Submitted by
kenthecook
a Cross Country Rider
from USA
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2010
Strengths: Lasted for 7 years, original equip on SC superlight.
Weaknesses: Bolt sheared after 7 seasons, new bolt sheared again 4 weeks later, on the 1st ride after a 40 mi race. After reading the reviews of all the sheared bolts, I decided to get a new post. Found a Ritchey WCS alloy on sale at Performance. I'm lucky that I didn't get injured on either of those bolts breaking.
Bottom Line:
The new models have 2 bolts. Obviously they saw the one bolt design was flawed.
Bike Setup: SC superlight, SRAM XO, American Classic, Avid
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Submitted by
L
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2009
Weaknesses: Seat post bolt.
Bottom Line:
The seat post bolt snapped while road riding. I spoke with a friend with the same seat post, the same thing happened to him only a few months ago. I see the new EA50 post uses two bolts. I'm now wary of the other Eaton components on my XTC2
Submitted by
ceejayvee
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2008
Strengths: NONE
Weaknesses: VERY WEAK, BOLT SHEARED, ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE
Bottom Line:
The bolt that holds it all together sheared, and this was just going to and from work in London, two miles each way. No jumps/drops or anything even remotely hardcore, not even XC riding.
I tried to contact Easton several times, they blanked me, even though I was only after a replacement bolt.
NEVER BUY EASTON PRODUCTS AGAIN AS MY EA70 BAR WAS AS TUFF AS TIN FOIL AND IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM EASTON IGNORE YOU. Raceface is better put together
Bike Setup: Bianchi, Marzocchi MXC ECC, Hope XC/Sapim Race/317, LX train, XT Discs, RF post n bar, On-One stem
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Submitted by
Steve Wientge
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2008
Strengths: Asthetics
Weaknesses: The weakness is that it's weak
Bottom Line:
After bending the OEM Titec and a Bontrager, I bought the Easton (based on their propaganda/marketing) to stop the bleeding. Well, no luck as the post bent after one two hour ride. I then bought a Thomson, and five years later it's still good to go. I hacksawed the EA50 above the bend last night and put it on my road commuter bike. I figure it will survive its new role.
Similar Products Used: Ritchey,Titec,Thomson,Bontrager
Bike Setup: Bianchi BUSS single speed. WTB tires and rims, Paul hubs, Titec bar and stem, Race Face crank, Manitou fork
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Submitted by
James C
a Cross Country Rider
from Tri-Cities, WA
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2008
Strengths: Lightweight; painted ruler; set back
Weaknesses: Seat clamp bolt
Bottom Line:
It must be a design issue because I also have broken the seat clamp bolt twice! Once in a race and again just on a downhill section of trail. The bolt simply sheared in two.
This is a big confidence loser, you don't want to have a catastrophic failure on the seat post bolt! I weigh a bit over 180 lbs. Easton may need to redesign the seat clamp to use more than one bolt.
Other than this LARGE issue the seat post is good, it does what it's supposed to do.
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Winnipeg
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2007
Strengths: Looks nice. Light weight.
Weaknesses: Stock post is too small for stock frame, needs shim (not really seatpost fault). Bolt holding seat on may or may not randomly snap.
Bottom Line:
Dumped me on the side of the trail after the bolt holding the seat on snapped. Easton in Canada didn't seem too concerned when I called them on the way back from my urologist. I'll see what the LBS says...
The trail was an ordinary XC type trail, and I was just sitting in through a fast corner - nothing fancy, no big drops. I weigh 165.
Bike Setup: 2004 Giant NRS2 with skareb super fork, dragonfly ti saddle
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Submitted by
NJP
a Weekend Warrior
from Mission Viejo, CA
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2007
Strengths: It holds the seat to your bike.
Weaknesses: The bolt that holds the seat to the seatpost is junk at best.
Bottom Line:
I bought my Giant VT and the Easton 50 came stock. I rode the bike for 2 years and during the Counting Coup Race in 06 the bolt that holds the seat to the seatpost broke with about 20 miles let to ride. I called Easton and they sent me a warranty replacement. I put the replacement back on and again last night after a year of riding the bolt broke again. I was going pretty slow down a technical section and was using the seat for leverage and then bam, let's just say this time my future offspring took a beating when the bolt broke, OUCH! I am a pretty big guy at 6'3 and 236lbs but I don't ride that hard so I would still expect Easton to use good quality hardware in their products. Be careful with this seatpost, if your a big guy, buy something else.
