for the newest post, it has kind of become a review of all three of the ShockStop posts. I was happy to get the two older designs out again and ride them. So, you may wonder, which one is my favorite? Well, that honor goes to the PRO Race post. 

My saddle height is kind of sacred, so I notice the slightest change in saddle height and to be honest, if it changes it really gets under my skin. So the entire idea of having a moving saddle height, as you will have with any suspended seat post, doesn't appeal all that much to me. So, the minimalist PRO Race is the post here for me. I have used it on longer gravel rides in the past and plan on doing so in the future.

However; the new PRO Endurance post does have some nice attributes and for the rider that is looking for that isolation from vibrations and a less bouncy ride quality, this post does that thing well. Given the stout construction, ease of use/set-up, and adjustability, I cannot find a fault that would keep me from recommending this post to any rider seeking a more comfortable gravel riding experience.

Review: Redshift ShockStop PRO Endurance Seat Post - Mid-Term

Note: Redshift Sports sent over the new ShockStop PRO Endurance seat post for test and review to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost. I was not bribed nor paid for this review and I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

The Redshift Sports ShockStop PRO Endurance post is the third offering in the ShockStop seat post range from Redshift Sports. I posted the introduction to this review earlier, so if you missed that, please click THIS LINK to see the specs and details on the new post in the range. 

I have had the privilege to have reviewed the other Redshift ShockStop seat posts as well, so I thought this might be a good comparison chance. Take all three posts for rides, compare and contrast. So, this is what I did and my impressions follow here:

The Original - Endurance Post:

The original ShockStop post is the Endurance, a coil sprung post (with elastomers for bottom-out)  which has the distinction of having the highest weight limit of the range and the post which weighs the most.

This post is very smooth. It eliminates just about every vibration, and gives me the sensation that I am floating. That all sounds great, but there are some downsides to the all-coil sprung suspension. 

First off, there is no real damping, so on some sudden impacts you might find that the spring's rebound will loft you up off the saddle momentarily. That's something you might be able to dial out to some degree with the adjuster located at the base of the seat post's shaft. However; you will sacrifice small vibration compliance by doing so. A balance between "too bouncy" and "not enough vibration elimination" is the decision the rider will have to make with the Endurance post. 

The Endurance post is also a heavy post. No getting around that. It isn't going to be for everyone, but those who are looking for ultimate vibration isolation will find that here. It's just the tuning part that may be something of a challenge for some folks. For instance, I found that when I was really putting pressure down on the pedals the saddle would sag, and sometimes it would bob up and down with each pedal stroke. You could tune that out if you have the 'headroom' to do that, but again, you are making the post stiffer by doing so. 

The Lightweight - PRO Race:

The PRO Race was the second ShockStop post offered and is essentially a stripped back version of the design. It looks the same, but internally it is quite different. 

This is a post designed for those who only want the post to activate when there are harder vibrations. Think washboard, or crossing rail road tracks. The rest of the time, while it may be doing some work, it should be mostly not noticeable. That's my take on it, at any rate. 

And the PRO Race does this job quite nicely. I have found it to also be supportive under hard efforts. So, it is not going to get in the way of your efforts going uphill, or on accelerations. But the downside is that you are going to be subjected to a lot more vibrations with this post than you would have been on the Endurance model. That said, since the PRO Race relies on a stripped down assembly of an elastomeric insert and coil spring for its spring, there is a modicum of damping. This post doesn't ever feel bouncy. 

Obviously, being the lightest post of the three, this attribute of the PRO Race may make it your choice all alone without considering the ride quality.

The Goldilocks - PRO Endurance:

Now Redshift Sports has combined the two types of springs they used in the other posts into another combination for a post they call PRO Endurance. Coil springs and elastomers. You'd think it would be the 'best of both worlds' and it might be for you. A lot of what this post does falls in the middle of the two previous posts in Redshift's line. I found it sagged a bit more than either other model though, and initially, that kind of isolated 'float' was neat.

The elastomer lent a bit of a damped feel to the rebound, keeping that bounce in check. The vibration absorption was pretty good too. However; whether it was hotter weather, which could affect an elastomer, or whether the elastomer, or the rest of the post, broke in more, I could not say at the time, but things got 'not so good' later into the test. 

The post would not support me, allowing the travel to sag almost to the bottom of travel. This was not ideal. So, I stopped using the post. I consulted with my contact at Redshift Sports and learned that there is a stiffer elastomer spring available. (Note: The post shipped with two different durometers of elastomer springs, one which was installed in the post when shipped to me. I did swap to the stiffer elastomer after I received the post.) 

Cutaway samples of all three Redshift ShockStop posts.

  My contact at Redshift did tell me that the elastomers may "break in" a bit soon after the post begins to be used, but that is why the pre-load adjuster at the base of the post is there. So that can be accounted for after it happens. With the elastomer I had, I ran out of adjustment before I could get a satisfactory ride experience after the elastomer broke in. So, it wasn't the weather, it was the elastomer breaking in and becoming a bit more compliant.

When I get this new, stiffer elastomer, I fully expect that I will then have a tunable post which will support me and act as it did at first. I'll get that sorted and do some more riding. Then I'll be back for a final word. Stay tuned....

