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U.S.E.
Alien 350 Aluminum
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Submitted by
slick
a Weekend Warrior
from hong kong
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | light weight, bling, titanium | | Weaknesses: | clamp design, customer service | | Similar Products Used: | thomson | | Bike Setup: | Ti hardtail | | Bottom Line: | review is for the titanium version.
the standard clamp wouldnt fit my selle italia carbon rails.
looked up from their website and found it requires a special clamp which will costs extra money. i reckon i paid well enough already.
then, they failed to provide detailed info and product code on their website for me to order from my supplier.
plus received zero email response after requesting support.
It finally took me sometime to modify the clamp myself to make it works.
my another Thomson seatpost can be installed in 5 minutes - no brainer.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Novi, MI
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Island Lake | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$180.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria | | Strengths: | Very light, Perfect for taking the edge off. | | Weaknesses: | Seat clamp is a pain in the ass to adjust. Durability. | | Similar Products Used: | Aluminum. | | Bike Setup: | FELT RXC Team, XTR, Mavic | | Bottom Line: | NOTE: This review is for the U.S.E. Alien Ti seatpost.
The bottom line - it broke at the seat post after 3 months. I'm 5' 8" 157lbs. That's it.
U.S.E web sight says post has been in Tour De France and World Cup Mountian bike chanpionships. Also says warranty void if post snaps at theframe like mine did. Would give a better rating if I got one year out of it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Christian
a Cross Country Rider
from Dundas Ontario
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Very, very light for it's price | | Weaknesses: | clamp, maybe.... It's light and tight, but a pain (impossible?) to adjust on the fly. | | Similar Products Used: | other ones are all the same | | Bike Setup: | light magnesium bike | | Bottom Line: | Don't think you'll every be able to adjust this post on the trail, it just won't happen. The clamp is wierd, but workable - if you're fussy then it's not right for you, as the setback and angle will change slightly as you tighten it down. Trying to adjust it on the trail is definately a bad idea - the 2.5mm allen bolts need a good bit of torque to get them in place and are easily rounded out if things are anything less than ideal. Could easily be improved if the bolt heads were larger. Of course you could be like me and use a small pair of vicegrips to turn the bolts if you round them out a bit - I'm saving what bolt head I've got left for a trailside repair when I don't have any vicegrips with me. Sure is light though... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Racer
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Majik Forest | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | chainreactioncycles.com | | Strengths: | Lightweight, looks trick. | | Weaknesses: | Adjusting the saddle in a hurry is not possible. Fortunately i've never had any need to do this. | | Bike Setup: | Kona steel hardtail | | Bottom Line: | Has been in use for over a year now and has completed more than 4000kms, at least half of that in proper offroad riding and racing. Not a single problem at all, nada, zip. Can't fault this post. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from Huntsville, AL
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Mountain Mist | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | SpeedGoat.com | | Strengths: | The strength of the clamping mechanism is unbeatable. Once you do get the saddle positioned correctly and tightened down, it will never move. If for some reason you need to remove or reposition the saddle later, simply make some reference marks on the saddle rails and the clamp and putting it back together is a breeze. | | Weaknesses: | I had trouble with the anodized finish being so slick that the post would constantly twist in the clamp. After months of slapping the saddle's nose in one direction or the other to straighten it out, the clamp broke loose from the post. I wrote customer service at U.S.E. twice but recieved no response. I ended up drilling a 1/8" hole through the clamp and the post and installing a stainless steel pop rivet that was coated with metal epoxy (J B Weld). I figured the SS rivet would be more durable than an aluminum one. It worked perfectly. I also ended up buffing the anodizing off of the post and now it doesn't spin in the clamp. | | Bottom Line: | This seatpost is not for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of time setting it up. For those who don't mind a little extra time on the rack, it is a very light post that will grip a saddle like no other. But don't expect any customer service if you have any problems. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Karl
a
from York, England
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Bottom Line: | ... 2 years since giving last review for this product (check out below)...
Its reliability is truly fit and forget.
Absolutely no creaks coming from the seat clamp to seat post joint. And the saddle (Selle Flite TT 155gms) has not slipped in the slightest.
Clamp bolts have slightly rusted but no seizing of components in the clamp mechanism.
Finally, the blue anodised finish has been very durable.
How many products on your bike have performed so well that you'd give them another review 2 years later?
