Cirrus Cycles Kinekt Seat Post: At The Finish
Cirrus Cycles Kinekt Seat Post: At The Finish – by MG
It’s been several months since our Checkpoint post about the Kinekt isolation seatpost from Cirrus Cycles, but we’re ready with our final review of the alloy Kinekt 2.1 post Guitar Ted has been testing, as well as the lighter carbon fiber shafted Kinekt 3.1 post I’ve been testing.
Get caught up on the previous installments of this test:
Crushing the Dirty Kanza XL
I had the honor of being one of the 34 riders invited to participate in the inaugural 350-mile Dirty Kanza XL event this past June. The ride was an unforgettable experience, and yes, I did finish (in 34 hours, 18 minutes), despite starting the event with food poisoning. Bottom line: Never before have I ridden so deeply into my reserves to finish as I did at the DKXL. It tested me in ways I’m still coming to terms with, nearly six months after the event.
I believe the Kinekt post was an essential component to my DKXL finish, and it performed flawlessly throughout the event. The post let me stay seated through a wider range of conditions and substantially muted the vibration and bumps reaching my posterior.
The Kinekt post worked silently and consistently without maintenance, freeing me to concentrate on the tasks at hand. When you’re riding for 34+ hours, you have to do nearly everything on the bike. As such, being able to ride hands-free and not worry about bumps was a big asset.
By mile 350, my posterior was still more than ready to be off the bike, as you might imagine, but I’m convinced the Kinekt post had a very positive impact on my overall comfort during the DKXL.
Troubles in Paradise
While I was having a great experience with my Kinekt post at the DKXL, Guitar Ted was having a bit of a different experience with his alloy Kinekt 2.1 post. When set with appropriate springs for his weight, he experienced harsh bottom out, as well as intermittent creaking (a likely side effect of the frequent bottoming).
After extensive discussion with the folks at Cirrus Cycles, it seems the current design of the Kinekt post is better suited for lighter riders than it is for larger (>250lb) cyclists, particularly ones with a more upright, endurance-oriented riding position.
This is a difference from Cirrus Cycles’ original Body Float seatpost, which worked well for Guitar Ted. According to Cirrus Cycles, they’ll soon release an updated design that they say will work better for these riders. When that happens, we’ll get one into Guitar Ted’s capable hands for an update.
The Verdict… For Now
With the perspective of nearly 10 months on our two preproduction Kinekt posts, we can confidently recommend the post for cyclists up to 200 pounds of weight (with gear).
My Kinekt 3.1 post continues to function flawlessly today, with no play in the pivots and performance that’s as smooth as day one. Since I weigh roughly 165 pounds fully kitted and ready to ride, the Kinekt post has been a home run. Durability has been fully consistent with my expectations, and I’ve appreciated the effective isolation the post provides from bumps and vibration.
That said, we recommend cyclists weighing between 200-250 pounds try the Kinekt post before buying. There are a number of factors that could influence its suitability for any given rider within this range, so a test ride is more important for these riders.
Based on our experience, we can’t recommend the current Kinekt post for riders over 250 pounds. If you’re one of these folks, don’t fret: Cirrus Cycles is working on an updated post that’ll work better for you. Stay tuned to Riding Gravel for more as details become available.
Learn more about the Kinekt post at CirrusCycles.com.
Note: Cirrus Cycles sent the Kinekt 2.1 and 3.1 seatposts to Riding Gravel at no charge for test and review. We were not bribed nor paid for this review and we will always strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.