Ritchey WCS Vector Evo Streem saddle & Carbon Link Flexlogic seat post review
Posted April 16, 2015 07:42PM by
Skye in the
Cycling Forum
5880115
Update Feb/2016: Bought the single-rail saddle and seatpost, review is below the video
Anyone got the Ritchey Vector Evo saddle and seat post system? Can you really tell a difference compared to a standard CrMo or carbon rail saddle on gravel grinders, washboard, FSRs, etc? I guess if it's good enough for XC racers... but you never know what they use just because they get it free from sponsors ;) Might be good for CX too although with the shorter races it probably wouldn't make much difference.
Looking to get some opinions before I drop the coin. Got my eye on a Ritchey WCS Vector Evo Streem seat for cheap, and can probably find a WCS Carbon Link Flexlogic seat post on eBay sooner or later. If it means I can ride a couple hours longer per day, could be worth it!
Anyone got the Ritchey Vector Evo saddle and seat post system? Can you really tell a difference compared to a standard CrMo or carbon rail saddle on gravel grinders, washboard, FSRs, etc? I guess if it's good enough for XC racers... but you never know what they use just because they get it free from sponsors ;) Might be good for CX too although with the shorter races it probably wouldn't make much difference.
Looking to get some opinions before I drop the coin. Got my eye on a Ritchey WCS Vector Evo Streem seat for cheap, and can probably find a WCS Carbon Link Flexlogic seat post on eBay sooner or later. If it means I can ride a couple hours longer per day, could be worth it!
Webmaster - Staminist.com
I ended up getting a good deal on a Ritchey WCS Vector Evo Streem saddle and WCS Carbon Link Flexlogic seat post on eBay so I gave it a try on my bikes this last fall & winter.
First impression: This combo is VERY light, the post and saddle together come in at just 341 grams combined. Installation was simple, the mono rail system is simple. It's nice that the Streem saddle has two wings at the back as part of the suspension system, so you can strap normal seat bags to it. However, as there are no rails, it's not compatible with Ass Saver mudguards.
On the first few rides, the seat angle was slipping over big bumps. After I got home and put some fibre grip paste on the clamp the top of the post, and torqued it to spec, no more problems.
The saddle and post combo does seem to absorb a lot of road buzz on my CX aluminum frame bike very nicely. The advantages weren't quite as noticeable on my carbon bike, presumably because the frame is already absorbing a lot of the buzz. However it did still offer a weight savings of nearly 60 grams over my Fizik Aliante R3 K:ium saddle with 3T Palladio LTD post which comes in at exactly 400 grams.
For such a hard saddle, I had no problems at all with comfort; of course this is highly personal, and I don't tend to have problems with any saddle or chamois combinations, I guess I have tough skin.
First impression: This combo is VERY light, the post and saddle together come in at just 341 grams combined. Installation was simple, the mono rail system is simple. It's nice that the Streem saddle has two wings at the back as part of the suspension system, so you can strap normal seat bags to it. However, as there are no rails, it's not compatible with Ass Saver mudguards.
On the first few rides, the seat angle was slipping over big bumps. After I got home and put some fibre grip paste on the clamp the top of the post, and torqued it to spec, no more problems.
The saddle and post combo does seem to absorb a lot of road buzz on my CX aluminum frame bike very nicely. The advantages weren't quite as noticeable on my carbon bike, presumably because the frame is already absorbing a lot of the buzz. However it did still offer a weight savings of nearly 60 grams over my Fizik Aliante R3 K:ium saddle with 3T Palladio LTD post which comes in at exactly 400 grams.
For such a hard saddle, I had no problems at all with comfort; of course this is highly personal, and I don't tend to have problems with any saddle or chamois combinations, I guess I have tough skin.
Webmaster - Staminist.com
Looks like my experiences match up well enough with the slightly more scientific review done by Bike Radar:
Five soft-riding road seatposts tested in the lab and on the road
"More performance-minded riders who are more sensitive to added weight, however, might instead want to look at the Ritchey. Although it doesn’t fare particularly well in terms of impact, it offers a smooth ride when it comes to road buzz while being the lightest model in this test by a wide margin."
One thing to keep in mind though, is that if you look at the pictures they are using the Ritchey FlexLogic seatpost with the standard two-rail clamp option. I wonder what the difference would be if they used the Vector Evo single-rail saddle system, with the WCS Streem seat...
Five soft-riding road seatposts tested in the lab and on the road
"More performance-minded riders who are more sensitive to added weight, however, might instead want to look at the Ritchey. Although it doesn’t fare particularly well in terms of impact, it offers a smooth ride when it comes to road buzz while being the lightest model in this test by a wide margin."
One thing to keep in mind though, is that if you look at the pictures they are using the Ritchey FlexLogic seatpost with the standard two-rail clamp option. I wonder what the difference would be if they used the Vector Evo single-rail saddle system, with the WCS Streem seat...