Great product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wierzyman
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Planet | | Strengths: | Light, Great product support, light, knowledgable product support, light, durable, and did I mention light? | | Weaknesses: | Proprietary seat clamp takes some getting used to, but how often do you replace a saddle? | | Similar Products Used: | Various stock seatposts | | Bike Setup: | Read post below, this is a follow up. MOst important piece of information here is what SADDLE are you using, of which NONE of the reviews below mention | | Bottom Line: | AS you can see from my previous post, I have used this for over two years and over 3000 miles with no problems until recently. Came down hard in the saddle, and it slipped to a steep nose up. Upon inspection, I noticed center block had cracked. Called up the tech support for U.S.E her in the USA and he is sending a replacement at no charge. After he took my info, he asked which saddle I was using. I mentioned I was using the Terry fly. HE responded that with some Terry model saddles it is necessary to tighten the bolts beyond the reccomended setting which will crack the center block. He sadi they are aware of this and they are working on a fix. He suggested I use a Selle saddle, which is just as light and works fine. Since I am in the market for a new seat, it was a great piece of advice. Two thumbs up to the customer support. A free replacement part always beats shelling out the dough for a new part. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Greenblatt
a Racer
from Madison, WI
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Very light weight, good looks | | Weaknesses: | Difficult to adjust, fragile | | Similar Products Used: | Thompson Al, DEAN Ti, TNT Ti, BOLD Ti | | Bike Setup: | This was on my Merlin Extralight road bike | | Bottom Line: | Difficult to install seat and adjust position. No way you can quickly adjust seat angle or layback out on a ride--it is a several-minute operation. Personally I'd rather put up with a few more grams for easier adjustability.
After a hard crash (that broke my collarbone and put a dent in the top tube of my Ti frame) the bond between the metal head and the CF shaft failed. It was extremely difficult to remove the post from my frame after that. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, On, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | International Bike show | | Strengths: | looks cool | | Weaknesses: | slips after 3-4 hr ride...adjust..tighten...adjust..tighten....snap o rama of the inner bolt. Should have bought a thompson. | | Similar Products Used: | None...will buy a thompson | | Bike Setup: | Fusion frame, manitou mars (med springs), MX5 riser, xt hubs, original deore derailleurs (if it ain't broke...), yeti lock on grips, 1.9 mosquito on rear/2.0 python up front, iron lungs and pistons for legs..... | | Bottom Line: | I'm quite angry I couldn't find a Thompson seatpost at the bike show. The alien looks cool but just.....SLIPS....I wrote the company on their webpage and have yet to hear a response. It's just easier to carry this post around in my tool box and pop it out at the trail parking lot to promote bad press for the product and company. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
gary
a
from arkham, ma.
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | any single track | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Strengths: | lightweight, nice look | | Weaknesses: | innerblock cracked | | Similar Products Used: | synchros titec kore | | Bike Setup: | santa cruz superlight, xtr, avid mechanicals, mavic 717's with hope xc hubs | | Bottom Line: | set-up is not especially difficult just need to pay attention. adjustment is fairly easy..seat clamp is (was) very secure. i liked this post right off, design is clever and it has that set it and forget touch which i appreciate in bike components. rode it about 7 to 10 hours a week right through winter when i noticed a little give after about 3 months. thought it just needed to be tightened but the seat flipped up a bit and on inspection i found the inner block to have cracked and spread. u.s.e. is replacing the part for free. the inner block clearly suffered metal fatigue. this failure had nothing to do with faulty installation, mounting insrtuctions were followed explicitly. the clamp is of a design that doesn't seem likely to fail catastrophically so i'll give it another try.i would not recommend this for a heavier rider. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kalon
a Racer
from Winona, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Livis Mound, WI | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Crazy Lite! Ultra Stiff! Super Strong! What else do you need? | | Weaknesses: | Reveiws stating that the set up of the seat clamp is a pain, need to be ignored! It is surprisingly simple if you have the mental capasity to figure it out, something other reviewers seem to be lacking. | | Similar Products Used: | Kalloy | | Bike Setup: | Salsa Bandito, Sram X.0, FSA TEAM Carbon, Kalloy Carbon Uno flat bar(nice!), SLR, FSA XC-115, Time XS Carbon, Jagwire, Avid Ti, Bontrager Race X-lite(ceramic), Wildgrippers(tubeless), SID Race... how do say 20 lbs? | | Bottom Line: | This post is a must have for any serious XC racer. Why you ask? It is drop dead sexy, what else matters? Instalation Instructions: Take out bolts w/ washers-Slide out back and center pieces-Place center piece on top of rails-Slide center piece onto post-Place back piece under rails-Instal bolts-Tighten 2-4 turns per bolt-Repeat until bolts are close or flush with front piece. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anthony G
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Rosa, CA
