SDG I-Beam Seat Post (and Saddle)

Seatpost RRP: £64.99
Saddle RRP: (Various) circa £50-£90

What are the benefits to a single bolt seat post with an all carbon saddle? The product reviewer in me wants to discuss how easy the single bolt system is to adjust (no faffing with multiple pieces like traditional seat posts). But I'll move straight on to how cool it looks! There's something pretty space age about the way this saddle's appearance, while the amazing range of colours, styles and padding give it brilliant versatility. 220g for a 27.2 seatpost is crazy light, and would make most people think twice about buying carbon. Especially when this is for a 400mm length (which the majority of us would cut down). If carbon is your thing, SDG have you covered here too with an identical post in carbon for £90.

Downsides? It's pretty pricey, but the ibeam design has been around for over 7 years now, so finding reduced old stock / second hand items is pretty easy. SDG aren't the only brand to cotton onto this design, with Raceface and Deity a mere sample of other brands offering similar options. Theres a certain amount of flex in the saddle, but I wouldn't label it comfy - more of a crumple zone for when things go wrong. For the short stints spent sat on a dh bike it's ideal, but if you're thinking of putting it on an xc whippet, I'd go for the white/black colour scheme because you're going to be walking away from that bike like Pingu.

Durability is good - SDG keep the seat post pretty plain with a small logo at the top, so there're no external decals or paintwork to wear through repeated raising / lowering of the post. The black finish stays looking good for a long time. The saddles are brilliant; I didn't have any rips or tears and they held the colour well. I did ride in the snow and snap a saddle though. Carbon rail digging into thighs isn't a great feeling, but I think taking the bike from a warm house to sub-zero temperatures made it brittle, and my own foolishness was to blame for this injury. Day-to-day the saddles have been brilliant, with no issues whatsoever except this one catastrophic failure (most likely due to my catastrophic stupidity).

The saddle/post combo looks great and is crazy light. Replica 'carbon style' saddles might tempt you, but pay big-brand prices and enjoy the reliability. Whether it's great build quality or the fact there's very little material, but these saddles seem to last forever and are a solid investment.