Submitted by
Rich1946
a Weekend Warrior
from Kernersville, NC, USA Date Reviewed: July 22, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Salem Lake
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Came with bike
Strengths:
Light, Looks good.
Weaknesses:
Inferior hardware
Similar Products Used:
N/A
Bike Setup:
Marin Pine Mountain with SRAM x.7/Shimano XT drive, Avid Juicy 7 brakes.
Bottom Line:
Seems to be a well-made piece of equipment, but the seat clamp bolt, a SS 7Mx1 socket head cap screw, was inferior and dangerous. It snapped at the head for no apparent reason while riding causing the seat to fall off--almost ended up with a seatpost up my rear end or worse. Although made of stainless steel the screw was either inferior or a poor and dangerous selection for this application. To top it off try finding a metric 7x1 x 50mm socket head cap screw for the repair--so far I've had no luck.
If you have this product or plan to purchase it look at the clamp bolt very closely and consider changing it. Just because it is stainless steel it's no guarantee that it's a strong dependable fastener. There are many different alloys of ss some of which are "work-hardened" easily and become brittle.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jose Vigil
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA. Date Reviewed: February 24, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Many
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$110.00
Purchased At:
ebAy
Strengths:
Nice look, great angle, sterdy and light.
Weaknesses:
Haven't noticed any weaknesses.
Similar Products Used:
Use an SLK on my Kestrel Evoke. Use FSA Carbon Stem & DH bars on my Epic.
Bike Setup:
Specialized Epic, XTR, Time Carb/Titian pedals.
Bottom Line:
I have had no negetive experiences with these FSA products.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
sapounakis
a Cross Country Rider
from greece Date Reviewed: November 23, 2006
Favorite Trail:
x-poros
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
barracuda.be
Strengths:
beautifull, practical not often carbon with rear bent comfortable, light
Weaknesses:
fragility of vernis after impacts with stones metals if u often change the height of the seatpost i think it will breack at the pressure zone one is used with a spacer i think it is better
Similar Products Used:
alminium ritchey and roots
Bike Setup:
cannondale caad 3 xt mainly lapierre evo 2 xt
Bottom Line:
it is ok bit expensive resistant till now much more usefull on a hard tail
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Buc
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Woth, TX Date Reviewed: May 28, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Flat Creek - Austin, TX
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
been too long
Strengths:
Flexible - carbon post dampens bumps for my 200 lbs of body and gear. Beautiful design lines and colors. Good design of saddle clamp area. Saddle clamp bolt usually breaks before seat post.
Weaknesses:
Post will slip down the tube with recommended seap post clamp torque under heavy 200# load. Solution 1, tighten seat clamp bolt leading to the crushing of the post and premature fracture. Solution 2, add some sort of stick'em to the post to prevent sliding down. Saddle clamp bolt will usually break before the seatpost.
Similar Products Used:
Thudbuster - also absorbed bumps but weighs 490 grams.
Bike Setup:
Jamis Dragon steel hardtail, SRAM X.O drivetrain, FSA carbon bar, disc wheels/brakes, American Classic BB, Truvatic Stylo Team crank, ATAC pedals, King HS
Bottom Line:
This is a review of the FSA K-Force Lite Carbon One-piece seatpost. This is now advertised on the FSA website as the K-Force Lite SB25. I measured 222 grams for the mass, which is a bit more than the 200 grams advertised.
I really like the design and look of the post. The weakest links are the seat post saddle clamp bolts...this is a good thing so that you break the bolt holdig the saddle before the post...this happened to me...just get and carry an extra bolt.
My post broke after 2 years at the seat post clamp. I probably put a bit too much torque on the clamp bolt because the post kept sliding down. For heavy riders I recommend using some sort of stick'em (nothing too permanent) to keep the post in place while following the FSA recommended torque limits for the seat post clamp. This is probably a concern with most carbon posts.
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Submitted by
Stu
a Racer
from Charleston, SC, USA Date Reviewed: May 5, 2005
Fantastic so far...no complaints. And it looks bad a$$. Durability unknown since I haven't had it very long. But I have raced is several times on some fairly demanding trails...I weigh 190lbs and no problems.
If you want to get a great deal from a guy that is totally customer oriented visit downshiftcycle.com. Jared hooked me up with a great deal and provided me with loads of technical information.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason
a Racer
from Lancaster, Pa Date Reviewed: April 4, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$110.00
Strengths:
lightweight, looks good on the bike
Weaknesses:
the seatpost bolt came loose during a race, it happened before and i tightened it down i didnt think it would happen evrytime i ride the bike
Similar Products Used:
Thompson, easton
Bike Setup:
Turner Flux
Bottom Line:
FSA makes there products look great and I must say there carbon cranks are great, but i am finding out that the rest of there product line is junk. I will put a Thompson post on make sure my butt stays where it supposed too.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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