It’s not uncommon to hear people with back injuries say that they couldn’t ride a bike without a suspension seatpost.

Whether you're on a local group ride, or exploring gravel back roads, the ShockStop Stem and Seatpost will make your ride smoother, faster, and more comfortable.The clever bit here is the design of the system; many other compliance seatposts feature an elastomer of sorts that does little to palpably remove buzz or a combination of moving parts that would hardly fit into a shoebox should you disassemble them. The new V2 version combines coil spring and elastomer suspension technology to provide the best of both worlds; highly responsive to bumps and vibrations and subtle enough to disappear into the background while you smoothly deliver power.

Given that cyclists often have 60 to 70% of their body weight on their saddle, I don’t know if there is any other component that offers as much of an improvement in ride comfort (assuming you’ve already optimised your tyre width and pressure). These concerns are not important when using the aerobars because they are not used when fine bike handling skills are needed and the weight of the front of the body is supported by the arms and elbows when on the aerobars, not by the hands.The reason is that ultra-distance road cyclists tend to use drop handlebars with aerobars mounted to them and frequently switch between the positions. And finally, the air seatpost improved things a bit (6% improvement) but clearly requires a higher bump force to activate than other suspension seatposts. Suspension seatposts can also extend the amount of time you’re comfortable in the saddle by absorbing persistent small bumps and vibrations that come from gravel roads, doubletracks, and trails. I’d say most rough roads can be comfortably cycled with just 35mm of travel, but 50mm+ may be required if you’re hitting bumps at a higher speed (on an eBike, for example).