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Annadel State Park | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Can't remember | | Strengths: | Looks, the red anodizing looks sharp. Weight one of the lightest aluminum post out there. Holds seat secure. | | Weaknesses: | The USE lettering is wearing off. It's difficult to adjust the seat to different angles. | | Similar Products Used: | Kaloy seal | | Bike Setup: | Pre-97 GT Agressor XT derailleurs, cassette, Kooka rings, Caramba Double Barrel Cranks, Manitou,Rhyno lights, Scram attack shifters, Precision Billet brakes | | Bottom Line: | It's a great seat post if you want light and strong. Once you get your favorite saddle on and adjusted..leave it alone. The top mounting device is more difficult to work with compared to other brands. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Felix
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$59.00 | | Purchased At: | Taiwan LBS | | Strengths: | Very light! Slight flex, great for HT frames, great price. | | Weaknesses: | None! | | Similar Products Used: | Coda, Cannondale Comp, Pinarello Carbon, Giant Carbon Aero blade | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale 03 F1000SL, 03'XTR FD, SRAM XO shifters and rear D, FSA Carbon team issue crankset, USE Alien seatpost, Magura Marta brakes, China no brand Ti handlebars, Nokon cables, etc etc etc | | Bottom Line: | Best seatpost I have ever use. Better feel then carbon post. Not only assorb shock, it's clamps allow the saddle rails to flex for more confort. Clamps are simple to use and so far after 200+km no slip. Was at 1st afraid of breaking the skinny hex screws but just do not over tighten and follower the instructions and it smooth sailing all the way. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Huhn
a Racer
from Leesburg, VA
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Looks cool and weight. | | Weaknesses: | Very difficult to set-up and expensive! | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey, Look, Thomson, others | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail, other stuff does not matter for this review. | | Bottom Line: | Junk! Seat bracket broke on an easy ride. I weight 175lbs and am pretty fluid on my bike. I don't freeride, just XC race and ride so it was not put under great stress. It was also a real pain to get my seat set-up properly.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from Umhlanga, KZN, South Africa
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Homtini trail, Knysna, Eastern Cape | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Maverick Cycles Hillcrest | | Strengths: | Light, infinitely adjustable saddle angle, looks good | | Weaknesses: | Setup is fiddley and time consuming | | Similar Products Used: | Thompson - too heavy, RooX - brilliant, but I finally broke it after 4 years | | Bike Setup: | KHS Alite 4000, full XTR 03, Chris King, CrossMax, | | Bottom Line: | Awesome post. I shed a few tears when my RooX finally broke, but after sweating for a couple of days to get the USE set up exactly right, I've not looked back.
Don't get this post if you change saddle often, but If you're like me an set it and forget it, then this post rocks.
Its blinking expensive though so 3 chillis for that, and 4 overall. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robski
a Cross Country Rider
from London, UK
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Light weight, good looks, ease and range of adjustment. | | Weaknesses: | Pricey for a alloy post, fiddly hex bolt size. | | Similar Products Used: | Various carbon/alloy posts. | | Bike Setup: | Spec Hardrock Pro | | Bottom Line: | Good post, very light but a bit expensive. Good piece of kit so far, however it seems from reading other reviews that long-term longevity appears to be a bit hit & miss. Saying that, I can see no signs of damage after 3 1/2 months of pretty harsh treatment, so I can only recommend it.
4 Chilis for value cos of the price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Perry Nguyen
a Cross Country Rider
from San Leandro, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria Bike | | Strengths: | Lightweight
| | Weaknesses: | Seat clamping area broke (refer to picture url below)
Lettering wears off (extremely annoying when looking for min insertion marking) | | Bike Setup: | Trek 6700 | | Bottom Line: | I have had this seatpost for a little less than a year (since about June or July) and probably well under 1000 miles--but probably over 500.
I went for a ride yesterday, and in a very mild crash (no bruises/cuts/scrapes to myself), the seatclamp just broke!
http://www.gofti.com/pix/broken_seatpost.jpg
I'm looking for a Thomson to replace this seatpost now. For a road bike, I could probably deal with this seatpost; for mountain biking, I would be very afraid. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
A Gregori
a
from California
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Frankford bikes | | Strengths: | Looks....looks...looks It's light strong and I found it pretty simple to adjust | | Weaknesses: | The letters wear off | | Similar Products Used: | stock | | Bike Setup: | 97 Gt aggressor..Manitou SX-R shocks XT front rear derailleurs, Caramba Cranks (Oh yeaH:) Sun Rhyno rims | | Bottom Line: | I think the USE Alien is a grat post for XC riders. It is very light and strong. It looks cool, I found it easy to adjust, only two small allen screws and a pivot piece. The lettering wears off (4 chils) for the letters | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Karl
a Cross Country Rider
from York, England
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | Chainreactioncycles.com | | Strengths: | Clamp design and weight. | | Weaknesses: | Lettering wears off. | | Bottom Line: | This is one of those love or loathe products. Reading those that gave it a low score, virtually everytime the criticism is to do with the clamp.
