I few weeks ago, a buddy gave me a seatpost with the Columbus dove stampe d on either side. It has a 1mm wide red band painted around it near the to p and a black clamping mechanism with a single bolt attachment. There is a second small "set pin" on the front of the clamp, accessible from the un derside, which allows you to adjust the saddle angle. There were 4 " sti ffening rifles" along the inside of the post as well, a la SLX. Kind of neat looking, I thought. But the single bolt clamp was odd, as the seat would basically pivot on the bolt until I REALLY cranked on it to tighten it down. Perfect for my townie/beater/fixed-gear Falcon-Merckx. That is, until today. I am riding along the super-smooth NYC streets, when I suddenly happen up on one of those rare "pot holes" and hear POP! I stand up, off the saddl e, only to realize that there is something hitting the back of my leg and rubbing on my wheel. That would be the Concor saddle I had attached to th e seat stays with a section of old chain wrapped in inner tube. The post ha d sheared in half right where it bends into the clamping area, apparently along a crack that must have started at the set-pin hole. I popped into a local shop and upon removing the broken post from the frame , I noticed another oddity. The pillar/shaft itself had a fairly severe bend, clearly visible to the naked eye. The area above the seat lug was cocked back a good couple of degrees. This must have been happening gradually, as I noticed that the nose of th e saddle seemed high a week or so ago and I had to make an adjustment with the set pin. It seems to me that these two flaws were completely unrelated. Anybody els e have similar issues with the quality of Columbus seatposts? Is this why they are relatively uncommon?
Matthew Bowne
Scratching my head in...
Brooklyn, New York
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