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Proprietary seatposts - Pinarello

10K views 33 replies 9 participants last post by  Lombard 
#1 ·
It irritates me when a manufacturer makes key parts of the bike unique to them, but maybe I'm just old school and used to everything being a "standard".

I keep my bikes a long time, the bike this one is going to replace is 19 years old (1999 Schwinn/Serotta Paramount Ti). I am always wary of things that might be tough to replace, since my bikes tend to go through several iterations of components.

Granted, I am looking at carbon and probably won't be keeping it 20 years, but still - almost all carbon Pinarellos use a proprietary carbon aero seatpost. I'm looking at a Pinarello Gan K that has absolutely everything I want - (Full Ultegra disc build, clearance for 30mm tires, proper thru axles front and rear, threaded BB, fairly decent wheels), but that seatpost, damn. I looked it up, and a replacement is $450! Obviously a seatpost does not "wear out", but I have broken a few in my long years of riding. I'm guessing ten years from now the bike is a throwaway if you break the post, since they will be impossible to find at any price.

Am I over thinking this? I'd like some first hand experiences with the Gan/Dogma seatpost to help me get over this, or I'll just move on to a different bike. I posted on the Pinarello forum a few days ago but have no response.
 
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#3 ·
Well, IF there's any good news, all the GANs and the Dogma use a seatpost with the same dimensions and they can be had with either 2.5 or zero set-back. The Dogma post is a bit lighter and even more expensive but same external dimensions. So... if you ever break one, you could just shop around EBay or Craigslist for any old GAN or Dogma and get both a replacement post and extra frame :) (or if someone breaks one, they might even sell the post).
 
#4 ·
I did a little deeper googling around, and I read on a couple of places that the Dogma seatpost should not be used on a Gan, because it is thinner, and the Gan uses a wedge to hold the seatpost in place rather than a binder with set screws as on a Dogma.

I think I'll pass. I get the whole aero thing, but the Gan K is a gravel/endurance bike that can take 35mm tires. An aero seatpost is not high on the list of wants for a gravel frame, at least not in my book.
 
#5 ·
Your choice of course, though missing my point really... they use the same post on the GAN, GAN S, GAN RS, GAN K, GAN-etc. So, a lot of potential sources if you ever need to replace one (personally, jinxing myself now, I’ve never broken a seatpost in hundreds of thousands of miles; but, it could happen). Don’t know if you’d want to spring for a Dogma post anyway unless someone wrecked their Dogma and was just selling the post cheap. The GAN and Dogma posts do put clamping force on opposite sides of the post though, a fair point, but given the safety factor designed into critical components, I don’t know if I’d stress over it if (unlikely) I broke my GAN post and (even more unlikely) found a Dogma post for cheap.


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#8 ·
The 2017 Gan K with a full Ultegra build including crank and the proper RS685 hydraulic levers (instead of the bulbous RS585 levers that a lot of companies use to save money) and some decent wheels with good rotors, is $2400.

What carbon bike in that price range is not an Asian factory molded frame?

I've broken a couple of seatposts in my 40 years, it isn't unheard of, but if it happens again and I survive, it would be nice to be able to walk into any shop and find a replacement, rather than finding a Pinarello dealer and ordering one that may or may not show up for six weeks, and will cost $2-3-400.

I guess I'm too old school for frames and components that you throw away when the warranty runs out.
 
#10 ·
I think you are overthinking this....
Breaking a seat post is less likely than breaking the frame in a crash or breaking the front or rear derailleur mount which are most costly repairs - if even advisable.

I would be more concerned about getting a proprietary seat post 10, 15 or 20 years later but this issue has been addressed above already.

If you cannot live with that then take a different frame.
 
#11 ·
this move toward proprietary seat posts and bottom brackets has me thinking custom is more and more the way to go. i'm not sure but i think colnago is now following pinarello in the custom seat post thing. will find out feb 9th.

and proprietary seat post probably means its not round which means that if you have an impact accident the seat post won't give which it is designed to do and more likely break.
 
#31 ·
I had never heard of the Columbus Minimal. Pretty great description, I always choose my forks for their novelty and their "sober line":

"Absolute novelty Columbus is MINIMAL, the new monocoque fork from the essential and sober line, designed for frames with conventional steering, in particular for frames made with steel pipes which for their essentiality not lend themselves to being assembled with oversize forks.

The fork, made through the superimposition of layers of carbon fiber from the aerospace industry, is provided with 1 "steerer raked by 45mm. The progressive curvature of the blades ensures excellent vibration damping ensures high driving stability even under extreme conditions."
 
#28 ·
_______________________

I got a Merckx EMX 525 a couple years ago and had the same thought process...what if that unique seat post broke.

Moreover, I was less certain about the ability to get a replacement from the mfg. as they've changed hands a few times, straining continuity. Indeed, since I bought the bike they've been acquired again by Ridley this time.

LBS felt a replacement wouldn't ever be a problem. I factored in low probability of break. End of the day...I wanted it, so I did it. But I do think the risk is there. Further out you go. Bigger it is.

I'm not, however, into the collectable / museum piece thing. Materials and technology will continue to move on. If I get 15 years out of it, and can't get a replacement seat post... Time to start over with a new love.

And... with 3D printing and such, I have to think the ability to replicate "unique" parts will only become more simple, affordable, and common.
 
#33 ·
Wow, you are right, Henry James has a great deal on that fork. Only 45mm offset available in the 1" model, but that works for most of my older bikes.

I should order one to keep around in case those eventually disappear as well as most of the other aftermarket 1" forks have. I actually had a framebuilder make a replacement steel fork for a bike once, but it cost me around $400 after paint, and the crown didn't match the original.
 
#34 ·
The obvious solution here is to look beyond Pinarello.
 
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