Sure it's fiddly to set up, and it does adjust saddle angle a little as you tighten it up. So, if you buy this post (and buy into THIS post), read the instructions, actually play around with the clamp, see how it works... and then go about getting it right for your bike: "in-a-rush-excitement-get-on-trails-quickly" is not the time to but this baby together.
Aside from this caveat, name another post that weighs sub 200 grams for less than £55 and whose saddle will not budge for a year afterwards with absolutely no creaking??
Think, fit, forget and enjoy. (Blue looks great too). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
vince
a Weekend Warrior
from hastings east sussex uk
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | chain reaction | | Strengths: | light weight,looks good | | Weaknesses: | the alien clamp system is awfull,difficult to fit and very difficult to adjust | | Similar Products Used: | kona seatpost | | Bike Setup: | kula frame,xt mech front and rear,avid arch rival brakes,fsa titanium bb. mavic 519 rims | | Bottom Line: | DONT BUY THIS PRODUCT..its not cheap and good looks dont make up for poor design..trust me..read all the reports you can..think carefully, i didnt and wish i spent more time researching alternative products. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mikko
a Racer
from Helsinki Finland
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Any xc | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Freeheels | | Strengths: | Extremly light, stiff, simple looking, effective. | | Weaknesses: | Clamp takes a couple of rides to bed-in, but once it has theres no moving it! | | Similar Products Used: | Titec,Bontrager,Thomson and many other poor quality seatposts. | | Bike Setup: | TREK STP400 (full custom) weight 22lbs and still very durable! | | Bottom Line: | This is the best light and stiff seatpost on the market. It weighs close to what carbon posts weigh, but since it's aluminum you don't have to worry so much about clamping down on it. Also, this seatpost costs less than the carbon posts out there. Lastly, once the seat was properly installed, there is no more work to be done. Just install it and forget it. As for the seat installation, read the instructions, have a little patience and be happy that once the seat is adjusted it's not going anywhere. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alfaseeh Maricar
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | BT | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$58.00 | | Purchased At: | TEF Bikers Junction | | Strengths: | Extremly light, stiff, simple looking, effective. | | Weaknesses: | Wordings get rubbed off. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR, Thomson, Kore. | | Bike Setup: | Whyte PRST-1, XTR drive train, wif XT cranks, HOPE Mini brakes and HOPE hubs on 317 rims. Custom built. | | Bottom Line: | Great seatpost. The best XC can find. So far no problems with durability. Installation doesn't require much intellect, common sense should do.
The printing coming out is purely cosmetic. USE claims that the prints were not laser etched as it reduces strength of the post. But who cares bout that? It performs and works well and doesn't slip like the Thomsons used to! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wierzyman
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island, NY
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Stillwell Woods, Cathedral Pines | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Planet. Jericho Tpke in Woodbury | | Strengths: | Very light weight, even in 350 length I needed
clamp provides high level of rail support for the seat
Infinite tilt and fore aft adjustment | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale stock, and other cheapo posts | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Super V 400 with 2001 Zokes X-Fly, Kore Elite stem, Dave's Speed Dream wheels, Hugi 240 disc hubs, Terry Dragonfly saddle w. titanium rails | | Bottom Line: | I bought the stem BEACAUSE of the clamp which everyone else seems to have problems with. It has proven to be it's greatest asset in addition to the fly weight. If you read my bike specs, I shop for the best lightest components. This post is one of them. IF you have problems with the clamp, read the directions on the website www.use1.com and follow these rather simple reccommendations.
1) I disassembled the three blocks,removing them from the post, then put the three blocks on my seat rails.
2) Put in the two screws just enough to hold the blocks together
3) Slide B close to A and insert post, then slide b close to C and finish inserting the post. Make certain that you are examining the line up as you are sliding in the post.
4) Put the seatpost and seat in frame and align.
5) Begin tightening the screws equally (2 turns one, then 2 turns other) until some SLIGHT snugness is detected.
6)Squeeze the three blocks together between your thumb and forefinger. By pre compressing these blocks, you will avoid the SLIGHT creep up or down in sadde position that others have mentioned.
7) Don't over torque the f-er. The three blocks ARE NOT suppossed to touch. The screws will come out the front of the A block by 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch.
