Guitar Ted introduced you to the new Kinekt isolation seat post from Cirrus Cycles back in late-February (click here to revisit that post). Now that we’ve been able to get some miles in on our respective posts, it’s a good time to share our thoughts on the Kinekt’s performance.
Since Guitar Ted did an excellent job of laying out the background of the Kinekt post and its improvements over previous iterations in his last post, I won’t bore you with those details here. What matters is performance on the road, so that’s what I’ll focus on today.
Performance Matters
The reduced offset of the seat head that Guitar Ted discussed in his post is perhaps the single greatest improvement Cirrus Cycles made on the Kinekt post, as I can now use the post on any bike. Since I prefer a seating position that’s a bit steeper than average, the old Body Float post was a little hit or miss as to which bikes I could use it on. For my bikes with an Eccentric Bottom Bracket (EBB), or simply a steep seat tube angle, I could get the Body Float to work.
Unfortunately, there were/are several bikes in my stable that were simply too slack to work with the Body Float, even with the saddle slammed all the way forward. That’s where the reduced offset of the new Kinekt post is an improvement for me. I’d guess that not having to run my saddles slammed all the way forward is easier on my saddle rails in the long term too.
From a performance standpoint, the Kinekt improves on the already excellent performance of the Body Float over a wide variety of bumps you’d find on a gravel road ride. We aren’t exactly sure what to attribute the performance gains to, as both posts use a similar dual coil spring, parallelogram-based suspension system. Perhaps the reduced offset of the seat head somehow changes the leverage point on the post? We aren’t sure, but whatever it is works well for both Guitar Ted and myself.
To-date, I’ve ridden almost 750 miles on my Kinekt post, including four rides of more than 100 miles. In that time, the post has been completely maintenance free and no play or slop has developed in the pivots. The quality of the post is evident when you see it up close. It’s an impressive piece of work.
I’ve also ridden more than 3,000 miles on my older Ti-shafted Body Float seatpost, and while it does have a slight bit of play in the bushings, I can’t feel it on the bike. The bushings are relatively straightforward to replace for anyone with basic shop knowledge as well, so you can easily restore the performance of the Kinekt post when the time comes.
Weight, there’s more…
The only negative I’ve found so far with the carbon-shafted version of the Kinekt post I’m riding is weight, and it’s not a deal breaker whatsoever. In fact, I only mention it because my test post came in 56 grams heavier than Cirrus Cycles’ claims (509g vs. 453g claimed).
That said, if you’re considering the Kinekt, you’ve likely already accepted the weight-to-comfort trade-off you’re making with the post. It’s a night-and-day difference in comfort after 6 hours in the saddle, so the extra 56 grams of weight is an afterthought for me.
If most of your rides are of 2-3 hours in length, over relatively smooth roads, you might not be as stoked on the post’s weight, which is roughly double a quality rigid post. That said, the Kinekt is noticeably more comfortable than a standard post on shorter rides as well, so it’s an investment I’m willing to make.
The bottom line, for now…
The crew at Cirrus Cycles has a winner on its hands with the Kinekt isolation seat post. It’s seamless performance improves the comfort of any gravel bike its mounted on, and the new reduced offset seat head is a major improvement for cyclists like myself. Durability is proving excellent to-date, as it’s been with previous generations of the design. I’m confident enough in the design that I’ll be using it this June in my attempt to conquer the 350-mile Dirty Kanza XL. I’ll include a wrap-up of the post’s performance after that event, so look for that to-come on RidingGravel.com.
In the meantime, you can learn more about the Kinekt post, or get one for yourself, at CirrusCycles.com.