Thomson Elite Seatpost Failure

20.3.09

ที่ 09:17

Despite all the reputation that Thomson has in making reliable cycling components, this person's Elite seatpost (popular) broke off at the tip like a chalk piece after a fall. I don't have the information to judge the severity of the fall. What we do know is that the seatpost broke and the user wasn't too happy. The post and head is integral machined so its all one piece.

Compare this to Thomson's marketing literature online. Among several other things, the company happens to generously regard itself as producing the only seatpost in the market incorporating a "bending fuse" against catastrophic failure.

Their website says :

"The Thomson seatpost design incorporates a bending fuse to prevent catastrophic failure. All brand-x seatposts we tested - every one of them - failed in catastrophic failure with the seat and clamp components - and sometimes pieces of the tube and head - flying off in all directions. This type of failure would dump the rider."

And something about impact absorbing clamps :

"Impact absorbing clamps - clamps, head, and assembly will spread and flex on impact to protect seat, rails, seatpost and rider. Easy on seats - allows seat to survive heavy impact loads without bending rails."
The owner of the seatpost, however, had a contrasting experience. He wrote on his blog after the incident :

"Forget the hype! Despite the claim that their seatposts are over "40% stronger" on ultimate strength test than the strongest production seatposts on the market, the Thomson Elite seatpost is not tough enough to withstand even a simple fall. And here's proof of that! This four-year-old post on my GT broke in the upper tube area, which is apparently 'strong enough to withstand 350 foot-lbs of torque', when the bike took a tumble sideways while it was stationary. It didn't "bend slightly" on impact like what the Thomson folks had you believe would happen but just crumbled like a cookie at the top. Actually, the OEM seatpost that I was using before I got the Thomson in a moment of weight-weenie lunacy seemed to take much harder knocks! And it looks like it could take plenty more! So, if you've got an Elite seatpost on your bike, watch out mate! It could be a disaster waiting to happen. "

I'm not sure what went wrong at Thomson's end to cause the seatpost to be brittle, but I'm just going to have to drop this one in the "Marketing Mishaps" section for now. This doesn't mean your Elite seatpost has the same problem. But it won't hurt to be informed. Out of 1000 apples, its likely that 2 end up being bad and that's the nature of manufacturing. When those bad apples that dont meet the standards turn into the customer's hands, that's where the issue reveals its uglier side. If Thomson stands by their word, they should delve into this incident and redress the issue (i.e If they are responsible. Corrosion, or user over tightening cannot be ruled out at this stage).

Take note that the lighter weight Masterpiece seatpost is essentially a machined out Elite.