Using this method, my seat has been solid and squeak free from the first ride with NO slippage. Even after the first ride that they say it will slip on. I did not experience this at all. With my previous seatposts, I would have to put my allen wrench in a Vise grip plier and then torque the he!! of it it to make my seat stay put. Even with locktite and bending 8 mm Allen keys, the seat would loosen. With this setup, big Allen heads are not required because obscene torque is not necessary to get the seat to stay in place. I feel that many of the problems people are experiencing come from OVERTORQING to the point of deforming the blocks or the rails of their seats. Two thumbs up from me. Value only 4 because it is a little on the expensive side for being aluminum, but I guess I am paying for the R&D of the proprietary clamping system | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
hanoverfist
a Cross Country Rider
from LA
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Redbox | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$130.00 | | Purchased At: | Helen's | | Strengths: | Works as advertised. Really takes the edge off of a hardtail. Once dialed in you can forget about the post. | | Weaknesses: | Although I love the post, I do have to sode with some of the others. The clamp is overengineered and a pain in the ass. Once you have it together then it stays that way. | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox | | Bike Setup: | 19LB Mt Fuji SX, XTR, SID, Crossmax... | | Bottom Line: | If you can score this guy on sale then it is worth it. I would not pay another 130 for it today. I needed a good susp post with a long extension so I chose USE. I am happy with the product now that it is dialed in. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | light weight | | Weaknesses: | The clamp cracked while I was tightning it, far too difficult and slow to use and the bolts are too small which means their heads can strip easily. Aviod this one at all costs. | | Bottom Line: | DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad
a Racer
from Boise, Id USA
Date Reviewed: November 1, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | Idaho Mountain Touring | | Strengths: | Easy assembly, infinitely adjustable. Very light. Extremely durable | | Weaknesses: | None, unless you are mechanically challenged. | | Similar Products Used: | Just about any other brand of posts except Kore over the years. | | Bike Setup: | Merlin XLM, Full XTR, Avocet Ti saddle, Easton CT2 bar and Mag stem, Sid Race Ti, Mavic Crossmax UST, Crank Bros Egg Beater pedals. | | Bottom Line: | I don't know what everyone else is whining about, this is so easy to set up and adjust. I have had two other USE alein posts, one carbon on my road and one on my cross bike. They don't creak or make any noise, they are soooo simple to set up and adjust. All you have left to do is tighten up the wedge bolts and you are done. Maybe that is why they won the editors choice award last year in one of the mtb mags for innovation. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JRD
a Cross Country Rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Hancock Pass, CO | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Lightweight, looks good and strength | | Weaknesses: | Initial adjustment | | Bike Setup: | Y-22, AD-10, Mars1, full XTR | | Bottom Line: | This is the best light and stiff seatpost on the market. It weighs close to what carbon posts weigh, but since it's aluminum you don't have to worry so much about clamping down on it. Also, this seatpost costs less than the carbon posts out there. Lastly, once the seat was properly installed, there is no more work to be done. Just install it and forget it. As for the seat installation, read the instructions, have a little patience and be happy that once the seat is adjusted it's not going anywhere. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Landy Adkins
a Weekend Warrior
from Midland, TX
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | San Angelo state park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | Peytons Bikes | | Strengths: | light wieght, cool colors, semi smooth ride | | Weaknesses: | hard to put my seat on | | Similar Products Used: | easton ea70 | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale, easton, mavic, sram, hayes disc, alien, hutchinson, raceface | | Bottom Line: | i like it because it is stylish and light wieght, however i work in a bike shop and it was hard for me to install. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary
a Weekend Warrior
from Pittsburgh
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Speedgoat | | Strengths: | Lightweight, never had my saddle move after installation (even in the first ride(s) - I have one of these on each of my bikes. Has a little flex that make my hardtail a bit more comfy. | | Weaknesses: | Yep, it's way too fiddly to install compared to most posts - | | Similar Products Used: | Original USE post, Ritchey post | | Bike Setup: | Spec Stumpy M2, Marzocchi Z1's, Raceface, flite, Monkeylite, XTR. als fitted to my SC Superlight. | | Bottom Line: | Read the manual (yeah I know we all do that), take your time, and make sure you have the saddle set at the right place on it rails and angle before tightening.
If you like to adjust your saddle regularly avoid this post - if you like to install once and forget it - and have the patience to install it properly then go for it!
