Review: Cane Creek eeSilk+ seatpost

eeSilk+ seatpost, Cane Creek £224.99

A short ride over bumpy ground is enough to dispel any doubt that Cane Creek’s EE Silk+ suspension seatpost is an effective device. Exactly how effective is something of a mystery as it doesn’t seem to move much when given the obligatory hands-on ‘pump’ test and it gives little sensation of movement when pedalling. And yet highly effective it is, and in a way that suggests an elastomer-sprung deformable parallelogram is the best suspension medium available for this application.

The concept has been around for a long time, with early examples dating back to the early 1990s when elastomer suspension seatposts designed for mountain bike use offered three or more times the 35mm travel said to be available from the EE Silk+. ‘Said to be’, because there’s no obvious lowest point to its travel, unlike the definite bottoming out I felt a couple of times with the coil-spring-equipped Redshift ShockStop seatpost tested in the April/May 2021 issue.

The Cane Creek post’s parallelogram linkage provides a similar travel path for the saddle but uses a moulded block of flexible elastomer that’s compressed between the parallelogram’s plates as it is deformed. The elastomer bulges out of the way as it is squashed (its volume doesn’t change) but never becomes entirely rigid – although the linkage will run out a rapidly rising rate, swallowing the smallest bumps and ripples unnoticed and taking the edge off larger ones while settling at a consistent height during pedalling and, as far as the test could show, becoming highly resistant to further compression some way before reaching a definite – and uncomfortable – hard stop.

In any case, its 35mm of travel is a big increase on the 20mm offered by the road-orientated EE Silk. The Silk+ is aimed at ‘gravel’ cycling but, given the lack of pedal bob, will appeal to many riders who don’t venture off road. Elastomers of five hardness levels are available. The test post was supplied with no.3 installed; no.4 felt too hard for me (I’m 80kg).

The post is offered in 27.2mm and 31.6mm diameters and in aluminium and carbon fibre versions of both. Weights are 373g and 378g respectively for aluminium, while the carbon ones are each 50g lighter. The micro-adjustable cradle is set back by around 12mm. There’s no shielding to prevent dirt reaching the linkage bushings (I rigged up a boot from an old innertube) but spares are available if needed.

Verdict

With a micro-adjustable cradle, five elastomer options and a choice of aluminium or carbon fibre posts, the EE Silk+ offers plenty of fitting choices to go with its exceptionally supple ride and impressive build quality. The rising rate of suspension makes it well suited to road and gravel riding alike.

Other options

Redshift Shockstop Suspension Seatpost £250

Sophisticated 360g coil-sprung post with wide weight adjustment range. 

Kinekt 2.1 £239.99

Weighty at 525g, with a complex parallelogram design that has exposed springs.