Enve Carbon Seatpost 25mm Offset 2 Bolt

The Enve Carbon seatpost is a thing of smoothly moulded beauty. Go beyond its looks and you'll find an easy to use and very reliable seatpost that does its job without fuss. It's not cheap mind, and there are lighter options if you're a weight weenie.

• Pros: Smooth carbon construction, great looker
• Cons: Expensive, not the lightest

There's no getting away from it, it's a lovely looking seatpost, with a smooth carbon construction and understated decals. There are no ugly lines to this post as there are on some. It instantly lifted the appearance of the bike it was fitted to, so if you want to make your bike look good it's definitely one to consider.

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Unlike some carbon seatposts that bond a metal clamp onto the top, Enve has made the entire post and head from uni-directional carbon fibre as one piece. It then uses an oval-shaped enclosure at the top in which a twin-bolt saddle clamp resides.

The clamping mechanism consists of horizontally opposing wedges that push the lower cradle into the saddle rails. The two bolts are made from titanium, a little weight-saving measure, with a generously deep 4mm Allen bolt head.

Saddle angle can be easily adjusted by loosening the bolts and simply rotating the saddle down or back. By reversing the lower clamp inserts you can have anything from zero to 27 degrees of saddle angle. That helps it to accommodate as many bike and rider requirements as possible.

The post is compatible with 7mm round or 7x10mm carbon rails; you get two upper cradles supplied that you simply swap to match whatever saddle you're fitting. I tested it with chromoly and carbon rails and it worked fine with both.

Enve offers a choice of zero and 25mm offset depending on your fit requirements, and a choice of 25.4, 27.2, 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters and 300 and 400mm lengths. The post I tested has a 27.2mm diameter, 25mm offset and 400mm length, and weighed 213g on our scales.

If you're running a Shimano Di2 groupset you can get an optional rubber bung that secures the internal battery in place.

In use, the seatpost is flawless. Correctly torque the bolts and the saddle stays firmly in place. I didn't experience any issue with any unwanted movement, even using it on a gravel bike and riding over rough terrain. The clamp mechanism is easy to use with a wide range of adjustment.

It's not designed to be a comfort seatpost in the same way as the Specialized CG-R or Canyon VCLS, but I did notice extra vibration absorption compared with the aluminium seatpost it replaced on one test bike. It doesn't flex visibly like the Specialized or Canyon posts, but adds a noticeable bit of extra give.

The main drawback is the price: £270 is serious money to drop on a seatpost, and it's not especially light either. Offering a lighter setup for less money, and made in the UK to boot, is the Hope Carbon Seatpost. The 27.2mm/350mm post Stu tested weighed 196g and costs £135, a veritable snip compared to the Enve. The Pro Vibe LTD carbon seatpost weighs more or less the same as the Enve, but has an rrp of £199.99.

If money is no object, the Enve post is easy to recommend because it's high quality, looks fabulous and works well. It's been durable and reliable, the clamp mechanism is easy to use and hasn't let the saddle slip, and there's a small amount of seatpost flex. But there are cheaper and lighter posts that represent better value for money.

Verdict

Strong and easy to use but very expensive and not the lightest