Loses a chili for the installation. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Vegas, NV
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$89.00 | | Purchased At: | Adrenaline Bikes | | Strengths: | light, unique design | | Weaknesses: | takes a long time to make adjustments and change seats | | Bike Setup: | selle flight ti, binder bolt (no q/r) | | Bottom Line: | OK, this took forever to show up, Adrenaline Bikes is the absolute worst mail order I've ever dealt with. That said USE wasn't much better and I didn't buy their aliminum supply problem. It took a while to set up and turning the small bolts was a pain in my ass. I tighted up the bolts after the first 4 rides, haven't had a problem at all with them loosening. Now that its all set up this post rocks. Does just what a post should, holds a seat and doesn't loosen up on the tube. Added bonus its looks cool and is light. I'll give it 4*s for that. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bill dark
a Cross Country Rider
from park city ut, usa
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | ridge to mill creek to pipeline | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | n\a | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | exremely poor customer service. I tried to get info and had to resort to insults to get a response from rory in the uk. Then when I was hooked up with someone in the us the shop that was trying to get the seatpost had equally poor results I don't know where the good custoer service reports are coming from, possibly from the p.r. guys at use | | Bike Setup: | specialized m4 hardtail with custom components | | Bottom Line: | THEY SUCK!!!!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
gavin
a Weekend Warrior
from dublin
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | urrrrr none !!!! | | Weaknesses: | angles, it took me and 3 of my mates to wack this thing together | | Similar Products Used: | titec | | Bike Setup: | specialized p3, | | Bottom Line: | i must be the biggest jerk for buying this post, it creaks very badly and its angles are the worst ever i seriously suggest you do not buy this post. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Singleminded
a Cross Country Rider
from east coast
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | light | | Weaknesses: | clamp | | Similar Products Used: | usual stuff | | Bottom Line: | Be afraid. Be very afraid. This clamp stinks. You can't dial in setback or seat angle. It takes 30 minutes to tighten down, and still loosens repeatedly, despite USE's claims that it should loosen only after the first ride. What's worse, the design can allow your loosening seat and clamp to literally fall off the back of the post. I was far too generous when I gave my initial review of 3 stars. If I could give it negative stars I would. A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY.
P.S. I've never written a review like this on any other product. This is the least satisfied I have ever been with an MTB component. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Singleminded
a Cross Country Rider
from East Coast USA
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Ultra light.
First Impression: The strongest ulta-light post available.
Innovative clamp design is, well, innovative. | | Weaknesses: | Saddle angle adjustment.
Saddle setback adjustment.
Time it takes to tighten the clamp. | | Similar Products Used: | many | | Bike Setup: | 853 hardtail | | Bottom Line: | Now I know why they call it the "Alien." Only an extraterestrial could have thought up this clamp design. If, and I stress "if", this clamp design was necessary for the post to be as light and as strong as it seems, then I'd give it 4 chilies for riders who never adjust or remove their saddles, and 1 chilie for riders who do.
Others have said it, so I'll be brief: 1. It took me 30 minutes to mount my saddle on this post! 2. It's almost impossible to control the setback you'll have at the end of the painful mounting process (angle is easy unless you're anal about 1 degree here or there). 3. Seat WILL loosen on first ride. I don't know yet about the second ride, or third...4. If the clamp does loosen, it and the seat can slide right off the back of the post and literally fall off.
I need more time before I can give a good rating. If everything proves awesome except the initial set up and re-tightening, it'd be 4 flamers for me, since I don't fuss with my seat once it's there. So..... for now I'll be nice to the poor extraterrestrials at USE and give it 3 stars. It IS light as heck! (ride seems comfy too). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil Battersby
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Strengths: | Light weight | | Weaknesses: | Impossible saddle rail clamp | | Similar Products Used: | USE road post, Kalloy UNO, SYNCROS | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 880 frame built up myself | | Bottom Line: | Why is it that the people at USE can't design a saddle rail clamp that is easy and accurate to adjust. The old road post was a nightmare to adjust the Alien is almost impossible to accurately position the saddle. The guy that designed this clamp should be shot.
I like some slight backward tilt on the saddle but with this post the farthest back you can get is horizontal. What good is a seatpost which gives 20 degrees forward tilt and no backward tilt.
As soon as I can afford to replace this waste of time it goes in the garbage can.
Bottom line - a light seat post spoilt by an insane clamp design, unless you like tinkering for hours to get things just so, give this product a miss. Impossible to set accurately for either tilt or forward/backward position.
I will never buy any product with a USE name on it again I feel ripped off paying good money for this thing.