Review: Redshift ShockStop PRO Endurance Seat Post

The Redshift ShockStop PRO Endurance Seat Post

 Note: Redshift Sports sent over the new ShockStop PRO Endurance seat post for test and review to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost. I was not bribed nor paid for this review and I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Today Redshift Sports announces "officially" that their newest seat post is available. Called the Pro Endurance, this post was designed and intended to compliment Redshift's previous two post range in their ShockStop series of components. 

This post looks just like the other two, but the difference is on the inside. The original ShockStop "Endurance" post has a coil spring, 35mm of travel, and an adjuster mechanism. The "Pro Race" has an elastomeric spring, 20mm of travel, and the springs are not user adjustable. (The springs are interchangeable) The new Pro Endurance combines the coil spring and elastomers which gives you more options for set up using the swappable springs and elastomers. The new post also has the full 35mm of travel on tap. These springs can also be adjusted with preload to further fine tune the ride feel. 

Comparison chart provided by Redshift Sports.

Looking at the comparison chart above, you can see how the three choices in Redshift's seat post range differ. Note that the most options for lengths and sizes are with the original Endurance post. The new post has a limited length choice range and the weight limit is the same as the Pro Race, both a bit lower than the Endurance weight limit. There should be a post here that will satisfy most riders needs. 

Other than that, the basic design using a parallelogram pivot mechanism and two-bolt seat rail clamp design are the same throughout the range. All have the magnetic splash guard on the backside of the pivoting mechanism to protect the pivots from splashing water and debris. 

The Pro Endurance post is available now at a cost of $279.00 USD. You can check it out at Redshift's site HERE. 

The familiar splash guard and two-bolt rail clamp are here.

First Impressions: 

Redshift sent over a 350mm version of the Pro Endurance post with the preconfigured set up which included the two springs, an upper elastomer (red medium), and the "green", softer elastomer in the lower position. A stiffer, "red" elastomer comes as an extra which can be swapped in to tune the post for heavier riders or if you prefer a stiffer set up. 

As with all ShockStop posts that I've seen, this component looks great and everything seems to be well executed, as usual with Redshift's products. The PDF set up file walks you through the set up of the post clearly and tells you how to tune it, if need be. I've never had to use Redshift's support beyond the simple instructions provided, so I cannot speak to that, but this is because their information provided online is pretty thorough. 

I mounted my saddle to the post and installed the post as it was sent out into the seat tube of my custom King Fabrications single speed gravel bike. The graduated scale printed on the post will come in handy if I need to pull the Endurance Pro to tune it or swap out elastomers. I love it when companies provide useful details like this to make things easier for us riders.  

My King Fabrications gravel bike with the Redshift ShockStop Pro Endurance post installed.

I also set up my bike with the complimentary ShockStop Pro stem to give the bike the full Redshift treatment. (Thanks to Redshift Sports for providing that at no charge) Now I was ready to see if this post was all it was cracked up to be and how it might measure up to the other posts in Redshift's range.

My experiences with Redshift's previous posts should be shared here before I get into the new Pro Endurance. So, the original post was first. It is super-compliant, but it has no damping. This means that this post can be a little too bouncy at times. Meanwhile, the svelte, minimalist Pro Race version is really set up to work over the sharper hits and the chatter and higher frequency vibrations are not damped out like they are with the Endurance post. 

The Pro Endurance post is really a more damped feeling Endurance post that can get pretty close to the Pro Race's stiffer feel if you can tune it that way for your weight. So, in that sense it kind of sits in the sweet spot as far as traits for these suspension seat posts. 

Initially my experience was that the post is the "Goldilocks" in the range. It has the suspension action which erases a lot of vibrations but it doesn't bottom out hard either. Best of all, it never felt too bouncy, but it had a more damped rebound which was nice. 

This was with the post set up as sent with the preload set to its stiffest setting. Next I tried swapping out the elastomer for the stiffer red one sent with the post. There was almost no difference, in my estimation. I was expecting the red elastomer to allow me to back off the preload a bit, but the difference from where I had my sag set to where I needed the preload adjuster to achieve the same setting with the red elastomer was little different. So, I had a very marginal gain in adjustment by switching the elastomer out. Perhaps because I am at the extreme edge on weight limitation for the design it causes this to be the case. 

The ride is excellent none the less. I get a sensation of floating and isolation from the surface with some vibrations making it through to me. Some sharper bumps come through as well, but if I am bottoming out, I can't feel that. I imagine that I am, but it isn't apparent. 

So Far....I think this version of the ShockStop seatpost is probably the best for most people. By that I mean that if you are within the weight limitation on the post, you should be able to tune the Pro Endurance to your liking. I feel that a stiffer elastomer in the package would go a long way to getting an even wider range of folks on this, but of course, I am not an engineer and there may be a very good reason why that wasn't offered up front. 

Regardless, this Endurance Pro post should prove to be versatile, light enough for most folks, and provide the kind of damped ride feel that cuts a middle ground between too compliant and not compliant enough. Of course, the Pro Race is there for those that only want the post to act over larger impacts and the Endurance is the go to for erasing almost all vibrations. All that said, these posts are not a substitute for a dual suspension MTB! No, these are for road, gravel, commuting, etc. So let's not get confused on that point.

As with previously tested Redshift products, I would expect no issues and hardly any maintenance beyond keeping the post free from debris and mud. The simplicity of the design sure helps in that regard. 

Stay tuned for an update on this review in about a month or so.