Suspension seatpost, unusual assembly method :)

[Black Dog]

The Wisper has a Kind Shock suspension seatpost, which recently has begun squeaking badly. Today I dismantled it to find out why (bike one year old, 900 miles). The construction is pretty standard, with a moving section telescoping inside the pillar, with a spring up the middle and a threaded plug at the bottom to secure the spring and allow adjustment of spring tension. What I found surprised me a bit. The spring was encased in a plastic sleeve. Not the kind of plastic that performs a function, but a thin clear plastic packaging-type sleeve which had been torn open at one end. The spring had worn through the plastic (I'm surprised it took this long, to be honest) and that started the squeak. It looks as if the person who assembled it just dropped the spring into the post without removing the packaging or using any grease. The pillar was full of silver dust caused by the fretting of the spring against the aluminium casing. Unless this is a new assembly technique, it looks like a shoddy bit of work on the part of Kind Shock. The post is now back together with some decent grease in the right places, and the squeak has gone. I have never seen this before, I have to admit. I know there are better seatposts available, but to be honest I am thinking or replacing it with a solid post, as I am not keen on the bouncy ride it gives you when pedalling hard.

 

[trex]

don't be too harsh to the people at KS.
The plastic bag is supposed to keep the grease in and should last the warranty period.
Without it, the grease would have been washed out before the year ends.

 

[Black Dog]

Thanks for that. I wondered if that was the idea. Pity it was just flimsy plastic which wore through. There was a small amount of grease in there, but not on the bits that contacted the outer tube. It seems odd the put grease inside on the spring, but leave the thin plastic to rub dry against the rough ali of the outer tube. Ah well, live and learn.

 

[trex]

would you believe me if I said these springs rust?
The KS sprung seat posts are pretty good - the worst I came across are Zoom seat posts. They have an annoying side to side swivel because the rod is a bit loose inside the guide. I still am looking for a good ordinary sprung seat post besides the high tec ones which are usually too heavy for my liking.

 

[Black Dog]

Yes, I would believe that! The seatpost itself isn't a bad bit of kit. I was just surprised at what I found inside. A tough vinyl sleeve I could understand, but this was the kind of plastic they use to separate small parts inside a boxed item - not durable at all. But the seat goes up and down and there is no side-to-side movement, so it works OK. Not sure I won't replace it with a solid one though. If I pedal fast I am in danger of getting seasick