I am considering an ee Silk+ post as the gravel I ride is mostly hard packed and smooth but it has stretches of washboard that can be brutal. I typically eject a bottle at some point on most rides despite having cages that are pretty tight to the point of being difficult to use while riding(I mostly drink from a hydro pack). Anyway, my thinking is that while I could lower my tire pressures, I would lose some speed for most of the ride; I just need something to deal with the rough stretches. I am already riding what I think are pretty low pressures, 31/33 with 44mm Thundero tires which are considered to be fairly supple. I have a Redshift stem and love it. So, all that said, I would like to hear what folks think about their experiences with the ee Silk+ and specifically different elastomers and rider weight. I weigh 180..
I have both the eesilk and the eesilk+. Unless you are riding single track or rough double track I would recommend the regular eesilk. The eesilk really smooths things out and basically disappears underneath you. The eesilk+ soaks up bigger hits, but it can get bouncy at high cadences, and really bouncy at high cadence on pavement. I weigh 178 and use the default medium elastomer.
Thanks so much for your reply! You brought up the standard eesilk which was something I wondered about but forgot to mention so I really appreciate your thoughts on it. I'm thinking that may be the way to go as all I'm after is something to take the edge off of the really rough stretches. I use a zero set-back post and the standard has a bit less set-back than the + so that's better for me too..
I use the eesilk and think it’s good. About my only criticism this far has been squeaking after riding a 40km wet and muddy course. I’ve had to lube it to kill the squeaking.
I chose the +. I also ride 650 x 47b's. My days of riding pavement on purpose are over. I ride 95% gravel/forest service roads. They range from billiard ball smooth to rutted out jeep trails and the + on my Warbird makes it so I don't get blood in my urine. 😏 One of the things I love about it is that I can pedal seated in sections I used to have to unweight my saddle. There is definitely some bob when you pedal high cadence. I rode an MTB for years with a Rock Shox suspension seatpost, so I was already calibrated for what to expect. Everything about a gravel bike is a compromise, or at some point you end up with a mountain bike or a road bike. The trick is to make it fit the sweet spot of where and how you ride and what you expect from a bike.
This is timely; I just ordered the regular eeSilk; I went back and forth, but ultimately the smaller offset (8mm vs. 12mm) was what sealed it for me; I use a zero-setback post, so wanted to get something where I could slide my saddle forward sufficiently to preserve my KOPS riding position. But this sounds perfect, as I was getting it for some endurance gravel event(s) where I'd probably benefit from the extra squish, but wouldn't want to bounce around on paved or smooth sections.
I debated alloy vs. carbon. Not for weight (both are heavy, and I'm not so concerned with the event I am targeting [Croatan 150] as that is flat), but for extra compliance or bump absorption from the carbon version. Has anyone tried both and can compare? In the end, my wallet won that debate and I stuck with the alloy version.
pushstart wrote:This is timely; I just ordered the regular eeSilk; I went back and forth, but ultimately the smaller offset (8mm vs. 12mm) was what sealed it for me; I use a zero-setback post, so wanted to get something where I could slide my saddle forward sufficiently to preserve my KOPS riding position. But this sounds perfect, as I was getting it for some endurance gravel event(s) where I'd probably benefit from the extra squish, but wouldn't want to bounce around on paved or smooth sections.
I debated alloy vs. carbon. Not for weight (both are heavy, and I'm not so concerned with the event I am targeting [Croatan 150] as that is flat), but for extra compliance or bump absorption from the carbon version. Has anyone tried both and can compare? In the end, my wallet won that debate and I stuck with the alloy version.
I have degenerative disc disease, so I have a bunch of these posts to keep my back happy. I have both the carbon and aluminum in eesilk and eesilk+, I can't say I can tell any difference at all between the two as far as damping. I think it comes down to the fact that when you have a giant elastomer, any small damping you get from the carbon is not going to be noticeable. Also as far as squeaking, the first version was terrible in this regard and I was always disassembling it to clean it and lube it up. On the V1 all that squeaking causes wear and eventually the pivots will seize and they are not rebuildable. The new version, V2, is much better in this regard. I just periodically put some triflow on the pivots and its good. The only reason I own two carbon versions is because Cane Creek gave me dealer cost on them when both my V1 posts seized and could not be rebuilt. Cane Creek customer service has been awesome to me.
I have degenerative disc disease, so I have a bunch of these posts to keep my back happy. I have both the carbon and aluminum in eesilk and eesilk+, I can't say I can tell any difference at all between the two as far as damping. I think it comes down to the fact that when you have a giant elastomer, any small damping you get from the carbon is not going to be noticeable. Also as far as squeaking, the first version was terrible in this regard and I was always disassembling it to clean it and lube it up. On the V1 all that squeaking causes wear and eventually the pivots will seize and they are not rebuildable. The new version, V2, is much better in this regard. I just periodically put some triflow on the pivots and its good. The only reason I own two carbon versions is because Cane Creek gave me dealer cost on them when both my V1 posts seized and could not be rebuilt. Cane Creek customer service has been awesome to me.
Thank you; this is hugely helpful. Yeah, I wondered if you'd be able to feel the difference between alloy and carbon given that there's a big elastomer at the top of the post, but one review had suggested that carbon offered "extra compliance" or "vibration damping". I suspect this was more theoretical (or marketing buzzword) vs. actually experienced 🙂
Also great to hear that V2 fixed the squeaking. I'm looking forward to trying it out!
Thanks for all of the replies; I was away for a few days so I'm catching up. Just to clairfy, is the V1/V2 thing a generation thing or is the eeSilk+ what you are calling V2? Based on what I'm seeing here, I think the eeSilk is right for me but I want to make sure it isn't the squeaking version..
Update: I bought the eeSilk+ and after a few rides, I'm really impressed; I wish I had bought it a long time ago. I'm 180# and I'm using the standard elastomer as recommended. No bouncing while pedaling or any other issues; feels absolutely solid under me when riding but the road is magically smoother. I'm a low cadence rider so that may have something to do with it. Now I have to get used to not lifting myself off the saddle as much; it honestly makes that much of a difference.
I've got about 250 miles on the eeSilk+ and love it. It's been on some wet muddy rides. No creaks. I'm 160lb and am using the default elastomer. I don't notice any bouncing. It's been doing a fantastic job of smoothing out the bumpy fire roads I ride.
SWGraveler wrote:Thanks for all of the replies; I was away for a few days so I'm catching up. Just to clairfy, is the V1/V2 thing a generation thing or is the eeSilk+ what you are calling V2? Based on what I'm seeing here, I think the eeSilk is right for me but I want to make sure it isn't the squeaking version..
V1 describes the original eesilk. V1 was only available in aluminum with titanium hardware. The post had a slight redesign to minimize wear on the pivots so that is V2. V2 aluminum posts have steel hardware and carbon versions have titanium hardware. All eesilk+ are V2.