I would give it 0 if I could. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Bordon, Hants, England
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything technical (xc) | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | An excellent lightwieght seatpost with a suprisingly strong clamp system. | | Weaknesses: | Clamp takes a couple of rides to bed-in, but once it has theres no moving it! | | Bike Setup: | Be-one Weblite, USE xcr forks, R/Face B/B, Sugino cranks with M/Burn rings, XT cassette, XT f/mech LX r/mech,Ritchey pedals, LX/517 with Pythons f+r, X-lite bars on Profile stem with some other bits! | | Bottom Line: | What other light wieght/affordable seat post would put up with 85 Kgs bouncing up and down on it without such as a creak? None that I know of. The clamp will take a bit of getting use to but once set up, you can happily forget about it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Keith
a Cross Country Rider
from Leicestershire,England
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | coed y brenin | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Bike 2000 | | Strengths: | Light weight
looks good
No shims needed on my bike | | Weaknesses: | That bloody awful clamp system!!!!! | | Similar Products Used: | X-lite
Kalloy
Titec | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight in grey - Xt group - SID's
Flite,Mavic X317 on Xt and hope | | Bottom Line: | I too have suffered at the hands of the alien clamp - the bolts really must be done up as tightly as you dare to prevent backwards slippage - not nice going downhill at speed over roots and rocks as I experienced when the whole clamp system came apart and I was left with the saddle between my knees!! - still I tightened it and have had no problems since
You really have to be some form of mathematical genius to work out just how much the saddle tilt will rise as you tighten the clamp bolts as you can think you've got it exactly right but on tightening the bolts the nose of the saddle rises completely knackering your otherwise perfect plans!!!
nice when set up right but perseverence needed | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Glenn
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | I would but then... | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Strengths: | weight(alien carbon), fit, looks | | Weaknesses: | price, seat clamp | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Comp(awesome post,heavy), Thomson Elite | | Bike Setup: | C-Dale FS | | Bottom Line: | This could be a really, really amazing product, but some bright light designer somewhere broke the cardinal rule -- function must rule over form. I am referring to the interesting, but completely useless, alien seat clamp. what a disappointment!!! I had maybe 2 hours riding time on the carbon alien post when suddenly I hear POP!!! on close inspection, everything seemed ok, but all subsequent rides after this horrible noise resulted in my seat slipping back on the clamp, no matter how hard or loose or whatever angle I had the seat set at. I also followed ALL the instructions included (duh) with the post. VERY ANNOYING, not to mention setup of the seat, the bolts are ridiculously small(strong though). I would love to keep this on my ride, but it went back to my LBS for refund, and went back to tried tested and true Thomson Elite post. If this post had a simple 2 bolt adjust design like Thomson or Bontrager, it would be a killer product. Unfortunately, adjusting my seat every 20 minutes is no fun. I wanted to give this a five flamer, but what good is the post with a useless, fiddly clamp?
BTW: note to USE if you read this: whats up with your website? I try to access your seat clamp fitting section for more help but always I get some kind of error message. That sucks, you might try to fix that. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel Beaumont
a Cross Country Rider
from United Kingdom
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere on North York Moors | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Internet company | | Strengths: | At 196 g a very light seatpost for weight fetishists like myself (does anyone know of a lighter one?); I have the aluminium version.
Doesn't slip, creak or flex. Good enough that I can forget about it, which is just dandy by me | | Weaknesses: | Clamp is a bit more fiddly than the odld-style USE one; but then who really adjusts their seat position once they've set it up the first time? | | Similar Products Used: | Carbon fibre version of this post | | Bike Setup: | Easton butted frame, with Ritchey l/wt sheelset and semi-slicks, Pace RC36 forks, Middleburn cranks, Ritchey SPDs and Syncros Ti B/B | | Bottom Line: | It's a lightweight seat post; I haven't had to adjust it once installed; nothing slips.
IE it does just what it says on the package | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeremy
a Racer
from St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | This is one of the few good quality, lightweight seatposts that are available in a wide variety of sizes and lengths. The clamp is very unique. | | Weaknesses: | Saddle setup is VERY difficult. | | Similar Products Used: | American Classic, Control Tec, Shimano | | Bike Setup: | GT Edge Ti Road bike | | Bottom Line: | I was very excited about this seatpost because my bike takes an uncommon (26.6mm) size and there aren't many good posts available to fit it. Setup has proven to be an exausting ordeal because the whole clamp system "creeps" as you tighten the two bolts--both in angle and in the fore-aft direction. What's worse is that the "creep" seems to be unpredictable so that you can't set up the saddle a little nose-down, for example, knowing that it will rise up upon tightening.
This post is good for people who have odd seatpost sizes but not good if you are particular about how your saddle is set up. I am probably going to go back to my American Classic--it's heavier but I can quickly and easily dial in the saddle exactly the way want it. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Russell Carty
a Weekend Warrior
from Guildford, England
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Can't decide | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$89.00 | | Strengths: | Easier to set up, feels smoother than original shock post, looks great! | | Weaknesses: | None | | Bike Setup: | Kona Moko Moko | | Bottom Line: | Improves the ride! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Buster Highman
a
from SAN GABRIELS of SoCal
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | TopSecret | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Purchased At: | Speedgoat | | Strengths: | Lighter than Thomson | | Weaknesses: | Too lightweight, back to a Thomson. | | Similar Products Used: | Thomson,rf,kore,easton,titec | | Bike Setup: | 19"COVE Stiffee w/Marz,AtomLab,ThomsonStem,rf,MRP,Tioga,BlackSpire,SRP,King | | Bottom Line: | This post gave me an immediate woody, BUT that went limp on the first ride when I was about to perform the 1st ride retightening (Step#8 in the USE manual), I found cracks developing on INNER BLOCK (B)!!! Speedgoat gave me a refund to my creditcard,but they also gave my phone number to an annoying Englishman Company Representative from USE.