Submitted by
Renato Piereck
a Cross Country Rider
from Pyeongtaek, South Korea
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2006
Strengths: Strong, looks nice
Weaknesses: Slowly and gradually slips down the tube as time goes by even when properly tightened
Bottom Line:
This post serves its purpose well, it is strong and looks good with the bike. I have never had to adjust the saddle position after tightening it, so in this aspect it's perfect. The only problem I have is that this post will slowly and gradually slip down into the seat tube as time passes. I have removed the post, cleaned it and the inside of the seatpost, added a very light bead of loctite and after a few rides the seat starts slipping. I even replaced the seat collar but that didn't help. The slip is not huge and takes days or weeks, depending on the trails I ride, so it's not a major deal... if I ride a trail full of bumps and drops the post will slip maybe 1/4 inch in a day, if I use the bike for commuting only the post may slip 1/4 inch in a week. 5 chilis for value (can't beat used prices at eBay unless you can find it free somewhere) and 4 chilis for the annoying slow slip.
Similar Products Used: Truvativ, Bontrager Race, Bontrager bottom line no name post
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Tarpon heavily modified, LX and XT drivetrain, Deore hydraulic brakes, Easton EA50 stem, handlebar and seatpost, Selle Italia saddle, Rhynolite rims with Shimano silent hubs, KHS 2.1" soft tires
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Submitted by
Neville Cragg
a Downhiller
from Cape Town
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2006
Strengths: Printed seat heights on the tube
Weaknesses: Soft as butter.
Bottom Line:
I used this post for about an hours worth of riding. I set it to position 1 on the climbs and drop it right down on the downhills. About an hours worth of climbing bent the post a couple of degrees, so I couldnt drop it into the frame anymore. I tried a mountain side fix of panel beating it with a log. It didn't bend straight, it just got squashed into all sorts of shapes and then wouldnt fit into the frame anymore! Complete rubbish!
Submitted by
Ter
a Cross Country Rider
from Willemstad
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2006
Strengths: price vs performance ( weight & looks) i like the offset
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
for an intermediate post it's good. people are whining about the black paint coming loose: if u know how to secure the post you won't have that problem. people are whining about no micro adjust: if so why did you buy it in the first place. maybe it's my weight, i'm not that heavy, that i don't have any problems with it
Can't fault this post. I've used 2 versions of it, one on my old GT frame which worked great for over a year, so I bought another for my XTC custom build. Not the lightest, but does what it says on the tin, easy to adjust, and height indication markers are handy.
I tried to get this post to stop creaking, I tried to avoid upgrading something on my brand new bike (having foolishly told my wife the Trance 2 was my dream machine and therefore enabling her to infer I thought it was perfect!) The bottom line is I love riding, and part of the joy of it is having good gear do what it's supposed to do. OK, the Easton post held the saddle in place, but for my long legs the layback meant heaps of saddle rail unsupported, and despite disassembling it and greasing everything in sight, I couldn't stop that #$#^%@ creaking noise. Finally I figured 'I have my dream bike, why not kit it out with my dream post as well' and got my LBS to get me a Thomson. Installed it myself, problem instantly solved. If you don't have long legs like me and aren't riding full suspension, the EA 50 post might be OK - but I wouldn't recommend buying it as an upgrade. Save for a bit longer and buy a Thomson instead.
Similar Products Used: Thudbuster post on previous bike (hardtail); numerous generic posts over the years
Bike Setup: 05 Giant Trance 2, now with Thomson post and stem, Hope rear and Hayes front hubs laced to Campag K2 rims, Hope skewers, Crank Bros Egg Beater pedals, Race Face Good n Evil grips, Juicy 5 brakes, SRAM X9 rear mech and X 7 shifters.
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Submitted by
chuck
a Weekend Warrior
from madison,oh
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2006
Strengths: Looks. Believe it or not durability.
Weaknesses: Haven't found one yet.
Bottom Line:
I honestly think I am one of the lucky ones. These postings really surprised me. So I felt I had to write. This EA 50 seatpost has gone from hucking at White Face and Plattekill to the XC trails wherever I can find one. I can say that this seatpost never slid down into the frame and the seat stayed in its set position. Maybe it has something to do with proper factory torque on the seat clamp? I always try to adhere to factory specs when installing any component. I am looking at purchasing a EA70 post to match my EA 70 handlebars. Hopefully I have just as much luck.
Bike Setup: Specialized Rockhopper, Sun Rhno w/xt, LX components.
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Submitted by
shiny_car
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2005
Strengths: strong enough; fairly light
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
this seatpost came standard on my Giant HT; seems pretty good; no probs with strength and durability, nor slippage in the seattube or of the clamp; set and forget really, which is what you want; not super lightweight nor has a great cosmetic finish, but can't expect that at what you will pay; I'm 70kg and do XC, so this suits me fine, although I have a Thomson on another bike and it is certainly a superior build but overkill for my purposes
Weaknesses: Its strength. Its an ok XC post, but anything more and you'll brake it. I had one bad landing after a jump and it went. To be fair though I did still have the seat in a XC postion and should have lowered it. That said I thought it'd ;ast longer. If I paid for it, I'd not be very happy.
I'm thinking about buying one of these stems as they are inexpensive and I trust the easton name. Does anyone here have one who can tell me the stack height of the stem? I need som Read More »
