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TECH NEWS
Hope Technology launches carbon fibre seatpost, and it's made in the UK
Hope Technology, the company best known for its hubs and disc brakes, has just launched a carbon fibre seatpost. And like its hubs and brakes, it's made in the UK.
The British company has built its reputation on machined aluminium components, but no doubt due to the popularity of carbon fibre, it has decided to branch out and add a range of carbon parts to its 2016 range, starting with the seatpost.
“Over the last ten years, bicycle components have been at the centre of the battle between lightness, stiffness and strength. Carbon has been the material of choice to satisfy these demands. Whilst Hope has traditionally focused on CNC machined components we felt the time was right to expand our quality product range to include carbon composites. Our move into the carbon market is totally consistent with Hope’s approach – made in UK,” says the company in a statement on its website.
Transitioning from a company that prides itself on CNC machined components to one that also produces carbon fibre components has involved a steep learning curve.
“It’s been a long and tough transition from primarily working with metallic materials to crossing over to composites, but it has been one which I have relished the challenge,” says Hope designer Mark Reynolds.
“Both materials work hand in hand with one another, and being able to manufacture our own mould tools in house allows us to be highly competitive in the market. It has by no means been without its challenges, and sometimes you just have to throw the rulebook out the window when working with this black-art material.
To manufacture the new carbon fibre components, Hope has invested in a dedicated 15,000 square foot composites and R&D development centre alongside its existing factory.
The new seatpost is made from 24 pieces of carbon fibre, a mix of mainly T700 carbon with some 3K fibre in key places, to provide strength where needed and resist clamping forces. It's suitable for mountain bike cross-country, cyclo-cross and road applications. It uses a simple single bolt saddle clamp with “ultra-fine” rail adjustment.
The post will be available in 27.2, 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters. Claimed weight for a 27.2mm x 350mm post is 195g. No price has been announced yet. Availability is scheduled for late March.
We’ll get more details on the new carbon seatpost soon, but for now head over to Hope’s website for more details http://www.hopetech.com/product/carbon-seat-post/
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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12 comments
The styling reminds me of the old Zoom posts from years ago.
great to see Hope doing carbon fibre manufacturing
of the seatpost design itself?
I'll never buy a seat post with a single bolt clamp; I've had way too many experiences of single bolt clamps slipping - whether the 'ritchey style' vertical bolt, or the side loading single bolt / clamp used on this Hope design - also used on many other seat posts
despite overtightening and lashings of fibre grip; hit a pothole and suddenly with a loud click your seat rotates back
I upgraded the clamp on my USE suspension post from the original Alien twin bolt to the SUMO singlebolt about 10 years ago. Never had a problem with saddle slip.
My Giant TCX SLR 2 came stock with a D-Fuse composite seatpost with a side-loading, single-bolt saddle rail clamp. The only times it slipped on me were when I was too timid with the torque. It's rated for 15-18 Nm and only a torque wrench will tell you how much force that is.
At 15 Nm I haven't had any saddle slippage. I guess your mileage may vary on this one, but the design seems to work.
Vey nice, but these won't be cheap!
www.veloism.cc
"Strong, light, cheap." Pick any two.
Maybe, but Merida do a carbon post (alu clamp, I admit) for under £40. Heavier than the hope one yes, but still fair bit lighter than most full alu post, and the build quality is excellent, and the bump absorbing flex is visible with enough post showing (i.e. on an MTB).
Yes. I was refferring to the comparative cost of other carbon seatposts. Handmade in the UK? Gonna cost a fortune.
Having spent a little fortune on hope hubs head doctor and spacers. I like hope
350g?
Shirley shome mishtake?
Hope website has "[w]eights from 195 grams (Ø27.2mm version)", so your Private Eye-themed comment looks appropriate, unless it's designed to double up as a knobkierie in road-rage incidents.
195g
(Think I've still got some mud in my eyes)