Reviewed by Brian Mullin aka Gram and MTBR.com Pastajet
https://www.gramslightbikes.com/
I have been testing the Eriksen Sweetpost on and off for almost a year now, and it has one of the most innovative clamp adjustment systems I have ever used. It is not only simple, but it makes adjusts and saddles swapping a 10-30 second ordeal. In addition, it is made of the most wonderful material for bicycles, titanium. Ahh, the exquisite silky smooth titanium, drool!
I visited Kent Eriksen's funky shop last summer, and had a nice long conversation with him about everything under the sun, mostly a titanium sun of course. When Kent gets going, he likes to talk, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Kent's knowledge and expertise with titanium are unfathomable, and I learned a lot in our brief time together. His wife, and hard core mountain bike racer Katie Lindquist wandered in during my shop tour, and she helped set up the review of the Sweetpost, thanks Katie.
He walked me through his small but well appointed shop, and showed me a very tricked out tandem bike with couplers that he was working on. The bottom tube was huge, and the tube was squished at the bottom brackets ends, very trick indeed. Everything that his shop works on is impeccability welded, bar none.
Here is where the Sweetposts are assembled. They had a wide array of colors for the clamps, and some stock sizes, and quite a few custom sizes ready to go out to customers.
Next » Installation
Here are the basic parts of the Sweetpost: a titanium tube with a welded on top tube with notches, an aluminum inside plate set with notches and a slot for saddle rails, an aluminum outside plate set with a slot for rail, and a bolt. The plates (aka caps) notches mesh into the top tube notches', giving rise to a micro adjustment system. If you play with the system a lot the soft aluminum parts can wear a bit against the harder titanium, so you may need to replace the caps at some point in time?
Installation
Installing the Sweetpost is incredibly easy, and can be done in a very short period of time. Start to perfect finish in perhaps 30 seconds, give or take. Rotating and sliding the saddle is done with a simple 5mm hex key on one side of the seatpost clamp, and small angle adjustments can be done due to the ingenious micro notch system.
Just attach the inside plates' with the notches inward, meshing with the seatpost notches, and align the plate's slots, with the slots on the top. Slide the saddle rails into the slots starting from the rear of the saddle, and push the saddle backward to a rough desired location.
Roughly center the saddle in the slots, both in rail and angle positions. Attach the outside plates with the slots inwards onto the rails, aligning them together.
Insert the bolt into the proper outside plate hole, and slightly tighten with a 5mm hex key. Slide the rail into position (fore or aft), and rotate the saddle to the desired angle, and then tighten the bolt to 12-15 NM of torque. Done! If any minor adjustments are required, just loosen the bolt and move the saddle as needed, the micro notches keep things stable so that the saddle won't flop around while adjusting or tightening.
Next » Impressions
Impressions
As I have already stated this is an amazingly easy seatpost to adjust or swap a saddle with, and you can pop out a 5mm hex key, and adjust the saddle on the trail. I tested the layback version of the Sweetpost, since I like that position on my bike, and it also gives a tad more give or flex than a straight version. I hate to call the micro suspension and silky feel that titanium gives as flex, since that always has a bad connotation. Titanium has this unique property that is simply a silky feeling to itself, so even though you can hammer on it, when needed it gives you this silky feedback that is a wonder to behold or is that beheld? It is strong and resilient!
The Sweetpost is abundant in silkiness, and was really nice on bumpy trails and when climbing rough terrain, it just took the edge off the jarring feedback from the trail. When pushed hard for a pedal to the metal session, the Sweetpost was more than stiff enough.
If you have odd size rails on your saddle, such as carbon ones, you may not be able to fit them into the tight tolerances of the slots on the clamp. It expects the standard 7mm thickness for rails. Eriksen can accommodate larger rails as a custom option. The clamp plates/cap also has a large surface area in which they hold onto the rails, giving rise to better clamp force and fewer wear and tear on the rails.
Measured Specs
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Size - 27.2 x 350mm
Version - 20mm layback
Weight - 217.5 grams
Next » Bottom Line
Bottom Line
The Eriksen Sweetpost is a very innovative yet simple seatpost, that allows adjustments and swap outs to be easily be made for saddles. It is made with the usual beautiful Eriksen welds, which are works of art. The titanium gives the seatpost a wonderful silky feel, that removes the edge from rough terrain, but it still retains stiffness when required. The clamp's slot's will not fit every saddle rail out there, but Eriksen can accommodate as a custom option. The softer aluminum cap system notches may wear prematurely if adjustments are made frequently.
Thanks to Kent and Katie!
Strengths
-Ease of saddle adjustments
-Eriksen welds and reputation
-Titanium
Weaknesses
-Premature wearing of notches on aluminum caps
-Slot of clamp will not except all sized rails
-Pricey
Value Rating: 3.5 Flamin' Chili Peppers
Overall Rating: 4.5 Flamin' Chili Peppers
Eriksen Sweetpost Specs
Widths: 27.2 , 30.9
Lengths: 225, 250, 275, 300, 360 and 400 mm.
Versions: straight or 20mm layback
Clamp colors: Red, blue, green, pewter/ti, black, orange, gold, brown, yellow and pink.
MSRP:
Length Straight 20mm Layback
225-250 mm $195.00 $200.00
275-300 mm $200.00 $210.00
360 mm $210.00 $218.00
400 mm $218.00 $225.00
Eriksen Sweetpost url: https://www.kenteriksen.com/comp_seatpost.html