He said I was the first in the US to purchase an the new design and was determined to save face for USE, so I told him if USE is willing to pay me for R&D I'll answer his questions. This made the chap bloody cocky, so I suggested where to put the Alien. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sadie (Slim Shadie) Parker
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | The Wall (Ireland) | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Sponsored rider | | Strengths: | I ride a Giant xtc full suspension bike and need to keep the weight of parts to a minimum as the bike is slightly heavier than a hardtail. The USE Alien is competitive with weight. Call me a weight weenie but every gram counts when racing at World Cup level. The clamp system is very delicate, some say fiddly but I say accurate, it is easy to set up in the correct angle as the seat doesn't move as you tighten the screws as many other posts tend to do. As all girlies tend to do I worry about the colour scheme of my bike, my red seatpost looks just dandy with the red on my frame. | | Bike Setup: | Giant xtc Team full suspension, Hope hubs and disc brakes, marzocchi bomber z2 x-fly forks, xt components, mavic 317 disc rims, fizic seat, nokian tyres mm mmm thats a tasty ride. | | Bottom Line: | Full suspension bikes are the way of the future, lightweight components are the answer to the weight issue of full suspension. Add USE to the list of top quality lightweight seat posts. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jim parker
a Racer
from England
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | The USE is a great looking , lightweight seat post ideal for xc riders and racers.
It is used by all members of the Team Marie Curie Race Team who carefully select all bike components before we will actually endorse them to other riders. | | Weaknesses: | We have not encountered any weaknesses with the USE posts. | | Bike Setup: | Coyote Easton Elite Frame, XTR , RockShox SID Race , Profile Bar / Stem , WTB headset , WTB Rims , Hope Hubs and Discs ,and of course USE Alien seatpost . | | Bottom Line: | Quite simply we do not compromise with the equipment we choose to race.
The USE Alien seat post is just that - a no compromise piece of race equipment. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
simon richardson
a Cross Country Rider
from windlesham, surrey, UK
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | lightness, lightness, and lightness. solid clamp, just the right amount of set back. About the perfect seatpost.
The clamp is the most ingenious and elegant one I have ever seen | | Weaknesses: | A bit fiddly to install, but whatever you only do it once and the allen key to tighten the clamp is kind of small. | | Similar Products Used: | interloc, Ritchey | | Bike Setup: | kona kikapu | | Bottom Line: | it's the sh*t,unless you need a fully straight or very setback seatpost, this the hands down best seatpost there is. If you want the saddle to stay where you put it, without having to carry a scaffold pole around, this is it. It even comes in some different colours for those that care about this.If you are a cross country rider, buy one today. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel
a Downhiller
from UK
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Very light seatpost (I used the carbon) | | Weaknesses: | 1 It broke level with the top of the seat tube after 5 rides with no warning (and I'm 13 stone, have only used it for 20 - 30 mile cross-country rides, no jumps, tricks or other heroics, so haven't been abusing it)
2 New alien seat clamp is more fiddly than the USE old style clamp with two bolts and a horizontal bar (not so critical as point 1, but applies to both USE carbon and alloy posts!) | | Similar Products Used: | Old style (ie ore-alien) USE seat post, which I found to be excellent, easy to set up seat angle and nice and light | | Bike Setup: | Easton-tubed frame with Ritchey l/wt wheelset and semi-slicks, Pace RC36 forks (the biz), Middleburn cranks and rings, Ritchey SPDs, Syncros Ti BB, Flite Ti saddle (ie a nice light bike, pity the rider isn't the same) | | Bottom Line: | A sad disappointment from a normally excellent company. No other postings on this product yet, so I'll be interested to see if any more broken carbon s/posts get reported in the future. I'd heard third-hand rumours about carbon s/posts breaking, but always to a friend of a friend etc, so tended to discount them.
One thing I do guess is that the accuracy of the diameter of the post OD and/or the seat tube ID is much more critical for carbon since they will have inherently much less give than alloy ones, so localised stresses will be much greater. On inspection, mine had started fracturing at the rear (with the fracture faces being a bit mashed so obviously a fatigue job over a number of cycles), and then a catastrophic failure when this crack had progressed about halfway round the post (ie the front half of the crack was fresh and undamaged. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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